Miami jury finds Tyreek Hill liable for battery in two incidents

A Miami-Dade County jury has found NFL wide receiver Tyreek Hill civilly liable for battery in two incidents involving his estranged wife, Lakeeta Vaccaro. The jury awarded Vaccaro $500,000 in compensatory damages after the weeklong trial ended Tuesday, October 13, and declined to award punitive damages.

A mixed verdict, not a blanket finding

The verdict was mixed. Jurors found Hill liable for two battery claims but not liable on eight other claims, which included additional battery allegations as well as assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and continuing domestic violence. Another battery claim was dismissed before the verdict.

The two findings concern incidents in January 2024 and on April 7, 2025, one day before Vaccaro filed for divorce. Reporting from the courtroom said Vaccaro described physical and verbal abuse and showed jurors a photograph of marks on her chest. Hill denied most of her allegations while acknowledging that he shoved her during one argument and damaged a wall. He also acknowledged making a threatening statement during another dispute.

What civil liability means here

Those details should not be flattened into an all-or-nothing story. The jury accepted two claims under the civil standard of proof and rejected eight others; the result is not a criminal conviction. At the same time, the findings that Hill committed battery in two incidents are judgments, not merely allegations, and the damages award reflects the jury’s decision that Vaccaro was harmed.

Vaccaro’s attorney had asked jurors to award $8 million and said money could not undo the harm. Hill’s attorney said after the verdict that he was grateful for the chance to tell his side. Hill left the courtroom after embracing and shaking hands with members of his legal team.

The football question remains separate

Hill, 32, is a free agent recovering from a serious knee injury suffered in September 2025. His agent said Wednesday that no signing was imminent and that Hill was continuing rehabilitation with the goal of returning to a team. Whatever comes next in football, any account of this case should keep the same precision the verdict requires: two findings of battery, eight rejected claims, and a $500,000 compensatory award in a civil proceeding.