On Sept. 25, 2016, Claud “Tex” McIver shot his wife Diane in the back as a friend drove the couple through Midtown in their SUV. Diane was dead within hours. McIver, a prominent and politically connected lawyer, says he loved his wife and that the discharge of his .38 revolver was a tragic accident. But the Fulton County district attorney believes McIver intended to kill his wife and will try him for malice murder.
AJC legal affairs writer Bill Rankin take you deep inside the case against McIver in Season 5 of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Breakdown” podcast, “The Tex McIver Murder Case.” You can listen to the episodes at the links below, or go to the iTunes store to binge listen the entire series.
The AJC has followed the McIver case from its beginning. Follow our extensive coverage of the case, including:
- AJC’s full coverage of the McIver case
- Map: How the McIver shooting unfolded
- Photos: Witnesses in the Tex McIver trial
- A timeline of the Tex McIver case
- McIver shooting a tale of love, race and class
- McIver faced charges in 1990 shooting of teens’ car
- Did McIver try to influence witnesses? Listen to the calls
- McIver auction is fascinating and awkward
EPISODE 1: The McIver Murder Case: Insisting that it was an accident, Claud "Tex" McIver will soon stand trial for the murder of his wife, Diane. Although Daine told ER surgeons it was an accident just before she died, the state has indicted Tex with malice murder. The year since Diane died has seen some extraordinary and often bizarre turns.
EPISODE 2: The Courtship of Tex and Diane McIver: Tex McIver couldn't get the new resident of the luxury condo complex out of his mind. She ignored all his entreaties to meet him, and he finally contrived to "bump into" her at the complex's gym early one morning. Diane was a powerful and successful businesswoman who eventually would marry Tex. But on a sultry September might a year ago, he killed her.
EPISODE 2.5: McIver Trial Delayed: Neither the prosecution nor the defense is ready. The prosecution asks for a continuance, saying it would be unfair to proceed because the defense is unprepared. The defense calls the move disingenuous, saying it’s really the prosecution that wants more time. Meanwhile, prosecutors get slammed for continuing to search for a motive long after they indicted Tex McIver.
EPISODE 3: Muddy Waters: A hard-charging prosecutor goes up against a famed duo of defense attorneys as Claud “Tex” McIver’s murder trial begins in one week. Chief Assistant DA Clint Rucker can cominate the courtroom by sheer force of his personality. Bruce Harvey and Don Samuel have a long history of (successfully) defending a long list of high-profile clients, from NFL stars to rappers and strippers.
EPISODE 4: Legal Strategy: Both the prosecution and the defense have enormous challenges facing them as the trial begins. For the prosecutors, it’s a question of motive. For the defense, it’s the defendant himself.
EPISODE 5: Already Decided? One prospective juror after another is dismissed for cause because he or she believes Tex McIver intended to kill his wife. At the end of a long week of jury selection, the parties are finally able to qualify a poll of sufficient size that they can select 12 jurors and four alternates from it. But the defense must be troubled by the sheer number of people who had already made up their minds.
EPISODE 6: McIver Goes to Trial: The state opens the Claud “Tex” McIver murder trial by detonating some new bombshells. McIver, the prosecution says, provided six different versions of what happened to his wife on the night she was shot. Or did he?
EPISODE 7: Dani Jo Testifies: The state calls Dani Jo Carter -- the only witness to the shooting of Diane McIver. She is on the stand for more than two full days and tells the prosecution that Tex McIver asked her to lie about being in the SUV that night.
EPISODE 8: Killer, or Just Not a Good Guy? If prosecutors can’t prove Tex McIver is a cold-blooded killer, can they sway the jury by suggesting that he is a man you can neither trust nor like?
EPISODE 9: The Pilloried Policeman: The prosecution puts up the chief homicide investigator and then tries its best to show how deficient the police investigation was. Normally the district attorney and the police are on the same side. Not this time.
EPISODE 10: Some Surprises from the Defense: The state rests after putting up more than 70 witnesses. The defense case-in-chief takes only 2 ½ days, including the mysterious masseuse.
EPISODE 10.5: The Jury is Out: The jury gets the case and deliberates, deliberates, deliberates.
EPISODE 11: The Verdict: The jury finally comes back after four days and delivers a confusing verdict that appears to say McIver intended to shoot his wife, but didn't intend to kill her.
EPISODE 12: The Georgia Supreme Court Strikes Again: Four years after the McIver trial, the state high court overturns his conviction.
