The Attempted Murder of Greg Mulvihill
For this case, I watched an episode of American Monster, which is becoming one of my favorite shows on ID. It’s season 5 episode 10, titled ‘Stay With Me.’
A broken marriage, custody battle and secrets lead to an unthinkable crime.
Background
Greg Mulvihill and Diana Lovejoy
Greg Mulvihill and Diana Lovejoy met online, and got married in 2007 after two years of dating. They were very adventurous, and loved the outdoors. Many of their vacations were captured in home videos. It showed them doing activities like hiking, snorkeling and surfing.
Back in their regular lives, they both worked in the tech business, and lived in Carlsbad, California. However, after the birth of their son in 2012, their marriage started to deteriorate.
Money Issues
Shortly before Diana gave birth to their son, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. This changed the once active lifestyle she once had. Her pain caused her to step away from her job, but she seemed to be fine with staying home with her son.
Greg also suffered from a shoulder injury, and had to step away from his job for some time. Diana tried to get a sales job to make ends meet, but it was causing them a lot more stress.
In July 2014, Greg came home to find a police officer at their house. Diana had told the police that Greg had been sexually assaulting her while she slept. She said she had taken medication that made her drowsy, and she woke up to find Greg assaulting her. Greg denied it. A restraining order was filed, and this caused Greg to leave the home.
Diana also alleged that Greg was abusing their son. Once again, Greg denied the allegations, and Child Protective Services got involved. Greg filed a petition for divorce and for custody of their son.
Greg and their son, who was three years old at the point, had to be tested for psychological evaluations. The evaluations showed no signs of abuse, and Greg was cleared. Both, Diana and Greg were given 50-50 custody of their son. There marriage was also over.
The Attempted Murder
On September 1, 2016, a 911 call came in from a man saying his friend had just been shot. His friend was Greg Mulvihill, and the man’s name was Jason Kovach, and he was brought in for questioning, while Greg was taken to the hospital. Jason said Greg called him after he received a call from a private investigator. The PI told him he had information about the divorce and custody of his son, and wanted to meet. The PI gave Greg an address, and Greg called Jason because he was suspicious.
The address was a hiking trail that was dark, with no other lighting around. They went anyways, and armed themselves with a flashlight and baseball bat. The PI told them where to meet, and while they were walking, Jason yelled out that someone had a gun. The shooter had been lying in wait in the bushes.
Investigation
The police went to the scene as soon as they received the call. When they got to the scene, they smelled something terrible. It was human poop, and an Angry Birds towel nearby. They realized whoever had pooped here, cleaned themselves up with the towel.
Meanwhile, Greg Mulvihill was awake. He had been shot once in the chest, but it wasn’t fatal. He was asked if he knew of anyone who would want to hurt him, or if Diana would want to hurt him. He said he didn’t think Diana would want to hurt him. He also said he had the phone number of the ''PI,” and it was traced. The number came back as being a pay on the go number. They did find out that the phone was bought at Best Buy, so they obtained the surveillance footage.
They were shocked at what they saw. The person who bought the phone was Diana Lovejoy, Greg’s ex-wife. The police arrested Diana during a traffic stop, to bring her in for questioning.
Diana’s Story
Diana told the police that she had gone to Best Buy to buy a router. The police didn’t believe her, and showed her the video of her buying the phone. Diana said she was in fear of Greg, and went to take shooting lessons with a man named Weldon McDavid.
Weldon McDavid Jr., was a former Marine, and weapon expert. He was also involved in another case where a woman from Carlsbad, said her husband was assaulting her. Weldon had taught this woman how to shoot as well.
Diana said she confided in Weldon about her relationship with Greg, and the custody battle. Their relationship turned romantic, and they created a plan to “scare” Greg.
On the night Greg was shot, Diana picked up Weldon and took him to the scene. Weldon called Greg on that phone, and laid in wait to shoot him.
Diana was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.
Diana and Weldon McDavid Jr.
Weldon McDavid
Next, Weldon was tracked down and brought into the station. At first, Weldon said he was at home that night, but as soon as the police created a ruse and asked him why his DNA was there, his story changed. Weldon said he was there the previous night to go for a run, and he ended up pooping after eating some bad Mexican food. The police asked him if he cleaned up after, and he said he did with a towel that he found there. EW!
The police didn’t believe anything he was saying, so they obtained a warrant for his house. While they were searching, they found a rifle in the rafters. The rifle had a suppressor, which would explain why their was no shell casings at the scene.
Weldon McDavid Jr., was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder.
Trial and Convictions
Diana and Weldon’s trials started in October 2017, and Greg Mulvihill was the star witness.
Greg said he was suspicious after he got the call, but he went because he thought Diana was reopening the custody case. Greg said that while they were walking, Jason yelled about someone having a gun. He said he felt the shot, but he kept running.
It’s believed that Greg wasn’t killed because he had shined the flashlight in Weldon’s eyes, which affected his shot.
After the shooting, Diana picked Weldon up and they left. The prosecution said that Diana had manipulated Weldon, who was in love with her.
At the trial, they had strong evidence that both Diana and Weldon were involved, but they couldn’t prove pre-meditation, until they had another witness come forward: Diana’s aunt. Diana’s aunt said they had a conversation at Christmas and Diana had asked her if she knew anyone who could kill Greg.
Diana and Weldon were both found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder. Diana fainted once she heard the verdict. Many people thought she had fainted for sympathy, but it didn’t look like she was acting.
Weldon was sentenced to 50 years to life and Diana was sentenced to 26 years to life.
Other
Greg has fully recovered.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I had seen the video of Diana fainting, it’s on YouTube under like craziest reactions in trials or something like that. I 100% believe that Diana and Weldon are both guilty, and I don’t believe the wanting to scare him story. Why bring a gun if you’re not intending to hurt someone? I believe Diana did manipulate Weldon and told him lies about Greg, in order for Weldon to actually go through with the shooting.
I never want to say a woman is lying about an assault, but many people said Diana was known to make up lies, and that Greg wouldn’t have hurt her or their son.
I hope Greg is doing well, and at least their son has one parent. This is my second case in a row where the outcome isn’t a terrible one. I think the sentences are fair, but it almost seems like the sentences should be the same, they were both very much in on it together.
Sources
https://people.com/crime/diana-lovejoy-carlsbad-murder-for-hire-divorce-plot/
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/carlsbad-woman-who-lured-husband-into-ambush-to-be-sentenced/.
