Jury selection begins Monday in the high-profile murder trial of a prominent Atlanta attorney who is accused in the shooting death of his wife.
Claud “Tex” McIver is accused of intentionally killing his wife, Diane McIver, in September 2016. Diane McIver died after being shot in the back with a handgun.
McIver’s trial, which is expected to last a month, will be held in Fulton County Superior Court, and could result in more than 90 witnesses being called.
Background
On Sept. 25, 2016, McIver's wife Diane died after being shot while riding in an SUV near Piedmont Park. Her husband, a prominent attorney, said he was dozing in the backseat of the vehicle when his revolver fired. He has always maintained the shooting was "a terrible accident."
McIver had originally been charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and felony involuntary manslaughter in the September 2016 death of Diane McIver.
He was released on $200,000 bond, with conditions that included wearing of an ankle monitor, surrendering his passport and having no contact with anyone employed with Diane's business. At the time, he was also told he was not allowed to carry any weapons. That bond was revoked, however, after a gun was found inside his Buckhead condominium. Prosecutors said they also believed Tex was hiding a secret will that his wife drafted prior to her death.
The following April 2017, a Fulton County grand jury returned an indictment upping McIver's charges to malice murder and six other counts, including three counts of efforts to unlawfully influence witnesses in the case.
According to the indictment, Tex McIver is accused of instructing the woman driving the SUV at the time of the shooting, Dani Jo Carter, to tell authorities that she was not present when Diane was shot.
The indictment also states that McIver told Charles William Crane to retract a statement that Crane made to news media after the shooting. Crane had detailed the moments after the incident to 11Alive and other media outlets.
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