Diana Duve and Michael Jones were last seen together on June 20, 2014, at the What-A-Tavern restaurant in Vero Beach, Florida. Strangely enough, the moment the pair left the restaurant, they disappeared into thin air. When Diana didn’t return home that evening, her family promptly called the police, who then discovered that even the couple’s cars had vanished.
When the police located Diana’s car in Melbourne and found her death in the trunk, the unique and peculiar missing person case quickly transformed into a homicide. The shocking murder is examined in ‘True Conviction: Heinous, Atrocious and Cruel’ on Investigation Discovery, which also demonstrates how the police investigation identified the killer. Find out more about this incident and the whereabouts of the murderer right now, shall we?
How Did Diana Duve Die?
As a nurse, Diana Duve worked at the Sebastian River Medical Centre. She was a beloved family member who resided in Vero Beach, Florida, with her parents. Additionally, it has been stated that she broke up with her ex-boyfriend Michael Jones immediately before going missing. At around 1:15 am on June 20, 2014, Diana and Michael were seen leaving the What-A-Tavern in Vero Beach.
Diana’s parents learned via text that she wouldn’t be coming home at 1:45 am. Diana’s family was worried because she had never left without telling them and they called the police when she didn’t come home on Friday night. Additionally, when Diana failed to show up for work, the staff at the hospital where she worked were worried. They promptly informed the police about her absence. When the police began their investigation, they found that both Diana and her ex-boyfriend Michael had vanished along with their cars.
The police made the decision to ping both Diana and Michael’s phones in an effort to locate them in order to locate the missing woman. Authorities were directed to a Melbourne parking lot at a shopping centre by the first ping from Michael’s phone. The police found Diana’s stolen automobile in the parking area off Babcock Street. The grisly discovery of Diana’s dead body hidden under the trunk of the abandoned car was made by the police after further inquiry. The death was concluded to be due to strangulation. Additionally, she sustained injuries from blunt force.
Who Killed Diana Duve?
Michael Jones, Diana’s ex-boyfriend, was found guilty of Diana’s murder in 2019. Diana lived with Michael for a while before she met him in February 2014. According to reports, they drifted apart as Michael became more and more domineering, which ultimately caused Diana to end their relationship. Additionally, Michael has previously been charged with aggravated stalking and aggravated stalking with a handgun.
Diana moved back in with her family following the breakup, but Michael soon found her, and they were last spotted together on June 20 at the Vero Beach eatery. Michael was the last person to see her alive, making him the main suspect in the murder since he was the last person to see her alive. Despite comments from diners that the pair was acting normally, the authorities believed Michael might have been involved in her disappearance.
The cops were first directed to Diana’s car and her body when Michael’s phone was pinged. Officials were directed to Michael’s motel in Fort Pierce by the second ping from his phone. He made no attempt to resist when the cops proceeded to question him. There, the police detained him for going against the terms of his probation for the charges of aggravated stalking and aggravated stalking with a weapon. When Diana’s mother did not receive a call from her daughter on Friday night, she called the police and informed them that she had spoken with Michael. When she called Michael, she claimed that he informed her that Diana “was asleep and was tired from working (as a nurse) and couldn’t come to the phone.”
Authorities discovered after further inquiry that Diana went to her ex-boyfriend Michael’s hometown after the couple was observed leaving the restaurant in the early hours of Friday. During this time, Michael was seen by security cameras taking $2500 out of a PNC bank branch while also telling a colleague that he was sick and would be off for a few days. When Michael got back to his hometown, he choked Diana and put her body in the trunk of her car. The staff at the hotel where he was arrested urged that Michael pay in cash and asked them not to let anyone know about his presence once they saw him checking in. On top of that, surveillance footage from the store’s CCTV clearly shows Michael buying the phone as his car is seen in the parking area. Investigators were able to locate Michael’s burner phone at a Walmart in Melbourne, Florida. “This is a tragic case of dating and domestic violence by a weak, insecure, cowardly individual who felt the need to control his relationship with (her) through verbal and physical abuse,” Police Chief David Currey stated when discussing the crime. Michael Jones was officially charged with first-degree premeditated murder in June 2014.
Where Is Michael Jones Now?
Prosecutors and the victim’s family made an effort to obtain the death penalty after Michael’s arrest. The defence asserted and sought to establish in court that Michael had a traumatic brain injury as a result of multiple mishaps and automobile crashes in the past. A little amount of Diana Duve’s blood, however, was quickly discovered close to Michael’s garage door, proving that he had parked his vehicle there before putting the victim’s body in the trunk. As a result of the overwhelming amount of evidence against the culprit, the jury convicted Michael Jones guilty of Diana Duve’s murder. Michael Jones was nonetheless spared the death penalty by the judge and instead received a life sentence without the chance of release in 2019. Michael Jones is currently incarcerated at the Florida’s Walton Correctional Institution serving a life sentence.
