This story was originally posted on May 6, 2023.
Diana Duve was 26 when she disappeared one night in 2014 in Vero Beach, Florida. She was last seen alive leaving a bar with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Michael Jones. Witnesses mentioned that the couple appeared to be enjoying themselves, although there was a moment when Duve seemed upset. However, she never made it back home.
Her mother immediately sensed that something was amiss when Diana failed to call her, a daily ritual between them. Lena Andrews, Diana's mother, recalled, "It set me off immediately. I was trying to tell everybody who would listen … if she's not calling me, it's because she can't."
"You could see the sheer fear and panic in Lena's eyes," stated Vero Beach Sergeant Brad Kmetz. "I promised her, 'Lena, I'm going to get your daughter back for you one way or another."
On Saturday, June 21, 2014, Lieutenant Matt Harrelson and Sergeant Brad Kmetz from the Vero Beach Police Department were struggling to uncover the truth behind Diana Duve and Mike Jones's disappearance.
Authorities visited Jones's apartment, but no one responded at the door.
Harrelson: The interviews with all these individuals have been completed; we have pursued all the leads we had... we are spread thin in many different directions.
Kmetz: A search warrant was obtained that day to access Michael Jones's residence in order to gather physical evidence or locate Diana, with hopes of finding very little.
Upon their return with the warrant, the investigators were taken aback to find Lena and Bill Andrews — Diana's mother and stepfather — waiting in their car outside.
Miller: Is that out of the ordinary?
Harrelson: Oh my goodness, that's unbelievable... Lena is parked at the residence hoping to catch a glimpse of her daughter... She's completely distraught. She's in tears. She's angry. She wants to break the door down herself.
Prior to entering the residence, Lena was interviewed by the investigators. She informed them that the last contact she had from her daughter was a text message Diana sent in the early hours of the previous day.
Andrews: She messaged me at 1:45 a.m., "I won't be returning home."
The message was in Russian, their native language, so Lena was convinced it was from her daughter. As Friday progressed without any sign of Diana, her desperation grew.
Miller: Did you try calling Michael Jones?
Lena Andrews: I did call Michael Jones, yes. … And he was like, "Oh don't worry. She's with me everything is OK."
Michelle Miller: Oh, he said that?
Lena Andrews: Yes. I was like, "Oh my God, Mike, you guys killing me. I am, I am worried sick. I need to talk to her. I want to hear her voice." I told him to give her the phone. All of a sudden. "Oh, she's sleeping." … Well, "wake her up because I have to talk to her." All of a sudden, another excuse. "She's at my place. But I'm not there right now." … I told him, "You go home, you wake her up." … Call me back in 30 minutes.
But Jones never called Lena back, and she never heard from him again.
Lena Andrews: She was my world.
Diana was born in Moldova, small country in Eastern Europe. Diana immigrated to America when she was 13 to join her mother Lena who had married Bill, an American.
Lena Andrews: A girl that didn't speak English at all. Within two months, she was in regular school class and in a few years, you couldn't even guess that she's not American.
In 2011, Diana received her nursing degree. At the time she disappeared, Diana worked with cancer patients at the Sebastian River Medical Center.
Lena Andrews: She truly, deeply cared … for her patients, for the families of patients.
Chelsea DiMaio: She's incredibly intelligent, always driven.
Chelsea DiMaio was Diana's closest friend and former roommate.
Chelsea DiMaio: She's very laid back, just a joy to be around.
During the summer of 2013, Chelsea recalls Diana meeting Jones at a bar in Vero Beach.
Michelle Miller: Did she seem interested right away?
Chelsea DiMaio: No.
Michelle Miller: No.
Chelsea DiMaio: No. … She didn't have an immediate, "Oh wow, Mike Jones." … It was more like he was definitely interested in her. … And eventually, she came around.
Lena and Bill admit they didn't know much about Jones, except that he worked for PNC Bank in Wealth Management and had attended law school.
Lena Andrews: He was incredibly polite. … Well-dressed, articulate.
Bill Andrews: He seemed like the perfect boyfriend.
After just a few months of dating, Diana moved into Jones's apartment.
Bill Andrews: She appeared happy. So, we were supportive.
Chelsea noticed that Diana and Jones quickly became inseparable.
Chelsea DiMaio: You never saw her without him. And she had never been like that in past relationships.
As time passed, Chelsea started to have concerns.
Recounting a Troubled Friendship: There was a time where we were getting lunch … I remember she wanted to go somewhere where Mike wasn't going to see her or run into her or see her car. It was almost as if she would have been in trouble getting lunch with me.
The friend, Chelsea, says before she could sit down and have a serious talk with her friend, Diana and Jones had a domestic dispute that would officially end their relationship.
It was April 30, 2014, just two months before Diana would disappear.
Mike Jones's neighbor made this 911 call:
OPERATOR: Vero Beach Police.
NEIGHBOR: Yeah hi, I think I got a domestic for you. The next-door neighbor and his girlfriend sound like they're getting into it.
NEIGHBOR: It's been going on for about an hour.
OPERATOR: Just been yelling and screaming or ...
NEIGHBOR: Yeah. … It just sounds like he's trying to dominate the crap out of her
OPERATOR: So, it's just been verbal, right?
NEIGHBOR: Verbal. I can't hear any slaps or anything. … But I'll tell you, it's not good.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: Officers responded, knocked on the door, made contact with both Diana and Mike Jones.
Chelsea DiMaio: She called me in tears leaving his apartment. I told her to just come straight to where I was, and she did ... And she was still in her pajamas, hysterical.
Michelle Miller: Had you ever seen her like that before?
Chelsea DiMaio: That upset? Never. Never.
Chelsea DiMaio: She was explaining that … he was screaming at her, that it had been going on for what felt like hours, and he just wasn't letting up. And he finally got to the point where he had put his hands around her neck and started strangling her.
Chelsea DiMaio: I could clearly see that there were marks on her neck.
So, Chelsea says she took photos which show what appears to be hand marks on Diana's neck.
Chelsea DiMaio: I need to document this. I need to protect her.
Chelsea DiMaio: She just wanted to move her things out and remove herself from the situation and that's what we did.
Diana moved back in with her parents and did not tell them that Jones had tried to strangle her.
Lena Andrews: I think she was just trying to protect me so I wouldn't worry. And she thought that she handled it. … In her mind it was over.
But Lena says Jones continued to pursue Diana.
Lena Andrews: She would tell me, "He texts me. … Looks like he doesn't understand that I broke up with him.
Now with a search warrant almost 48 hours after Diana was last seen with Mike Jones, investigators entered his apartment.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: You can see the sheer fear and panic in Lena's eyes. … I said, "Lena, I promise you I'm going to get your daughter back for you one way or another."
Lena Andrews: I vividly remember that I was walking back and forth in front of this apartment, neighbors, people that I don't know all coming out. … This girl just came and hugged me and said, "Oh everything going to be OK. And I looked at her and said, "No it won't ..."
THE SEARCH FOR DIANA
Lt. Matt Harrelson: We want to find Diana. We want to reunite her with her parents. We want to make sure she's OK.
As detectives searched Mike Jones's apartment, they were hopeful they would find Diana Duve. But they were met with disappointment.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: We didn't find a lot. We didn't find any belongings that we felt were Diana's. We didn't find any sign of her.
But they were not discouraged. Sgt. Kmetz was motivated by that promise he made to Diana's mother Lena — that he would find her daughter.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: What really drove me to keep pushing forward was a mother begging you, please find my daughter for me.
They knew that in order to find Diana, they needed to find Mike Jones. Investigators grew concerned when they learned that about 12 hours after Jones was last seen with Diana at the What a Tavern bar, he was captured on surveillance footage visiting a PNC Bank in Vero Beach.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: When he went to PNC Bank, he withdrew $2,500 in cash and then told many of his workmates … he said, I'm not feeling that well. I'm gonna be gone for a couple of days. I've got some things I got to take care of.
Investigators grew even more alarmed when they learned that Jones had a criminal record. Prior to moving to Vero Beach, he had been charged with aggravated stalking for threatening to kill an ex-girlfriend near Fort Lauderdale in 2012.
This is the 911 call from that incident:
OPERATOR: 911, What is your emergency?
EX-GIRLFRIEND: My ex-boyfriend just called me and told me that he has packed his gun and that as soon as I walk outside a gunshot will go off in my head.
OPERATOR: What happened?
EX-GIRLFRIEND: My ex-boyfriend threatened to kill himself tonight. And then when I told him that we were not getting back together he told me he would kill me.
EX-GIRLFRIEND: I'm very afraid. I've seen him angry before.
He pleaded no contest. And as part of a plea deal, Jones was given five years probation in lieu of jail time. He was required to stay in the Vero Beach area and could be arrested if he left without getting permission from his probation officer.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: I spoke to the probation officer who told us if we come in contact with him, that's probable cause. We can arrest him for a probation violation, at minimum at that point.
Lena Andrews: All of a sudden, we found out that he's convicted felon, that he's on probation.
Lena says she and Bill were blindsided by the news.
Lena Andrews: It's something that was extremely unexpected. … Nobody knew about it.
Investigators continued to work the case but were running out of leads, so they turned their attention to analyzing cellphone tower pings from Diana and Jones's phones.
Lt. Matt Harrelson (looking at map): We had to kind of like overlay two separate maps to be able to see where she may have been and where he was prior.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: I was getting pretty tired ... And something told me just give it a couple more minutes. And this is why I would say that divine intervention was definitely at play here … Within a few minutes … I found something that was really odd.
Sgt. Kmetz noticed there was only one ping from Jones's phone off a cell tower located in the Fort Pierce area – approximately 25 minutes from Vero Beach. So Kmetz had dispatch alert local authorities there, to be on the lookout for Jones's gold Honda and Diana's black Nissan.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: I'm on my way home, I … get in bed and then my phone rings.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: Fort Pierce PD had located Mike Jones's car.
Jones's gold Honda was located in the parking lot of a Hampton Inn. Hotel surveillance footage showed that Jones had checked into the hotel almost 24 hours after Diana went missing. He appeared to be alone. According to the front desk staff, Jones paid in cash for two nights, and instructed them not to tell anyone he was there and not to transfer any calls to his room.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: You don't know what you're gonna find when you get in that room. … You know, your heart's racing, you've been going two days straight and now you're this close from getting who you believe is a possible suspect … and also hopefully finding Diana.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., Kmetz and Harrelson used a key card provided by the front desk to gain access to Jones's hotel room.
Michelle Miller: Did he appear surprised?
Lt. Matt Harrelson: He was definitely taken aback. He was sitting on one of the double beds in a V-neck T-shirt and shorts, smoking a cigarette while talking on a burner phone – a device that's hard for law enforcement to trace.
Here is a snippet of Sgt. Kmetz conversing with Jones in the hotel room:
SGT. BRAD KMETZ: Alright Mike, you must have an idea why we're here.
MIKE JONES: I can assure you, I have no clue where she is. I've been trying to locate her.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: It's puzzling why he's withholding the information I need. Your girlfriend is missing, someone you claimed to love and care for. It's in everyone's best interest, including yours, to cooperate with the authorities in finding her.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: I told him, "If you're not willing to cooperate and provide information, you will be arrested immediately for violating probation."
Kmetz and Harrelson were relieved to place Jones behind bars. But they still had no idea where Diana was — or her car.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: You go from very high because you found him, and you're busting in the room, to like, here we are back again.
Investigators decided to trace the purchase of that burner phone Jones had been using and learned that he bought it at a Walmart located about an hour north from the Hampton Inn. When they pulled the surveillance footage from the Walmart, they made a startling discovery.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: It's a little grainy. But it appeared to be Diana's car.
In surveillance footage from the morning after Diana went missing, her Nissan entered the Walmart parking lot, and parked. Then you see what appeared to be Mike Jones wearing a red baseball hat walk into the store, buy the burner phone and then walk out. There was no sign of Diana.
But despite buying the burner phone, Jones occasionally still turned on his primary phone.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: He would turn it on and then use it for something and then turn it back off.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: Let me go through these pings one last time. I said maybe I'm missing something here. … I found one. I mean maybe we can catch lightning in a bottle twice.
So, Kmetz and Harrelson analyzed Mike Jones's primary cellphone pings, one more time, looking for any pings in and around the area of the Walmart.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: He and I are kind of looking at it together and I'm like, "Well, this one's strange." He goes, "What do you mean?" I say ... "What's he doing up in Melbourne?"
It appeared that Jones had picked up a call in the Melbourne area, almost one hour north of Vero Beach. So local police were alerted and asked to search that area for Diana's car. Just 30 minutes later, detectives received a call they had been desperately waiting for.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: They had found her vehicle.
Three days after Diana had gone missing, her car was located in a Publix parking lot in Melbourne, Florida.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: We jump in the car, were rocking and rolling.
Michelle Miller: And there she was.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: Mm-hmm. Crazy. Crazy (tears up).
NO ORDINARY SUSPECT
Lt. Matt Harrelson: We're on the ragged edge. You know, we — we haven't slept. … you know, 'cause you're just you're moving.
At approximately 4:30 a.m., investigators reached the Publix parking lot where Diana Duve's black Nissan was located. Lt. Harrelson had a dreadful feeling that they might discover her body there.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: And I told Brad, I said, "she's in the trunk"
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: I said, I don't know, I said it's just so cliche. It's something like out of a movie. It didn't make much sense to me.
However, when they opened the trunk, Lt. Harrelson's intuition proved to be accurate.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: There are certain things in this job that you can't unsee. You can't unlive.
Michelle Miller: You'll never forget.
Matt Harrelson: Yeah.
Sgt. Brad Kmetz: I remember putting my hands on my knees and kind of just putting my head down. … It was not the way I wanted to find her.
Lena Andrews: And I opened the door and here was chief of police in complete uniform.
Bill Andrews: The saddest thing in my life was seeing him come up the driveway (sighs).
Lena Andrews: And he told me, they found her (sighs).
Lena Andrews: To lose her like this ... its indescribable.
As painful as it was, this was no longer a missing person's case — but a homicide. An autopsy would later reveal Diana had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and had been strangled to death.
Investigators believed they had a strong case connecting Jones to the parking lot where Diana was found. But something was gnawing at them: how did Mike Jones leave the area without a car?
Lt. Matt Harrelson: So, we just started cold calling some of these taxi agencies. … And I said, "Hey did you get a fare … to Vero … in the last couple of days?" And then we hit one. And I was like, Wow. You know, like that just like that doesn't happen every day. So, we got lucky on that one.
Around 8 a.m., after Jones dropped off Diana's car, a man called for a taxi down the street.
Former cab driver: I showed up and there was a guy outside with a red hoodie on and, um, he got in the passenger side of the vehicle.
During the hour-long ride they briefly chatted.
Former cab driver: I asked him questions like, "What brought you down here?" And he said, "Oh well, I came here with a friend of mine." You know, um and so then I asked, "Well how come you didn't get a ride back with your friend to Vero Beach?" And he said well, they got into an argument, and she's very pissed with him.
The former cab driver — who asked us not to use his name — says that he dropped the man off across the street from an apartment in Vero Beach. It was Mike Jones's apartment.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: The kicker was ... he was able to pick him out of a lineup too which really helped our case.
And just two days after they found Diana's body, they had enough evidence to officially charge Mike Jones with her murder. He would plead not guilty.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: He didn't show any emotion. He didn't ask any questions. He just sat there.
SGT. KMETZ: You there, Mike?
MIKE JONES: Yeah. I request my right to counsel.
SGT. KMETZ: Fair enough.
MIKE JONES: And my right to remain silent.
LT. HARRELSON: OK.
SGT. KMETZ: OK.
LT. HARRELSON: We have no more, nothing else to say to you.
Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman was assigned to prosecute the case along with State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl. As they started digging, they soon learned that Mike Jones was no ordinary suspect.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: He doesn't fit the mold of your average violent murderer.
Jones had an impressive educational background, holding both a masters and law degree. He was considered a respected member of the Vero Beach community.
Stewart Pierce: It was shocking that Mike would have done this. I think it blew everybody's mind.
Stewart Pierce was a close friend of Jones.
Stewart Pierce: Mike Jones was a guy that you wanted to be friends with. … He was clean cut. A real nice guy.
He first met him at a networking luncheon shortly after Jones had moved to Vero Beach in the summer of 2013.
Stewart Pierce: We saw him everywhere that there was to be seen. … Cufflinks and a well-starched shirt.
Jones was a familiar face at local charity events.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: Here is a guy who was able to work his way into the community here. I mean, he was doing charitable activities. He actually showed up and walked for the very same domestic violence organization that I'm a board member for.
Transcript of an audio interview:
"Michael was a genius. … one of the smartest people I had ever you know dealt with."
And when it came to work, Jones thrived at his job in Wealth Management at PNC Bank.
Prosecutor Brian Workman: And he brought people in who had a lot of money. And he had performance reviews, emails that went back and forth between PNC personnel raving about his job performance and how great he was doing there.
In his last performance review from four months before Diana was murdered, his boss wrote:
"Michael has shown that he has strong ethics and leadership qualities. He is a big asset for PNC ..."
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: This guy was a master manipulator. This guy was running multimillion-dollar accounts for a bank as a convicted felon. So, he was able to con a bank!
"48 Hours" reached out to PNC Bank to ask if they knew Jones had a record and was on probation for stalking that woman near Fort Lauderdale in 2012. They declined to comment.
His friends, however, had no idea. But what they did know about Jones's past is there were a lot of stories.
Ellie Sexton: I remember the stories … like every time there was a zinger.
Ellie Sexton dated Jones shortly before he started dating Diana.
Ellie Sexton: Mike shared with me that his sister was romantically involved with Jason Aldean and he also mentioned that he was adopted by Ronald Reagan's son.
Ellie Sexton: Despite driving a ten-year-old gold Honda Accord, Mike claimed to own a penthouse in Fort Lauderdale and a Porsche which he avoided driving to prevent any damage.
Stewart Pierce: Mike Jones once told me that he was adopted and had a brief stint in minor league baseball. However, observing him throw a football during a beach hangout made me doubt his baseball background.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: His life was shrouded in lies. Even today, we are uncertain of his true identity.
Prosecutors were convinced that Mike Jones was a killer. As they geared up for trial, they discovered that Diana was among his many victims, with the grim realization that she did not survive like the others.
Ellie Sexton: My entire family has expressed that you narrowly escaped death (sighs).
A PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: Mention the name of a woman he was involved with, and you'll find a history of abuse.
As prosecutors delved deeper into Mike Jones's background, they uncovered a disturbing pattern in his treatment of his ex-partners.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: He's Prince Charming in the door, right? … But then slowly, he'll begin telling them, what to wear … what friends to hang out with. … He's calling incessantly. … Showing up at restaurants … He's reading her phone. … A couple of the women that we talked to, he would hold them in place for long periods of time.
Ellie Sexton: He was very controlling.
Ellie Sexton only dated Mike Jones for a few months but says she witnessed his violent temper.
Ellie Sexton: Mike never got physical. But there were a few times that he just had some jealousy behaviors. I do remember him screaming in my face one time and getting really close to me … and feeling fear.
And investigators also learned that Mike Jones's stories about his past were flat out lies.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: He's a pathological liar.
In a personal essay he wrote for college admission, Jones claimed that he was "born into poverty" to uneducated and abusive parents. He wrote that he was "placed with several foster families" and eventually was adopted.
Michelle Miller: What is the truth about his upbringing?
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: What do you think?
Prosecutor Brian Workman: He was spoiled rotten. His, his parents bought him motorcycles. They put him in private school. … And it wasn't until his parents told him that they weren't going to pay for any more education, meaning law school. … That was the point where he broke it off with them … Manipulating, trying to get what he wanted.
"48 Hours" attempted to contact Jones's family, but no response was received.
Throughout Jones's time in a graduate law program at the University of Miami, the deception continued. In 2010, Jones informed his classmates via email that he was fighting prostate, pancreas, and stomach cancer, along with other alleged medical issues that kept him from regularly attending classes.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: There is no evidence of any cancer diagnosis in his history or similar medical conditions.
Despite Mike Jones's history of deceit and mistreatment of other women, prosecutors were only able to present evidence of his abuse towards Diana and her tragic death.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: Convictions should be based on the crime committed, not past actions.
As the trial approached, a crucial decision had to be made regarding pursuing the death penalty.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: It was a difficult choice. ... We spoke with Lena and explained that moving forward with the death penalty would lead to a different legal process.
The prosecutor clarified that the legal proceedings could extend for years, and even if a single juror opposed the death penalty for Jones, he would receive a life sentence instead.
Lena Andrews: I wanted the death penalty, absolutely. He lost his right to live when he killed her, when he killed Diana.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: Brian and I agreed with them and thought that this is the route we need to take.
In October of 2019 Mike Jones's trial finally began in Vero Beach.
During opening remarks, prosecutors told the jury that Mike Jones abused Diana mentally and physically during their short six month on-and-off again relationship.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: She would talk about her feelings and the things that he had done and how he would be demeaning … And he would flip it. … He would flip the script … and start blaming her and accusing her and suggesting that it's her fault. … What he was doing was gaslighting her.
To back up their claims of physical abuse, prosecutors called Diana's friend Chelsea DiMaio and showed the jury the photos she took after that domestic incident when Jones allegedly strangled Diana.
Chelsea DiMaio: I could clearly see that there were marks on her neck.
As disturbing as that was, Bakkedahl explained that after that domestic incident, Diana had secretly started seeing Jones on and off again.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: This is what happens in domestic violence. … people want to know why would she go back? … And it's because of the control. And he had total control over her.
Prosecutors said no one knows what they talked about in the early hours of Friday, June 20, 2014, when they left the bar together and went to Jones's apartment.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: Now they had been drinking that evening. And, of course, that has an impact on your judgment.
But Bakkedahl thinks Diana was trying to end the relationship for good.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: She was telling him that night it's over. I have no doubt in my mind that this was the end of this relationship.
In fact, according to Lena, Diana had upcoming plans to go out West to visit a friend.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: And when he got wind of that, that was it.
Prosecutors said they believe Jones lost his temper, and that's when he beat and strangled her.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: He had beaten her so badly … that he knew at that point in time he could not let her go. He knew that if she were to leave the house that night and had been covered in bruises …the jig was up for this guy, and he couldn't allow that to happen. And so, he resorted ultimately to murder.
The State could not pinpoint the exact time of the murder, but they presented blood evidence indicating that Jones placed Diana's body in the trunk of her car while it was in his garage.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: Near the garage door threshold, at the meeting point of concrete, we discovered two small droplets of blood.
Michelle Miller: Whose blood was it?
Lt. Matt Harrelson: Diana's.
During the defense's presentation, they argued that the events following Jones and Diana's departure from the bar on June 20 remained uncertain. They suggested that Diana's death might have been accidental. Jones's defense team declined "48 Hours"' request for an interview.
Lt. Matt Harrelson: They attempted to portray him as a respected member of our community with a stable job. Why would he harm her? ... At times, it was almost offensive for them to deny the monstrous side of him that we were aware of.
After a week of testimonies, the case went to the jury. The prosecutors were optimistic.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: I anticipated a guilty verdict... but I didn't expect it to be delivered so swiftly.
Michelle Miller: How quickly was the verdict reached?
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: In about 45 minutes.
LIFE OR DEATH?
Lena Andrews: She had so much good in her heart and he knew that.
Nearly a month after the verdict, the same jury that convicted Mike Jones of first-degree murder would now decide whether he would live or die.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: The penalty phase is … everything about the defendant.
Prosecutor Bakkedahl warned Lena that the sentencing hearing would be difficult to sit through.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: The poor defendant, all of the issues faced by the defendant throughout his life to the absolute and utter exclusion of, of her daughter.
The defense called medical experts who testified Jones had received multiple blows to his head, possibly from doing motocross as a teen, and he suffered brain damage. One expert testified that Jones's frontal lobe, which regulates decision making and impulse control, had been damaged and caused a significant cognitive defect.
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: They wanted the jury to believe … that he had this major or minor cognitive deficit. … The problem is … in order to have that particular deficit, you can't do things like balance a checkbook. … pay rent … And here's a guy who went to law school … and managed multimillion dollar accounts.
When it was time for her victim impact statement, Lena surprised everyone, and confronted Jones face to face.
Lena Andrews: How can you do that with your bare hands? To the person that you supposedly love? How can anybody do that? How?
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl: She brought Diana to life in that courtroom. And if we were going to get the death penalty it was going to be on the back of that testimony ... It was just a mother's love for her child. It was big (tears up).
Throughout the entire trial Jones showed no emotion.
Lena Andrews: He absolutely had zero remorse, absolutely zero.
Even as his sentence was about to be read.
Prosecutor Brian Workman: His attorneys … they had their faces in their hands. They were leaning on the tables…. And he just sat there like a statue.
Mike Jones Receives Life Sentence
Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl expressed his disappointment over the life sentence received by Mike Jones, stating, "For me it was devastating. (He tears up) … because we didn't finish the job that we had promised Lena and the family. … I realized at that moment, if I can't get death in this case, what case?"
When asked about the jury's decision, Prosecutor Thomas Bakkedahl recalled, "Yeah. I remember. I'll never forget. It was 11 to 1. … The defense was playing for one holdout the entire time. That's all they need … We needed to be perfect."
Lena Andrews, speaking on a WPEC affiliate tape, stated, "He is still going to die in jail, one way or another. And he is never going to hurt another girl again." Lena added, "At the end of the day, my daughter, Diana, she's not coming home. She's not. And he's still alive."
Lena emphasizes the importance of learning from her daughter's story and being vigilant if something doesn't feel right.
Lena Andrews Advocates for Awareness
Lena Andrews warns, "If this has happened to Diana, it's gonna happen to anybody. If you feel something is not right, listen to yourself, because something is not right." Even after all these years, Diana's bedroom remains untouched, preserving her memory.
Lena Andrews (looking at a painting of Diana): It's one of the older artworks of Diana when she was a child. … In a small village in Moldova. … She seemed a bit grumpy in this painting.
Lena Andrews: I think of Diana the moment I open my eyes in the morning. … She's the last thought on my mind before I drift off to sleep every single night. And it will always be this way.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
Produced by Chris Young Ritzen. Marc Goldbaum, David Dow and Michelle Sigona are the development producers. Jennifer Terker and Hannah Vair are the field producers. Gary Winter, Doreen Schechter, George Baluzy and Mike McHugh are the editors. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
