Diana Duve

**Diana Duve** (May 27, 1988 - June 23, 2014) was a 26-year-old nurse who was murdered by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Michael Jones.

## Events

### Backstory

Diana Duve was a 26-year-old woman who resided in Vero Beach, Florida. Duve moved from Moldova to the United States at the age of 13 to live with her mother, Lena Andrews. Lena Andrews had relocated to Florida to marry a businessman named Bill Andrews.

Duve worked as a nurse for cancer patients at the Sebastian River Medical Centre. She met wealth manager Michael Jones in the summer of 2013 at a bar in Vero Beach, Florida. Within a few months, Diana had moved in with Jones, however during a fight Jones allegedly tried to strangle Duve with his hands which led to a break-up and the latter moving out of the house.

Even after the breakup, Jones, who was 32 at the time, continued to pursue the 26-year-old nurse, sending her messages.

### Disappearance

On June 19, 2014, the former couple decided to meet at a local bar, What-A-Tavern. Duve was spotted leaving the establishment with her ex at 1:15 am. About a half-hour later, she even informed her mother Lena Andrews that she won't be coming home that night.

The following day, Diana Duve failed to return home and after her family's unsuccessful efforts to look for her, she was officially reported missing. Duve's mother then called Jones, who claimed that she was with him and that "everything is OK." He refused to let her parents speak to her, who then rushed to his apartment and found that he had disappeared.

### Investigation

Investigators knew that in order to find Diana, they needed to find Mike Jones. The concern for Duve grew 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, where he withdrew $2500 in cash.

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. 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.

Using cellphone tower pings they were able to track him to a Hampton Inn, about 25 minutes south of Vero Beach. Reports state that local authorities located in the hotel's parking lot and surveillance footage revealed that he checked into the establishment nearly 24 hours after Diana Duve went missing. There, he was arrested for a parole violation but refused to talk about Duve or her whereabouts.

Investigators, once again used cellphone pings and traced a burner phone the suspect was using. They even examined hours of surveillance footage and finally spotted him driving his missing ex's car. Local authorities were alerted to be on the lookout for Duve's car which was eventually found in a Publix parking lot sometime around 4:30 am.

Diana Duve's body was stashed in the trunk of the vehicle. A subsequent autopsy revealed that the 26-year-old suffered blunt force trauma and was strangled to death.

### Aftermath

Jones was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Duve on June 25, 2014. He plead not guilty to the charges.

Jones was convicted of first-degree murder on October 22, 2019.
He received a life in prison sentence without the possibility of parole on November 20, 2019.

Michael Jones is currently incarcerated at Santa Rosa Correctional Institution Annex.

## News

*For news articles on Diana Duve, see here.*

## In popular media

* 48 Hours - *Where Is Diana Duve?* (2023)