Diane McIver (left), Tex McIver (right) — Photos via Law&Crime Network Court Livestream
The retrial for a prominent Atlanta attorney accused of murdering his wife in an “accidental shooting” is scheduled to begin this week.
Jury selection for the case against Claud “Tex” McIver, 81, began Monday, with opening statements expected by midweek. McIver was originally found guilty of the September 2016 killing of his wife, Diane McIver, 64 — but the 2018 conviction was overturned in 2022 after Georgia’s highest court ruled he did not receive a fair trial.
The crime
Tex and Diane McIver were married in November 2005. Many referred to them as an “Atlanta power couple” — Tex McIver was a big partner at a national labor and employment law firm and Diane McIver was a corporate executive of U.S. Enterprises Inc.
In Tex McIver’s first trial, the defense told the jury that the two were very much in love with each other and Diane McIver’s death was a sad, horrible accident.
On the evening of Sept. 25, 2016, one of Diane McIver’s good friends, Dani Jo Carter, was driving both Diane and Tex McIver back to their wealthy Buckhead home in the couple’s SUV. The two had just spent a weekend at their horse ranch that was 70 miles east of Atlanta.
There was heavy traffic, so Carter pulled off the interstate and took a downtown Atlanta exit. Diane McIver was in the front seat and Tex McIver was in the back seat.
Tex McIver (left), Diane McIver (right) — Photos via Law&Crime Network Court Livestream
According to investigators, Tex McIver didn’t like the fact that Carter got off the exit, citing the fact that the area was dangerous. He told police he asked his wife to grab his gun from the center console of their SUV. Minutes later, a shot was fired from the gun into Diane McIver’s back.
Carter testified in the first trial that she heard a loud boom and then realized the gun had gone off. She said she expected Diane McIver to yell at Tex McIver, but instead, Diane McIver sat straight up and said, “Tex, you shot me.”
Despite his phone being in arms reach, Tex McIver did not call 911 — instead, he asked Carter to drive to Emory University Hospital, about 15 minutes away, instead of rushing to a closer care facility.
Diane McIver died once she got to the hospital.
Motive?
Tex McIver mug shot (Fulton County Sheriff’s Office)
After the shooting, Carter testified that Tex McIver allegedly asked her to lie about what happened and how everyone was involved. “That took my breath away,” Carter said. “I can’t lie,” she told jurors.
A few days after the shooting, Carter testified that she saw Tex McIver cataloging items belonging to his wife at their home. Later, Tex McIver auctioned off some of those belongings including a ruby and diamond ring valued at more than $60,000, along with earrings and a bracelet worth $20,000 combined.
During his first trial, prosecutors said Tex McIver’s stealthy salary would shortly be cut off as he neared retirement and that he allegedly owed thousands of dollars to Diane McIver. The two are said to have kept their finances separate. Attorneys also claimed Diane McIver had written a new will that didn’t leave much money to Tex McIver, which made him mad.
However, Tex McIver’s lawyers told jurors Diane McIver was worth more to her husband alive than dead thanks to her consistent salary and hefty cash funds.
An overturned conviction
At the 2018 trial, the Fulton County jury found Tex McIver guilty on charges including felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and influencing a witness. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Tex’s defense attorneys filed an appeal following the jury’s verdict that outlined why he received an unfair trial. Four years after his conviction, Georgia’s highest court agreed with the appeal, writing some of the evidence admitted in the first trial shouldn’t have ever been presented.
The Supreme Court also ruled the jury should have considered a lower charge — misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter — instead of felony murder.
Tex McIver (Law&Crime Network Court Livestream)
That ruling limits what the state can enter into evidence in the retrial, including any mention of the alleged newly prepared will of Diane McIver that would cut Tex McIver of funding.
Court Chief Justice wrote “While the State’s evidence was sufficient to support the appellant’s conviction of murder, it also could have supported a finding that the appellant killed the victim without any intention of doing so in the commission of an unlawful act.”
The retrial
Opening statements in Tex McIver’s second trial are expected to begin later this week. Jury selection is currently underway.
Attorneys believe the retrial will last two weeks.
The full trial will be livestreamed on our Law&Crime Trials YouTube channel.
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