Page 6 - Weldon Mcdavid News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> reporter: from an early age, weldon mcdavid was passionate about protecting other people. >> i -- i used to protect my friends on the way home from school. we had a -- bully that -- tried and tried -- to start fights with us. and then i found out that a nicely applied arm lock would get that bully to kiss the street. and we didn't have to run from him anymore. >> reporter: when he grew up, weldon enlisted in the marine corps. after leaving the service, he worked as a firearms instructor. we met weldon back in 2013 when we covered the story of another woman he met at the shooting range. >> a...

Sense of empowerment, and protection, weldon mcdavid gave her. >> he helped me so much. >> it's a very unlikely friendship. >> right, but if i needed him -- if i was worried about something or whatever -- i could just call him. >> reporter: crystal embarked on her new life without her husband. and weldon moved on, too. a few years after befriending crystal, weldon found romance when he met a woman named lea conant. >> i had decided to -- learn how to shoot and buy a firearm and learn how to use it -- i was tired of feeling vulnerable as a woman and being scared of noises at night. >> reporter:...

>> reporter: crystal, a mother of two young sons, told weldon her husband was violent and abusive. she said she wanted to buy a gun for protection. >> so at that point, i asked her, "are you prepared to kill him?" because that is a very real possibility. you know, "if it's his life, your son's life, or your life, then you have to make that decision." and after a few moments, she said, "yes, if i have to." >> reporter: weldon took crystal under his wing, taught her to defend herself even in stressful situations. >> this guy sounds like he was actually looking out for you a little bit? >> yeah. ...

>> and the prosecutor said, that was where weldon came in, the self styled protector. a man prime to react to the exact type of allegations diana was making. >> oh, god! >> remember what he said on dateline, when he hear the recording of had husband's abuse? >> i wanted to really go and kill him. >> reporter: she viewed weldon as a way to get rid of greg. >> she saw in weldon the exact kind of person that she'd need to carry it out. and it is somebody who has a hero complex. and she needed somebody that she could manipulate. >> reporter: the prosecutor learned something else. diana admitted th...

And has very good intelligence and humor and -- just a really engaging personality. reporter: weldon told her about his work with crystal harris. >> it was just consistent with what i had heard about different people that he had come alongside and helped them feel more confident and safe. >> reporter: and just like crystal before her, lea felt empowered around weldon. >> he's strong. and i -- i enjoyed his strength. and i felt safe around him. >> reporter: on september 20, 2014, lea became mrs. mcdavid. less than two years later, she gave birth to their son. and somewhere in there, weldon told...