Day two of the trial against prominent Atlanta attorney Tex McIver begins on Wednesday. McIver is accused of shooting and killing his wife in 2016, then attempting to influence witnesses after the shooting.
More information on McIver’s alleged motive is expected to surface on Wednesday. Prosecutors indicated previously that the lawyer was strapped for cash after a demotion and pay cut, and feared his wife would change her will and cut him out of her inheritance. The prosecution plans to describe more of McIver’s hardships, including a reported fear of losing his land at Putnam Ranch.
Prosecutor: At the time of their marriage, Diane McIver was worth $12-million. pic.twitter.com/9FQSv3DnoA
— Mike Petchenik (@MPetchenikWSB) March 13, 2018
As CrimeOnline previously reported, McIver admitted he shot wife, Diane, in the back of the head while he rode in the back of an SUV as she sat in the passenger seat. He said, however, that the gun accidentally discharged and that he never meant to harm her.
The incident occurred in September 2016, while the couple’s friend, Patricia Carter, also know known as Dani Jo, drove the vehicle, a Ford Expedition. The initial story was that McIver became alarmed as they drove past Piedmont Park in Atlanta, and grabbed a gun stored in the vehicle’s center console as they passed a “Black Lives Matter” protest.
McIver claimed that while holding the gun for protection, it discharged and struck Diane in the back. She died a few hours later during surgery. Prior to surgery, the victim reportedly told a physician that she didn’t want to see her husband.
“When I went to intubate her I said, um, ‘You want me to intubate?’ or ‘I’m going to put this tube down your throat.’ And she said, ‘Yes, please,” Dr. Suzanne Hardy of Emory Hospital said. “So then I asked, ‘Do you want to see your husband?’ I don’t know why that just came to me. And she said, ‘No.’”
One of McIver’s lawyers, Don Samuel, said that Diane McIver declining to see her husband didn’t mean he shot her intentionally. The attorney said the victim said the shooting was an accident several times without being prompted.
Prosecution said that the case could take around a month to complete, given the lengthy details and hundreds of witnesses expected to be called in.
McIver is facing charges of felony murder, malice murder, and influencing witnesses.
[Feature Photo: Tex McIver, Diane McIver/Fulton County DA]
