Summary: After the murder trial against Atlanta attorney Tex McIver took a break for a week, it resumed Monday.
The murder trial into prominent Atlanta attorney Tex McIver continued Monday after a week-long break. The attorney, accused of murdering his wife, is facing charges of malice murder, felony murder, three counts of influencing witnesses and other related charges, according to Crime Online.
The Fulton County grand jury had indicted McIver for murdering his wife, Diane McIver, from the back seat of their Ford Expedition SUV while she sat in the front seat in September 2016. He had claimed his .38-caliber snub-nose revolver went off by accident but the evidence suggested otherwise.
Prosecutors pointed out McIver’s behavior after the shooting as a cause for alarm and the reason for the additional charges beyond murder. This included telling the woman driving the SUV, Patricia “Dani Jo” Carter, that she was not there at the time of the incident. Carter was close friends with Diane. Then weeks later McIver called Carter’s husband, Thomas Carter, to tell him to make Dani Jo stop talking with the police about the incident.
McIver also allegedly told a family friend, Charles William Crane, to retract a Black Lives Matter statement he had made to the media. McIver had asked Crane to act as his spokesperson and explain to the public that the gun had been pulled out while they were near a Black Lives Matters protest. McIver later changed his mind about the statement.
The potential motive to the murder being explored by prosecutors was Diane’s money. She was the president of U.S. Enterprises Inc. and had apparently created a secret will shortly before she was killed. It is also alleged that McIver owed her $350,000. Atlanta defense attorney Renee Rockwell argues that the motive does not make sense since they were married. She said, “What makes no sense is the state’s motive. The jurors in Fulton County are not going to appreciate some motive that he killed his wife because he owed her $350,000. How can you owe your bride $350,000?”
Rockwell believes that McIver’s biggest problem is that he talked to investigators. She explained, “You never tell any kind of story to investigators at all. What happens is you end up painting yourself into a corner.”
The story McIver gave to investigators is that Carter pulled off the highway in Putnam County, Georgia because they were afraid of the BLM protests in the area. Crane explained that McIver took the gun from the middle console of the SUV in order to protect themselves from the protestors but that the gun accidentally went off and hit his wife.
Eventually, he told another story to the police that he had pulled the gun out because he was afraid of homeless people in the area. He claims he fell asleep in the back seat when the gun accidentally went off.
The upgrade to the charges came when McIver was found to have violated his bond conditions. McIver was originally arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor reckless conduct. He was released on bond but police found a gun hidden in his sock drawer, providing cause to arrest McIver again on Wednesday.
McIver’s attorneys claim that McIver has his own money so the motive to kill his wife for money is bogus. Even with that claim, a Fulton County judge ordered him to remain behind bars with no bond.
Do you think a spouse can owe their spouse money? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about other attorneys accused of murder, read these articles:
- Kansas Attorney Accused of Murdering Her Father and His Girlfriend
- Wanted California Attorney Paul Mendoza Allen Found in Idaho
- Attorney Arraigned on Homicide-Solicitation of Murder Charge
Photo: wsbradio.com