Diana Lovejoy, 44, Weldon McDavid, 50, attorney Brad Patton in court

The criminal case against Diana Lovejoy, 44, and Weldon McDavid, 50, in which she is accused of hiring him to shoot her estranged husband, made another step forward late yesterday afternoon (Wednesday, October 18). Judge Sim von Kalinowski decided whether certain pieces of evidence will be allowed before the jury during the upcoming trial. Jury selection is expected to begin next week.

The prosecutor alleged McDavid practiced with an untraceable firearm, later found in his garage.

All attorneys want the jury to go on a “scene view”: they will be bused to the site of the shooting. The judge tentatively approved the request. The movement of jurors and defendants would be coordinated by the San Diego County Sheriff. The judge and attorneys seemed to agree this field trip should be at night, after 10 p.m., so that jurors can best understand the circumstances of the alleged ambush.

Defense attorneys protested, but Judge Kalinowski accepted from the prosecutor new, amended information. The paperwork contains new allegations, some of which are:

Former Marine and shooting instructor McDavid told Lovejoy he would have tactical advantage if the ambush could take place during a new moon (that is, no visible moon). Lovejoy then made an internet search to find the date of the next new moon, which was September 1, 2016. Her estranged husband Greg Mulvihill was shot that night.

Greg Mulvihill reportedly is familiar w the Switch Back Trails near his home.

Facebook photo

The conspirators obtained “Pinger” numbers to aid their secret communications, according to the prosecutor.

Lovejoy selected a place she knew her husband was familiar with, the “Switchback Trails,” and she informed McDavid that her husband would agree to meet there for the alleged planned ambush.

The prosecutor claims McDavid used his own unregistered weapon when he was target practicing, after hours, at the Iron Sights shooting range where he worked; he practiced shooting at targets that were placed at different distances.

The Switchbacks Trails east of Rancho Santa Fe

On the pre-arranged day of the shooting, says the prosecutor, McDavid attached a suppressor, scope, and “brass bag” (for bullets) to his weapon and put it into a rifle bag. He put the bagged rifle plus .223 ammunition and a long-sleeved camouflage shirt into his Jeep. He then drove from his home in Temecula to meet Lovejoy at the Park and Ride in Carlsbad. Lovejoy allegedly arranged a babysitter for her son so she could meet McDavid there; she brought him the “burner phone” she had purchased and then drove the hired sniper to the ambush location.

Lovejoy turned off her phone, trying to avoid GPS tracking, according to the prosecutor.

Judge Sim von Kalinowski will decide what evidence the jury hears.

McDavid fired six rounds at Mulvihill, who became a moving target after the first shot, it is alleged. After the shooting, McDavid went to Rancho Santa Fe Road to be picked up by Lovejoy, says the prosecutor, who added a new allegation of premeditation; this bumps up the possible penalty to life sentence, with parole, for both defendants.

The first batch of potential jurors is expected to be brought into judge Sim von Kalinowski’s courtroom on Tuesday, October 24, in San Diego’s North County Superior Courthouse in Vista.