Murder Trail

The search for the killer of a Fountain Valley woman has led investigators to believe she was the innocent victim of a murder-for-hire plot gone awry. Here are some of those who have been caught up in the unfolding mystery.

* Jane Carver: 46-year-old flight attendant fatally shot June 10 while running on Warner Avenue, less than a block from her home near Mile Square Regional Park. Volunteers distributed more than 250,000 fliers seeking leads. Police now say she was the mistaken victim of a contract hit.

* Leonard Owen Mundy: 42-year-old electrician arrested Saturday at his Los Angeles home for Carver’s murder. Police allege Mundy had business dealings with Premium Commercial Services Corp. of Huntington Beach and was enlisted in a murder-for-hire scheme to kill another woman who lived in Carver’s community. Mundy lives with his wife of six years, 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. Friends described him as a generous man who often volunteered to mow lawns for neighbors.

* James Wengert: 48-year-old owner of a financial investigations firm who was shot in the face April 10 at his San Clemente business and survived. Police allege the gunman was a business associate of Premium Commercial, which seized the couple’s Fountain Valley home over a debt of more than $400,000.

* Margaret “Peggy” Wengert: 49-year-old wife of James Wengert who sued Premium Commercial three days before Carver was killed in Fountain Valley. She may have been the intended target of the contract killer, according to a source close to the case. In her lawsuit, she alleged the finance company used strong-arm tactics to take the couple’s home.

* Paul Alleyne: Owner of a Los Angeles auto parts store and an alleged associate of Premium Commercial. Alleyne, 32, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of James Wengert, who owed money to the finance company.

* Coleman Allen: Founding president of Premium Commercial who pleaded no contest last year to assault charges for hitting a borrower with a pipe wrench during a Signal Hill business meeting. Allen, who later died from a heart attack, also was under continuing investigation by Signal Hill police, investigators said Tuesday.

Compiled by Renee Tawa from staff reports