sister to be my angel. i want her to be right here in the thick of it with me. ♪ >> that's all for this edition of i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". a friend from high school had put something up on facebook. diana is one of my oldest friends. . i couldn't believe it. it still doesn't seem real to me. >> the wedding was in the woods. >> a nice outdoor wedding. >> a few years later the wedding was in shambles. >> she wanted to have a clean divorce. >> then a call out of the blue. >> they were going to meet? >> yes. >> followed by a shot.

>> the meeting was set up. >> who was this mystery man on a midnight mission? >> he brought everything you would need to murder someone. >> turns out it was a gunman police, maybe even you already know. >> i had seen the "dateline" previously. >> someone was hiding the secret. >> where there's smoke there's fire. >> she just started crying saying, it's all true, it's all true. >> and the conspiracy to kill is caught on camera. >> when we opened that email and saw that video, we were like, oh, my gosh. >> a shot in the dark and a stunner in court. >> every once in a while we get a doozy. this was one of them. hello and welcome to

"dateline." diana lovejoy and her husband were living the california dream. a call from a stranger would send one of them down an isolated road to retrieve a package. what was behind the secret admission and who had set it up? here's andrea with the night of the new moon. >> it was dark, when the moon, the sun and the earth are all in alignment and the lunar cycle begins anew.

if only the people we trust here on earth were as dependable as the night sky. >> there's a guy lying down as a sniper. he shot it this way six or seven times. >> carlsbad, california, an affluent seaside community. a tourist haven known for its beaches, surfing and breathtaking views. this paradise became home to a woman named diana loafjoy. >> she was just really funny, silly, smart and easy to talk to. >> sarah shonebeck became her best friend. >> we would write notes still paying attention in class. >> of course. >> who could write the first sentence of the worst romance novel. >> she says diana had a true

gift for creative writing as well as music, something sarah, now a professional bassoonist knows something about. >> she was a fantastic piano player from an early age. >> you shared a love of music. >> yes. yes, we did. we were in the marching band together. it was really fun. >> she had a schedule. she would wake up, do her reading. >> jennifer was diana's college roommate. >> she was extremely disciplined. >> and diana was passionate about staying fit. >> it was taking a walk, going on a hike. going for a swim. >> her healthy lifestyle and good looks were hard to miss. >> it always seemed like guys really liked her. she wasn't trying to attract attention, but she was one of those people that people tend to notice her. >> very pretty. >> super pretty and she's got the long legs, yeah. >> i think it was the complete

package about diana. so smart, gorgeous, sweet, caring. >> after college diana went to work in the tech industry and ramped up her fitness routine. >> she had competed in several triathlons and she also was a personal fitness coach. >> eventually single, focused diana met someone who also loved bike riding and soaking up the outdoors, a software engineer named greg mulvahill. >> he was really very gracious, very sweet guy and very much like her. >> after two years of dating, diana and greg tied the knot in august of 2007. >> they seemed like the right fit and she seemed really, really happy. >> the couple was eager to start a family. >> but that didn't come easy for her? >> no, it didn't. >> diana suffered multiple miscarriages, then had a difficult high-risk pregnancy, which made september 2012 all the more special when diana gave

birth to a healthy baby boy. >> that must have been just an incredible day to her, to know that that baby was born. >> yeah. >> at last, diana had her happy family, but that wouldn't last long. by the time their son turned 2 their marriage was falling apart. diana kicked greg out of the house and got a restraining order against him. in court documents diana alleged that greg said he wished her dead, that he'd sexually molested her in her sleep and she suspected he also molested their son. greg denied all of diana's allegations and fired back. said diana had verbally and physically berated, attacked, and belittled him over the last several years. >> things were getting ugly. >> things were getting ugly. >> greg filed for divorce in august of 2014 and the couple fought bitterly over custody of their son. at first greg was only allowed supervised visits, but after numerous evaluations by

therapists and law enforcement, courts found no evidence of abuse and ultimately awarded greg 50/50 custody with diana, but diana was scared for herself and her son, a fear that ultimately led her here, a shooting range. >> i was surprised when she was taking lessons in marksmanship. i was like, oh, wow this is more serious than i thought. she was actually concerned about her safety in a really, really real way. >> at the range it seemed diana met just the man she was looking for, a former marine skilled in self-defense, someone you might know too from "dateline." who was diana's new friend and just how far was he willing to go to keep her safe? coming up -- we first met him when he helped rescue a woman from danger. >> this guy sounds like he was actually looking out for you a little bit. >> yeah. he helped me so much.

>> but when he met diana loafjoy, something changed. >> she would text him at all different times. i didn't like that. >> when "dateline" continues. ♪ at walgreens, we love smart savers. like movie savers. tee-time savers. and especially medicare part d savers. so you probably know making walgreens your preferred pharmacy means up to $5 off on copays and 100 rewards points on prescriptions. because you're smart like that. save smartly on med d. walgreens. trusted since 1901. she's had a tiny cough. see you at 5!

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>> i hate bullies. i used to protect my friends on the way home from school. we had a bully who tried to bully us. >> when he grew up weldon enlisted in the marine corps. when he left the service he worked as a firearms instructor. we met him in 2013 when we covered the story of another woman he met at the shooting range. >> customer walked in. i could tell something was wrong with her. i couldn't tell exactly what but i could read that she was under some kind of stress. >> her name was krystle harris. >> he's like, yeah, can i help you? i said, i need to buy a gun. i said, it's not just for putting it away.

my life is in danger and it's from my husband and he was like, whoa. >> krystle, a mother of two young sons, told weldon her husband was violent and abusive. she wanted to buy a gun for protection. >> at that point i asked her, are you prepared to kill him? because that is a very real possibility. if it's his life, your son's life or your life, then you have to make that decision and after a few moments she said, yes, if i have to. >> weldon took krystle under his wing, to defend herself. >> he sounds like he was looking out for you a little bit. >> yeah, somebody who was in the business of saving lives and, you know, a warrior and a hero and that type of mentality. yeah. he wanted to help me. >> at home krystle also helped herself, used a mini cassette

recorder to gather evidence against her husband. >> oh, god. stop. please please please stop. >> one night krystal captured something horrible. she said it was audio of her husband raping her. >> you're choking me. you're choking me. >> she walked in and she was visibly shaken. i knew. i knew something was happened. >> krystle played a bit of the tape for weldon. >> i've always been a very protective person. if you're a friend or family, i'll do anything for you. i really wanted to go and kill him. >> krystle later called police. when he made bail, she called weldon. >> checked out the entire house top to bottom. told her some defensible spaces. >> krystle never did need to use her new gun. her husband was convicted of a

forcible sex crime and spent five years behind bars. she was grateful for the sense of empowerment and protection weldon mcdavid gave her. >> he helped me so much. >> a very unlikely friendship? >> right. if i needed him, if i was worried about something, i could just call him. >> krystle embarked on her new life without her husband and weldon moved on, too. a few years after befriending krystle, weldon found romance. he met a woman named leah conant. >> i had decided to learn how to shoot and buy a firearm and learn how to use it. i was tired of feeling vulnerable as a woman and being scared of noises at night. >> leah said weldon didn't make a huge first impression when he rang up her purchases. soon she realized -- >> he was at first and i was not

and he won me over. >> how did he do that? >> he's very whitey and has very good intelligence and humor. just a really engaging personality. >> weldon told her about his work with krystal harris. >> it was just consistent with other people he had helped them come alongside and feel more safe. >> just like krystal before her, leah felt empowered around him. >> he's strong. i enjoyed his strength and i felt safe around him. >> on september 20th, 2014, leah became mrs. mcdavid. less than two years later she gave birth to their son. somewhere in there weldon told her about another woman he was helping out at the range, a woman named diana loafjoy. >> he told me about her husband, she was afraid of him, that they were going through a divorce. >> once again, it seemed weldon had assumed the role of protector, this time in diana's

life, but leah thought something didn't seem quite right. >> she would text him at all different times about things and i didn't like that. i didn't think it was professional and we disagreed about him communicating with her. and i think he saw the need of somebody, both herself and even more so her child who couldn't protect himself, and felt like he needed to help. >> something weldon had done all his life. leah could understand that. what she could not understand was what came next. >> this is 911. >> my friend has just been shot. >> yes, we've got the paramedics. we're getting the paramedics en route. >> a sniper waiting in the dark, but who was the target? coming up. >> they're hearing multiple bullets, multiple rounds whizzing past their head. >> did they find the shooter?

>> no. >> just vanished? >> vanished. >> when "dateline" continues. and that can lower your cost now that you know the truth... are you in good hands?

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hello, this is 911. >> late on a moonless night. on september 1st, 2016. >> hi, my friend just has been shot. >> the man on the line described a scene that just doesn't happen in the affluent community of carlsbad, california.

multiple gunshots fired. an apparent sniper on the loose. >> he was lying down in a for instance or something like that. he was hiding in the bushes. >> at home and i'm sleeping. >> carlsbad detective sargeant darby ernst was on duty that night. >> it's all hands on deck. >> sargeant ernst learned the 911 caller was a man named jason cobage and he was calling about his co-worker. >> he said his friend greg had been shot and they needed assistance immediately. >> ernst learned that when the first officer got to the scene, he found greg in his car bleeding from a gunshot wound. >> he was shot in the left side of his chest and the bullet went essentially in through the front and then out through the back. >> while greg was rushed to the hospital, a s.w.a.t. team combed the hillside where he had been shot. >> did they find the sooter?

>> no. >> just vanished? >> vanished. >> but sargeant ernst heard the detail. >> when the 911 call in, the situation immediately range a bell. >> greg mulvahill called dispatch. he had received a phone call from an unknown person stating that that person was a private investigator and had some information. >> greg said the mysterious caller was a man with a deep voice who claimed to have documents that greg would want to see. greg got the impression it was evidence that could be used against him in his custody battle with diana. the man said he'd leave a package for dwreg to pick up. greg asked the dispatcher whether he should go. >> what was their response? >> probably not a good idea, but it was up to him. >> and he went? >> he went. >> this was the meeting spot, an isolated dirt road near a power pole. greg asked his boss and neighbor jason to join him on this

bizarre mission. jason told police around 11 p.m. the men pulled up to the intersection. sergeant ernst and scott stoleman took us there. >> the package was supposed to be taped along the telephone pole. >> greg took a bike and they walked along the path and looked for the package but couldn't find it. greg scanned the area with his light and then noticed there in the brush. >> he sees that it's a person laying on the ground with a person holding a cigarette. >> that's terrifying. >> terrifying. >> the man appeared to be wearing camouflage. gregor jason yelled gun or maybe run. nkts they took off and turned back towards their car and that's when mr. mulvahill was shot. >> when they're heading back, they heard multiple rounds

whizzing by their head. >> i mullhe pulled around and c 911 he was being hunted. >> correct. >> he didn't know the trap he was walking into nor the trap he was walking into. >> miraculously greg survived the injuries. >> he was in the dark and didn't have any idea of who would have done this or anybody that he could think of that would do this. >> greg did say he was nearing the end of a bitter custody dispute with his wife, diana loafjoy, but quickly dismissed the idea she could have played a role in what happened. >> there's no way. >> of course police paid a visit to diana. she said she had no idea who could have shot greg. >> there was nothing in his immediate history that would have led us to think that he was involved in any sort of criminal activity or that any of his acquaintances would have done him harm based on any sort of activities he was involved in. >> didn't have secrets from his

job, high level job with computers? >> no. he brought his boss with him to the crime. >> sargeant ernst did have one lead to follow. >> we know we needed to get to the bottom of the phone number. >> you have this number in greg's phone? >> yes. >> when it was traced -- >> it was a tracfone. there won't be any subscriber information. >> they were able to track the purchase of the phone to the best buy about four miles from the crime scene. >> they still had the video surveillance of that purchase. >> best buy e-mailed sargeant ernst some still photos from the surveillance camera. >> i had called in scott and a couple of other detectives to be ready for who this mystery person was going to be who was buying this tracfone. >> who was it? and why might they want greg mulvahill dead. investigators were determined to

find out. coming up, a would-be person caught on camera. >> is this a smoking gun? >> points us in the right direction. >> when "dateline" continues. >>s and it's my job to test the product. the best almonds make the best almondmilk. blue diamond almond breeze. your happy place. find your breaking point. then break it. every emergen-c gives you a potent blend of nutrients so you can emerge your best, with emergen-c. it's time to say 'meh' no more to dull dishes. it's time to switch to finish quantum. some detergents dull your dishes over time.

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i'm dara brown. here's what's happening. saturday marked the fifth day of the senate impeachment trial as president trump's impeachment team presented their opening arguments. the team attempted to cut the credibility. and a des moines register is officially endorsing senator elizabeth warren for president. they argued warren is the only candidate with the vision and temperament to push america in the right direction. this comes just eight days before the iowa caucuses. now back to "dateline." welcome back to "dateline." i'm craig melvin. investigators believed craig was being hunted. he received a phone call from a

stranger who offered to turn over potentially damaging information but instead led greg into ab ambush. scouring the scene, police did not find the gunman but they did track down a promising clue, one that was about to lead deterkt tifs to a startling conclusion. greg mullvahill had been shot and barely survived. someone had lured him to the scene and now people gathered around sargeant darby ernst security screen to see who bought the burner. >> who was it? >> it was diana loafjoy. >> diana lovejoy. his soon to be ex-wife. >> is this a smoking gun, getting this photo of diana lovejoy? >> it points us in a direction. there's a lot more to be done.

>> sargeant ernst team searches for more. >> police had enough to arrest diana and bring her in for questioning. at first she denied any involvement in the shooting. >> what is her alibi? >> that she was at home all night long. she never went out. >> police realized she might be telling the truth about that. just because she bought the tracfone doesn't mean she was at the crime scene. >> diana was most likely not the person lying in the grass in camouflage with a rifle, fair to say. >> yes. yes. >> did you ask her if she hired someone to kill greg? >> yes. yes. no, i did not. >> detectives pressed her and diana told them something they didn't expect. >> she starts to describe her relationship with her shooting instru instructor. >> diana told police her instructor's name, weldon

mcdavid. >> he had volunteered to help her protect herself from her ex-husband. >> weldon mcdavid was the knight in shining armor to another woman? >> yes. >> that woman, of course, was krystle harris. police knew about her situation but diana's story was very different and it seemed to change as they questioned her. diana told police that weldon had agreed to help her when custody of her son by intimmy greating greg. >> weldon was to scare her ex-husband and give her -- be a big, brooding person over him to tell him that he needed to drop all of his custody and just disappear. >> diana said that she paid weldon for his services. she gave him $1,000 up front and another,000 after. >> just for scaring him? >> yes. >> diana said on september 1st

she picked up weldon at this park and ride. >> he gets into her car carrying a soft rifle case and she said she gave him the burner phone, dropped him off and then waited for his call. when she went back to pick him up -- >> he gets into the car and states, things went wrong. i had to shoot. >> did she say her reaction as to that? >> she didn't know what had happened. and she didn't ask anything else. >> that was diana's story, she hired her shooting instructor to intimidate greg and that was it. now police had another suspect, weldon mcdavid. his wife was home and it was s.w.a.t., they were on my street, they told me to come out of the house with the baby. >> did you have any idea why they were there?

>> none. >> they were there to look for evidence that weldon shot craig mullvahill. >> jody white brittain said they found a number of guns in the house but none was connected to the crime. but then hidden in the garage -- >> they found the upper portion of an ar-15. >> police noticed there was a suppressor or silencer attached to the weapon and a brass bag catches the casings. >> and it had seven shell casings in it. >> which is the same number of shots fired that night in carlsbad. >> you think you found the weapon? >> without a doubt. >> without a doubt. >> but leah still had plenty of doubts. >> he has the skills to do that but he doesn't have the personality or heart to do that. >> police arrested weldon. at the station he initially

denied anything. >> a gentleman got shot. i'm asking you where you were at when he got shot. >> what location? >> rancho santa fe. >> and i don't know that location. >> when police told him they had potential dna evidence that would place him at the scene, his story suddenly changed. >> i feel like i'm being set up. >> by who? >> i know i'm being set up. >> who's setting you up. >> [ bleep ]. >> prosecutor brittain didn't believe weldon had been framed exactly but set up? in a way, yes. >> remember the horrible allegations of abuse diana made against greg, that he molested her and their son, brittain believes diana fabricated them. >> all the therapists, the physicians, everyone that was involved made the determination there was no truth to it. when the court system didn't

believe her, she decided to come up with a way to have him killed. >> the prosecutor said that's where weldon came in. self-styled protector, a man primed to react to the exact type of allegations diana was making. >> oh, god. >> remember what weldon said on date line when he heard crystal harris's recording of her husband's abuse. >> i really wanted to go and killed zblim the prosecutor viewed diana as thinking she saw weldon as the person to protect her. >> introduce somebody who has a hero complex and she needed somebody that she could ma niche pew late. >> the prosecutor learned something else. >> diana admitted she had slept with weldon. >> i think she used her sexuality to get him to do what she wanted him to do. >> on september 12th, 2016,

weldon mcdavid and diana lovejoy were arraigned on attempted murder. was diana a criminal master mind who manipulated weldon, sent him on a mission? was he a warrior who decided to manipulate greg, the two would face trial together. and their defense? well, you'll just have to hear it for yourself. coming up, a surprising witness. >> diana said -- made me promise not to tell my mom or my sister. >> when "dateline" continues. c. olay regenerist makes my skin feel so dewy and soft and silky and hydrated...incredible. i love it. i'm busy phillips and my skin is confident i can face anything with my olay.

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late october 2017, weldon mcdavid and diana lovejoy, one-time gun instructor, student, one-time lovers now on trial together, facing charges they conspired in the attempted murder of diana's husband, greg mullvahill. >> i'm going to ask that you find both defendants guilty. >> prosecutor knew she had a strong case. >> weldon mcdavid had placed himself at the site of the shooting and diana had paid him to scare her husband but britton worried they would use diana's unsubstantiated allegation of assault. >> she had the right to do that if her husband was doing that to the child.

>> yes. so i had to walk a balance of deciding whether or not i was going to let in the al will he gays that she had made or try and ignore them? ultimately i decided to just take it square on. >> it was one of the first things she asked greg about. >> did you ever sexually assault your wife? >> no. >> did you ever molest your boy? >> no. >> greg said he had fought hard for 50/50 custody of their child so he felt compelled to see whatever information the mysterious caller had for him. >> pointed it like this. i scanned. >> greg demonstrated how he was holding the bright bicycle light in his hand when he noticed when he thought was a pile of clothes in the brush. >> straight out i realized i was looking at a barrel and a scope of a gun. >> then a gunshot. >> it felt like i had been hit in the back which was confusing to me because i knew i was looking at a gun but it felt

like somebody hit me in the back. >> in the confusion, greg said he heard jason yell, run, or possibly gun. >> while we were running i heard about six more rapid gunshots. >> the prosecution argued diana paid weldon mcdavid to kill greg that night and it seemed weldon may not have been the only one diana approached with this goal in mind. there was an unlikely witness against diana. a woman who reluctantly shared her story with prosecutors. her own aunt, diana clark. >> diana said -- made me promise not to tell my mom or my sister. promise me that, i said yes. then aunt diana testified her niece asked her this. she said, can you help me find someone to kill greg. >> aunt diana did not help her

niece find a hitman. instead, the state argued diana lovejoy found weldon mcdavid. >> when it came time for the defense to make its case, he was the star witness. >> mr. mcdavid, you talked about -- >> according to weldon, the only plan the night of the shooting was to gather information for diana. >> how much was she going to pay you to gather this information? >> it was $2,000. >> weldon said he called greg from the burner phone claiming he had evidence he abused his child. the idea, said weldon, if he showed up at the location, that proved his guilt. he planned to record greg so diana could take that information to court. >> anybody who's not guilty of child abuse in my mind would not come out at night to meet someone or to pick up any evidence that they didn't know where it came from. >> weldon said he was not

planning to fire any shots until he claimed he heard one of the men say, i've got a gun. >> as soon as he said those words, i -- i decided i had to do something. >> so weldon said he aimed his ar-15 at the flashlight and fired. he said he hit greg by accident. >> the shot that i missed was reflection. >> weldon's proof it wasn't intentional, he said he was such a good shot that if he had been shooting to kill, he would have. >> i did not miss a man-size target, it just would not happen. >> in a well-meaning way he came up with a very stupid plan and brought a gun to it. >> raphael acosta is weldon's former attorney. he did not represent him at the trial. he believes weldon acted out of what he calls a misguided here would he complex but never planned to kill or even hurt

greg mullvahill. >> acosta said he thinks his experience with krystal harris had a profound impact on him. >> that was the first case he heard nobody was listening to this woman and ultimately that woman was born to be correct and now he has a second woman who is saying nobody is listening to me. what do you do when nobody else is willing to help? you help. >> did you yourself have any conversations about a plan to kill gregory? >> no. >> the big question on cross examination, why show up in camouflage with an ar-15 if the goal was just to record greg picking up the package? >> could you not have just accomplished the exact same goal by sitting in your car and watch him walk down? >> that would have put me out in the open and made me a potential target. >> you felt it was safer for you to be dressed in camo with an

ar-15, tucked into the bush, pointing at them. that was a safer thing to do? >> based on my training and my experience, yes, i thought that was the safest for everyone involved. >> remember how dark it was the night of the shooting, the night of the new moon? the prosecutor said that was no coincidence. diana purposefully chose a night weldon could hide unseen. >> there were google searches about the new moon, when the peak point of darkness was which happened to be at the same time they lured him out there. >> and the prosecution had one more piece of evidence for the jury, a potential financial motive for murder. as part of the divorce settlement diana owed greg $120,000. the money was due three weeks after the date of the shooting. >> however, if he's just dead

would go to his estate which would ultimately come right back to ms. lovejoy. >> in closing arguments, the prosecutor said there was no doubt diana lovejoy and they planned to kill him. >> they didn't plan to get caught. no reason to kill. they had 120,000 reasons to kill. >> what would the jury think? first, let's see what you think. hear what weldon and diana had to say when we visited them in jail. coming up, a defendant's biggest regret. not what you might think. >> if i could only take back one thing, i would take that. >> and drama in court. when "dateline" continues. ♪

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welcome back. was greg mulvihill shooting an accident or a cold listen blooded murder attempt? prosecutors believe his ex-wife wanted him dead and convinced her lover weldon to do her evil bitting. the defense countered that the marksman missed hit targeted and the whole thing was a terrible mistake. the jury was about to deliver its verdict. first, weldon and diana each share what they say happened with us. here is andrea canning with the

conclusion of "the night of the new moon." >> i want people to know i did not attempt to murder anyone. >> reporter: we met with weldon mcdavid at the vista, california detention facility where he'd been since his arrest on charges he and diana lovejoy had conspired to murder her husband. you had an ar-15, you're lying on your belly in camouflage. you have a gun suppressor, a brass bag to catch your shell casings. this sounds like a plan to kill someone. >> if -- if i was gonna kill him, i coulda hit him at any point, you know, in that walk. you know, that -- that would have been easy. >> why did you keep firing? six times. >> i fired over their heads so they would start to run. if i wanted to kill them, i had more than ample opportunity. >> reporter: weldon told us it was ridiculous to believe he would kill someone for $2,000. and called having sex with diana his biggest regret.

>> it was wholly unsatisfying. if i could only take back one thing, i would take that -- you know, out of the equation. >> being with diana? >> yes. >> you wouldn't take back shooting greg? >> if there was only one thing i could take away, i would -- i would take that away, 'cause i -- i hurt my wife, and that means more to me than anything. >> reporter: weldon insisted the only thing that brought him to that dirt road the night of the shooting was a desire to help diana and her son. did diana lovejoy have a hold on you? was she -- >> no -- >> manipulating you in any way? >> no. >> it's been said that you have a misguided hero complex. what do you say to that? >> i'm no one's hero. not at all. and, you know, if -- if trying to help someone is misguided hero, then, you know, so be it. >> reporter: we went to diana's jail to speak with her as well. did you and weldon have a plan to kill greg mulvihill? >> no, absolutely not. >> so then why lure him there?

why put yourself in this position? >> i wouldn't even say that we lured him. i would say that he -- he -- he had a choice. he set up a meeting with weldon. >> reporter: we didn't have much time at the jail, so we spoke again by phone. this time, i wanted to ask her about aunt diana. your aunt diana was a key witness for the prosecution. she claims -- >> yes. >> -- you two had that conversation that you were looking for someone to kill greg. >> right. she claims that, yeah. and it's not true. >> reporter: diana said she was never close with her aunt. >> she's highly manipulative, she's highly selfish. i know that my aunt has a motive of to help greg's case, my ex, because she wants access to my son. >> reporter: but in a letter to the court, aunt diana wrote that she was always generous with her niece, and supportive of her and her son. we then asked diana lovejoy -- did she mastermind a murder plot? >> there was absolutely no -- no talk or no thinking about

killing anyone or harming anyone. i have a huge heart and i would never -- i'm not capable of hurting someone. >> reporter: would the jury agree? after about a half day of deliberations, a verdict. >> we the jury in the above and titled cause find the defendant, diana jean lovejoy, guilty of the crime of attempted murder. >> reporter: guilty of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. then something unexpected happened. >> weldon k. mcdavid, defendant. verdict. >> reporter: while weldon mcdavid waited to hear his fate. diana collapsed. seemingly overcome with shock. >> we will be in recess. >> reporter: court was adjourned. and diana was handcuffed to a gurney, wheeled out to an ambulance and brought to a hospital, where she made a full recovery. when court resumed. >> guilty of the crime of conspiracy to commit murder. >> reporter: weldon learned he'd

also been convicted on all charges. at their sentencing hearing two and a half months later, weldon addressed the court. >> i did not intend to shoot mr. mulvihill. i'm sorry that i shot mr. mulvihill. it was an aiming error as i stated previously. >> reporter: and then diana spoke publicly for the first time. >> it's so painful that people, some people in this world seem to think that i would have it in me to do this. i still care about greg and as much as he -- i did love him. i loved him a lot. i just hope that that reality, the reality, the higher reality of what really happened and what we really intended comes out. and i believe it will someday. thank you. >> reporter: weldon was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison.

diana, 26 to life. both have appealed their convictions. did you ever think that your friend diana could ever get wrapped up in a wild story like this? >> no. no. it's my worst nightmare. >> reporter: greg mulvihill now has full custody of their son. >> i've actually had a lot of -- heart to hearts with -- with greg mulvihill. and i do genuinely think he's a -- he's a sweet, nice man. and he didn't deserve any of this. >> reporter: weldon's wife, lea, is now a single parent, too. >> he shouldn't be in prison. he should be home. weldon's a beautiful person that should -- my son should be able to have that in his life. >> reporter: weldon mcdavid, the man who said he just wanted to help, who once empowered a woman caught in an abusive marriage. now, the fallen hero, contemplating life behind bars. perhaps he sums it up, best. >> there's no winners here. you know, there's no winners at all.

you know, this -- this whole situation is a loss. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. first up on msnbc, on the defense. the trump legal team presents its side of the case but democrats aren't buying it. new reaction from both sides this morning and what is next. >> take her out! >> the president saying "get it owner out!" we are learning more about what the president said in that explosive recording now released in its entirety. new details this morning on that clash between secretary of state and a reporter. we will get reaction from someone who covered mike pompeo on a recent overseas trip. big