The murder trial of prominent Atlanta lawyer Claud ‘Tex’ McIver continues on Friday. McIver is accused of murdering his wife Diane McIver on Sept. 25, 2016. He claims it was an accident. Watch live on the Law&Crime Network in the player above.
McIver has said that he was holding a gun while seated in the backseat of a car for protection as he rode with his wife and their friend Dani Jo Carter through what he felt was a dangerous neighborhood, with Carter driving. At some point, he claims, he fell asleep, and then awoke with a start and accidentally fired the weapon, shooting Diane through her seat in the process. Diane was taken to a local hospital. Tex’s defense claims that before she died, Diane said the shooting “was an accident.”
On Thursday, the jury viewed video of police questioning McIver two days after Diane’s death. McIver told his side of the story, saying he asked for his gun while they were driving in an area that worried him. He said he believes he fell asleep in the backseat, but awoke when the car came to a stop.
“Dani Jo came to a stop, and I was handling the gun,” he said. “I didn’t realize it was in my lap and it went off.”
A couple things didn’t quite match up with what Carter described during her three days of testimony. He claimed that after the gun went off, he asked if everyone was okay, but Carter said McIver didn’t say anything at all. He also claimed to have only had a little bit of wine at dinner on the day of the shooting, but Carter described how he had been drinking throughout the evening.
Stay with Law&Crime.com and the Law&Crime Network for continuing coverage of the trial.
[Image via WSB screengrab]
