A WEALTHY LABOR LAWYER SHOOTS HIS WIFE FROM THE BACKSEAT OF A CAR – WAS IT A TRAGIC ACCIDENT OR COLD-BLOODED MURDER?
“48 Hours” Investigates in “The Last Ride Home”
Saturday, April 28, 10:00 PM ET/PT
Click Here for a Preview
This is known for sure: wealthy Atlanta lawyer Tex McIver shot his wife
from the backseat of a car while their friend drove them home from
their family farm on Sept. 25, 2016.
What
is unknown, however, is whether it was a tragic accident or
cold-blooded murder. Maureen Maher and 48 HOURS investigate the incident
and the case against McIver in “The Last Ride Home” to be broadcast Saturday, April 28 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Diane McIver died from a gunshot wound to the back on Sept. 26, 2016.
Exactly what led to the gunshot is at the heart of the murder case
against McIver. It’s a story that raises questions about race, class and
whether money can come between those more fortunate.
“This
was an enormously high-profile case,” says Bill Rankin, a reporter for
the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a 48 HOURS consultant. “They were a
big-time power couple.”
Tex
and Diane McIver were riding in a car driven by friend Dani Jo Carter.
When traffic got bad, Diane told Carter to get off the interstate and
take backroads toward the tony Buckhead section of Atlanta.
That’s where the story takes a turn. Diane was in the front passenger
seat. Tex was behind her. He says he asked for the .38 caliber handgun
he kept in the car’s console because he was concerned about the
neighborhood they were in at the time. Diane handed him the weapon. He
told police he fell asleep and that the gun accidentally went off. Diane
was shot in the back. Carter sped to a hospital four miles away at
Tex’s insistence, even though one of the best trauma centers in Georgia
was closer. He never dialed 911. Diane later died on the operating
table, but not before telling doctors she thought the shooting was an
accident.
Three days later, a spokesperson issued a statement for McIver,
expanding on the reason for holding the gun, says Rankin. “Tex told him
that he asked for the gun because they were either homeless people,
carjackers or Black Lives Matter protesters,” Rankin says.
In December 2016, the Atlanta Police Department investigated the
shooting and decided that it was not intentional. The Fulton County
District Attorney charged McIver with involuntary manslaughter and
reckless conduct. But the district attorney’s office thought there was
more to the shooting and conducted their own investigation. Four months
later, they charged McIver with the murder of his wife. The trial began
in March and ended this week in Atlanta.
Was it an accident as McIver maintains? Or did McIver want his wife dead, as prosecutors claim?
McIver’s attorney Bruce Harvey admits the trigger must be pulled for a
.38 to fire. “Clearly a trigger was pulled. The question is,” Harvey
tells Maher, “was that a voluntary, knowing and intentional action, or
an involuntary action based upon an accident?”
“Tex absolutely adored Diane,” says family friend Anne Schwall.
Two months after the shooting, Tex McIver started selling off some of
his late wife’s worldly goods. Likewise, Carter told prosecutors Tex
initially told her to tell police she wasn’t in the car that night. Both
points raised red flags for investigators.
“I
think there are people who absolutely believe that he killed his wife
for whatever reason, probably for money,” says Rankin. “People get
killed over money all the time.”
Harvey, however, dismisses the idea that McIver planned to kill his wife while riding in the back of a car.
“That’s
the dumbest plan on the history of the planet,” Harvey says. “And
anybody that thinks that that is the way that Tex McIver deliberately
killed his wife is just living in a fantasy world.”
Maher and 48 HOURS report the story through interviews with friends of
the McIvers, his attorney and others, and they are in the courtroom for
the verdict. 48 HOURS: “The Last Ride Home” is produced by Judy Rybak
and Josh Gaynor. Michelle Feuer is the development producer. Lauren A.
White is the associate producer. Jud Johnston, Paulo Bolivar and Lesli
Theobald are the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Nancy
Kramer is the executive story editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior
executive producer.
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