Woman who plotted to kill ex-husband after divorce passed out after hearing guilty verdict

Divorce is an essential thing to have access to, but sadly, it can often be a messy and bitter affair.

Even the most acrimonious divorce pales next to the sad case of Greg Mulvihill and Diana Lovejoy.

Unless there is nothing contested, divorces often end up in court, but this one ended up leaving the civil courts for the criminal after things took a nasty turn.

The pair were locked in a custody battle, and Lovejoy became so determined to win sole custody that she paid former marine Weldon McDavid, with whom she had previously had a relationship, $2,000 to shoot her ex-husband.

This would guarantee her sole custody, at least in theory.

Despite succeeding in shooting Mulvihill, fortunately, the 47-year-old survived the attack.

After a criminal trial, the jury read out the verdict: guilty.

Video footage, captured inside the courtroom, shows the exact moment of the verdict on the charges of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Lovejoy, 45, looks gaunt as she sits next to her attorney, staring blankly ahead and hunching over.

CBS News

The camera pans over to her attorney, and at the moment the word 'guilty' rings out a thump is heard as her head hits the desk, followed by murmurs of shock and concern.

Court officers rushed over and managed to lay the unconscious criminal on the floor.

Lovejoy, a triathlete and software technical writer, was rushed to hospital, where it was confirmed that she had fainted.

She was later sentenced to 26 years in prison, while McDavid was jailed for 50 years as he had been the one who pulled the trigger.

On 1 September 2016 Mulvihill received a strange call from someone telling him that they were holding incriminating evidence against him and that he could find evidence taped to a utility pole in Carlsbad, California.

CBS

The dad headed out to the location with a friend. But neither was aware that McDavid was lying in wait for them until the barrel of a gun poked out from a bush - and fired.

Investigators on the case found that Lovejoy was not happy with the 50/50 custody arrangement between her and her ex-husband for their son Kale.

Mounting evidence against the pair also included finding the AR-15 rifle that was used to shoot Mulvihill in McDavid's garage.

They also pulled data from cell towers which placed him and Lovejoy near the location on the night of the shooting.

Carlsbad Police Department Sgt. Darbie told PEOPLE: “This case is pretty bizarre, but we found the evidence quickly.”

Keeping the attempted murder weapon in your garage does seem like something of a rookie error.