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Closing arguments in the murder trial of Georgia attorney Claud ‘Tex’ McIver will take place on Tuesday. McIver is facing allegations that he intentionally killed his wife Diane McIver on Sept. 25, 2016. Tex McIver admitted that he shot Diane, but insists it was an accident.
McIver is charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of influencing witnesses surrounding the death of his wife, Diane McIver. Prosecutors also accused McIver of bribery.
On September 25,2016, a friend was driving the McIvers when she got off of a highway because it was backed up. Tex McIver, who was asleep in the back seat, woke up and took out a gun because he believed he was in a bad neighborhood and saw people in the street. Diane McIver was in the front passenger seat. At some point, the gun held by Tex McIver went off. McIver later claimed he had fallen asleep again, and that when the car stopped, he lurched forward and accidentally pulled the trigger. He is said to have asked immediately if anyone was hurt. A bullet had traveled through the seat and struck Diane. The driver of the car, Dani Jo Carter, who was Diane McIver’s best friend, at first thought Diane was joking when she said she thought she had been shot. Dani Jo realized it was real when she looked over and saw blood, according to reports. Dani Jo drove to Emory University Hospital, passing two closer hospitals, because she believed the more distant hospital to be better. There, Diane McIver is said to have whispered that the shooting was an accident before ultimately dying during surgery at Emory University Hospital.