Diana Duve, a Moldova native and Vero Beach nurse, went to meet her ex-boyfriend Mike Jones after a brutal break-up and informed her mother that she would not be returning home, before mysteriously disappearing on June 19, 2014. Jones had initially assured Duve’s parents that she was safe with him, but her disappearance sparked a massive manhunt for both her and Jones.
Diana Duve’s case is set to feature on CBS’ 48 Hours this Saturday, May 6, at 10 pm ET. The synopsis for the all-new episode, titled Where is Diana Duve?, states:
Using cellphone tower pings, surveillance, and other leads, investigators were able to track Jones to a Hampton Inn and eventually find Duve’s body stuffed in the trunk of her car, which was parked in a Publix parking lot.
Later, the ex-boyfriend was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and given a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
1) Diana Duve’s on-again off-again boyfriend was abusive and even attempted to strangle her once
Diana Duve and Mike Jones moved in together five months after they first met in the summer of 2013 at a Vero Beach bar. According to reports, the couple had a heated argument in April of the following year that quickly escalated into physical contact. Jones allegedly yelled at Duve and tried to strangle her with his hands, according to statements made by Duve’s friends.
Their former neighbor Eric Corrigan claimed that he called 911 to report a potential domestic disturbance.
2) Diana failed to return home after a rendezvous with her ex-boyfriend
Duve and Mike Jones broke up after their violent altercation, and she moved out of the house. However, even after their breakup, Jones, who was 32 at the time, texted the 26-year-old nurse to pursue her.
The former couple quickly decided to meet at the neighborhood bar What-A-Tavern on June 19, 2014. Duve and Jones were seen leaving the area at 1:15 in the morning.
Around a half-hour later, she even informed her mother Lena Andrews that she wouldn’t be coming home that night. The following day, she failed to show up for work, and a formal missing person report was made.
3) Mikes Jones was a convicted felon on probation at the time
Authorities discovered that Diana Duve’s ex-boyfriend Mike Jones, who she was last seen with alive, was actually a felon when they started looking into her disappearance.
When he lived in Fort Lauderdale prior to moving to Vero Beach in 2012, he was charged with aggravated stalking for allegedly threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend. Jones was free after entering a no contest plea to the charges.
4) Cellphone tower pings, surveillance used to track the missing ex-couple
The 26-year-old nurse was last seen leaving the bar with Mike Jones, who was most likely to blame for her disappearance, so detectives thought that locating him would help them find Diana Duve.
Lacking any leads, they tracked Jones to a Hampton Hotel, which was at least 25 minutes south of Vero Beach, using cellphone tower pings. His car was discovered in the establishment’s parking lot by neighborhood authorities.
Jones checked in about 24 hours after Duve vanished, according to hotel surveillance footage. He was detained there for violating his parole, but he steadfastly resisted providing information to the police about the whereabouts of the missing woman.
5) Diana Duve’s body was found stuffed in the trunk of her abandoned car
Detectives used hours of surveillance footage and cellphone tower pings once more after Mike Jones was taken into custody. Following this, neighborhood police found Duve’s car in a Publix parking lot sometime around 4:30 in the morning while searching for it. Her body was crammed into the car’s trunk.
It was determined that Duve had been strangled to death. Jones was charged with first-degree premeditated murder two days later.
Detectives also deduced from the discovery of tiny droplets of blood by the threshold of the garage door that he killed her in his apartment and placed the body in the car while it was still in the garage. The victim’s blood was used. 2019 saw Jones’s conviction for the charge.