The Case of Diana Lovejoy and the Attempted Murder of Greg Mulvihill: She Hired A Hitman For $2000 To Murder Her Husband
On September 1, 2016, a 911 call shattered the calm in Carlsbad, California.
A man named Jason Kovach was on the line, urgently telling the responders that his friend, Greg Mulvihill, had been shot.
Greg Mulvihill, a computer programmer, was fighting for his life in a mysterious sniper attack.
The attack looked random at first glance.
However, as investigators began to dig deeper, they discovered a web of betrayal.
They uncovered a twisted love triangle and a murder-for-hire scheme planned by Greg Mulvihill’s estranged wife, Diana Lovejoy.
Diana Lovejoy
Diana Lovejoy: The Perfect Life That Wasn’t
Diana Lovejoy was born in 1975 and raised in San Diego.
She was an accomplished student who attended UC San Diego, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree.
She was an outstanding student and went on to join the Phi Beta Kappa honor society.
Diana Lovejoy moved up quickly in her career, eventually working as a senior technical writer for Salesforce and freelancing on the side.
Outside of her career, she was an athlete and a triathlete coach who founded her own fitness company.
Diana Lovejoy met Greg Mulvihill in 2005.
They met on a dating site, and their relationship blossomed into marriage.
Friends saw them as the perfect match.
Soon, they bought a home and welcomed a child, creating what appeared to be an ideal family.
However, by 2014, cracks in their relationship started to emerge.
Greg Mulvihill was jobless and Lovejoy, who was dealing with chronic fatigue and other health issues, became the family's sole provider.
She believed that both she and their young son suffered from mysterious illnesses that required special treatment, something Mulvihill did not fully support.
Their differences deepened, and eventually, they separated.
A lengthy, bitter divorce and custody battle ensued, with each parent striving to gain sole custody of their son.
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Diana Lovejoy and Greg Mulvihill |
The Deadly Offer: A Murder Plot Unfolds
Their custody dispute escalated in mid-2016.
Lovejoy was resentful of the court’s 50-50 custody ruling and her obligation to pay Greg Mulvihill $120,000.
Driven by anger, she began concoting a sinister plan to eliminate Greg Mulvihill once and for all.
During this time, she grew close to a man named Weldon McDavid.
He was a former Marine sniper and firearms instructor who became both her lover and her would-be accomplice.
With his background and expertise, McDavid seemed like the perfect ally for Lovejoy’s plan to rid herself of Mulvihill.
For $2,000, McDavid agreed to carry out the assassination.
Late on September 1, 2016, McDavid called Mulvihill.
He posed as a private investigator who had damaging evidence against him in his ongoing custody dispute.
Intrigued and worried, Greg Mulvihill arranged to meet him along a remote trail.
He took his neighbor Jason Kovach for backup.
When they arrived, McDavid was already hiding and he was armed with an AR-15-style rifle.
Mulvihill and Kovach heard rustling as they approached, and then several shots rang out.
One of McDavid’s bullet hit Mulvihill under the arm, narrowly missing his heart.
Greg Mulvihill managed to escape with Kovach’s help and underwent emergency surgery that saved his life.
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The hitman, Weldon McDavid |
Unraveling the Plot: Detectives Connect the Dots
Initially, the attack was reported as a "sniper attack" since there was no shooter visible at the scene.
However, detectives found the "sniper attack theory" implausible and suspected something far more complex was at play.
Forensic evidence, including a DNA and cellphone records, soon pointed police toward McDavid.
When they searched his home, they found the rifle used in the attack.
Surveillance footage captured Diana Lovejoy buying a burner phone, the same one McDavid had used to lure Mulvihill to the scene.
Cell tower data also placed both Lovejoy and McDavid near the location of the shooting that night.
As detectives questioned Lovejoy, she admitted to buying the phone.
However, she denied knowing about any murder plot.
Under pressure, Diana Lovejoy eventually disclosed that McDavid had promised to “protect” her during the custody battle.
She claimed that he offered to intimidate Greg Mulvihill into giving up custody.
However, the evidence against her was too strong to ignore.
Both Diana Lovejoy and McDavid were eventually charged with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Judgment Day: Consequences of a Vicious Plot
The trial was as shocking as the crime itself.
Diana Lovejoy and Weldon McDavid’s actions were laid bare in court.
It showed how a bitter custody battle had escalated into a plan to take Greg Mulvihill’s life.
Weldon McDavid, on the other hand, claimed he only intended to scare Greg Mulvihill.
He argued that, if he had truly meant to kill him, he wouldn’t have missed, given his background as a Marine sniper.
Yet, the jury saw through their defense.
On November 13, 2017, Diana Lovejoy and Weldon McDavid were both found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.
Diana Lovejoy received 26 years to life, and McDavid, 50 years to life.
The case left the everyone shocked, highlighting how an intense custody battle spiraled into a chilling crime.
In another case, a man who was obsessed with nature and leaves, killed three innocent people and stuffed their dismembered remains into a hollow tree.
See complete details of that case here
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