ATLANTA -- The only witness to the shooting of business magnate Diane McIver took the stand on Monday, recounting in detail the moments before and after her friend of 40 years was fatally wounded.
Dani Jo Carter was driving the night that Tex McIver allegedly shot and killed his wife with a gun his representation claims he pulled out to protect himself in a bad neighborhood.
Carter said Tex McIver warned them when they first got off of the Downtown Connector to bypass construction traffic that the area, Edgewood Avenue, wasn't safe.
In her testimony, Monday, Carter said that Tex asked his wife to get his gun.
"She said, 'Tex, I don't even know where the gun is'," Carter said.
She claimed Tex then told her it was in a plastic bag in the center console.
Those instructions became the last thing she heard from Tex before the explosive sound of gunfire that ultimately led to Diane's death.
"She turned around and said, 'Tex, what did you do?' Carter said.
According to Carter, he responded that the gun discharged. Carter said at that moment, she froze with her hands on the steering wheel looking at the red light - not yet aware that her passenger had been shot. That realization was provided by Diane herself.
"She said, 'Tex, you shot me'," Carter said.
Carter said she, at first, didn't believe Diane, thinking her comment was a joke. When she saw Diane lean over, she realized her friend was actually injured. Carter said she then began taking directions from Tex as he held his wife's head. Carter said she was directed to go to Emory and, not knowing the area well enough, took his directions - a trip she estimated at around 15 to 20 minutes.
Carter said she never called 911 because her phone was in the back and had not been working correctly all weekend. She said Tex also had a phone on a charger but also never called.
Throughout the drive, Carter said Tex repeated his wife's name as he held her head but was otherwise emotionally "contained" and never, to her knowledge, worked to stop the bleeding.
She said she rushed through several red lights to get her friend to Emory after a day that had originally been mundane.
Tex, Diane, and Carter were all coming home from a trip to a ranch owned by the McIvers in Putnam County that night. Carter said she didn't hear a harsh word between the two while they were together and said the two went off alone to play golf while she greeted guests who were bringing their horses for exercise.
Carter said the two didn't take showers after their outing and had bags ready to go as soon as they returned.
The three then began heading back toward Atlanta with Diane in the driver's seat. Carter said both Tex and Diane drank wine on the way, sharing a container and passing it back and forth.
She said they all stopped at a Longhorn's Steakhouse in Conyers further down the road. There, Carter said they were surprised at the crowd and waited at the bar - Tex and Diane having even more wine.
Carter said they also had a bottle of wine brought to the table and remained for about two hours before leaving for town. She was driving this time instead of Diane.
PHOTOS | The SUV Diane McIver was killed in
It would be several miles down the road, in Atlanta, that the gun would go off and kill Diane. While the moments of the shooting itself have been a main point of discussion, attorneys also looked into what happened afterward at the hospital.
While at the hospital, Carter said Tex shared a warning with her.
"He said, 'I don't trust these guys, 'I hate to see you get wrapped up in this, I've seen how these things can go down. You just need to say you came down here as a friend of the family'," she said.
Carter said the request took her "breath away" as she explained that as the driver, it wouldn't make sense that she was there without a vehicle.
His response, she said, was that "they don't know that."
She reiterated that she was not going to lie to which he allegedly said he wasn't asking that. But that wasn't their only interaction that night. Carter said Tex at one point began looking through his phone and, seemingly looking through her, said: "I know this doesn't look good."
He then got on his phone and soon, criminal defense attorney Stephen Maples arrived.
The jury will be charged with the responsibility of deciding whether or not McIver intentionally killed his wife in the coming days and while more will likely take the stand, Carter will be the only one - other than possibly Tex McIver himself - who were eyewitnesses to the crime.
