Deadly Detour

[00:02] Mazda has been named Consumer Reports' safest new car brand. It starts with our approach. Every Mazda comes standard with proactive safety features. So you're more aware of what's around you, more focused on the road ahead, and ready before problems ever start. [00:19] Mazda. More of what matters most to you. Go to mazdausa.com to learn more. Consumer Reports does not endorse or promote any product. [00:30] Grainger knows when you're a procurement manager for an office park, you're not managing one building. You're managing all of them. And to stay ahead, you need to see through walls and around corners. Lights about to fail, filters ready to clog, HVAC on its last leg. If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering and 24-7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. [00:59] She was more than a high-powered businesswoman. She touched a lot of people's lives. No! No! I was devastated. I can't really go back there. [01:17] He was rich. She was richer. The lawyer and the tycoon. Lavish didn't begin to describe it. Diane was very flamboyant. She was the life of the party. [01:29] They had wealth and power. They knew how to live life. Then came that deadly night. I hear a big explosion. I just knew immediately that I had to get out of there. A single gunshot and she was gone. You said Tex was emotional and distraught. Yes. He's never been the same since. What happened in that dark SUV and what was hiding beneath the surface? It's trying to cover up something. It just took my

[01:59] breath away. She said, I cannot trust anyone else. Power and privilege, love and greed. She was in control of the money. This had to be an intentional act. Did a secret lead to murder? I just looked at him and I said, I can't lie. All that glitters. [02:17] is not actually gold. I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline. [02:33] All they wanted was to get home, turning off the interstate to escape the crawling Atlanta traffic. [02:42] He says, girls, this is the wrong place. We don't need to be here. This is a bad idea. [02:47] It's still hard to fathom what happened next or why. I was trying to figure out where the explosion was. But here's what's pretty clear: one wrong turn really can destroy your life. To think that one moment in time you have an accident and you lose everything after that. [03:07] Our story begins and ends with her, Diane McIver. Nobody knows her better than Danny Jo Carter. Oh, she's beautiful. She's funny. She's brilliant. And she was driven. Oh, she's very driven. Diane was born in Auburn, Alabama, where she survived a sad and difficult childhood. She realized her dreams in Atlanta, a place that matched her ambition. What was she looking for? She was looking for success.

[03:36] Diane was barely out of high school when she went to work at U.S. Enterprises, a company in Atlanta. [03:42] She was a bookkeeper, but soon caught the eye of her boss, Billy Corey. There were some people that were working there that weren't really doing their jobs, and she told them that she could do her job and their job. [03:52] And what happened? I think he fired them and she did their job. [03:57] It was back in the 80s when Danny Joe and Diane first teamed up, best friends and confidants. Danny Joe was a cosmetologist with a front row seat to Diane's brilliant career. She loved crunching numbers and along with Billy Corey I think she learned how to wheel and deal. [04:17] She rose through the ranks and, with her boss's blessing, became president of the company. [04:23] Hiring. Firing. [04:24] and calling the shots. - She would say, "I don't wanna hear about the labor pains. "Just show me the baby." - Jay Grover was a vice president at Diane's company. - When she started in business here in Atlanta, [04:37] there were not a ton of female executives. No, absolutely. And I think that's what, one of the things that really set Diane apart. I mean, she was a [04:46] a woman in a man's world [04:48] She had a big personality, loved clothes, furs, hats, and kits. [04:54] although she never had any of her own. She survived one bad marriage, [04:58] and was in her 50s when she met Tex McIver. [05:01] He was self-made too, a military brat from San Antonio, [05:05] who earned a rep in Atlanta as a labor lawyer.

[05:08] and a champion of Republican candidates. He had great relationships. He had everybody's direct dial and mobile number. Bill Crane is a political commentator and public relations consultant in Atlanta and a longtime friend of Tex's. Tex always described as a gentleman. He was a gentleman. He is a gentleman, both in terms of that old courtly ship manners and standing when a lady enters the room. Tex was divorced too. That's how he ended up living in [05:38] She enjoyed talking to him, but he was too short and he was too old. [05:45] Obviously, she got over that. [05:47] It didn't hurt that he had this ranch east of Atlanta. It was nice enough back when Tex first bought it, but it was fabulous after Diane got through with it. It had a pool, a gun range. [06:00] pawns. [06:01] Horses, a saloon, and some Texas longhorn cattle. That's Diane. [06:08] They were there a lot. Diane was a great hostess. She was the life of the party. [06:14] Soon, Tex and Diane decided to make it permanent, and a wedding date was set. [06:19] November 5, 2005. [06:22] At the ranch. Everyone at the rehearsal could tell. [06:26] this wedding would be over the top. And it was. [06:30] Thank you. [06:32] It looked like something out of a Disney movie. [06:35] Sheriff Howard Sills was on the guest list. [06:38] There were hundreds of people here, people, all aspects of society here. They'd both been married before and decided, this time, to keep finances separate. Nearly a year later,

[06:52] their lives were blessed with a little boy. Sort of. A couple of friends asked Tex and Diane to be godparents to their baby, named Austin. Diane's assistant, Terry Brown, says Diane would do anything for that little boy. He was the sun for her. The moon and the sun, I guess. The stars. He was the whole thing. It's all about Austin. That was never more obvious than at the birthday bashes she and Tex threw for Austin. [07:22] exercise in excess. We love you very much, don't we darling? Yes, forever and ever. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. I love you. [07:34] Three weeks after Austin's 10th birthday, Tex and Diane with their friend Danny Joe were headed home after a weekend at the ranch. They were driving a King Ranch Ford Expedition, virtually identical to this one, and they made a short stop for dinner. It was September 25, 2016, the day everything changed. After dinner, they headed for home, a trip of about 45 minutes. [08:04] So Danny Jo drove. Diane sat next to Danny Jo here in the front seat, and Tex was right behind Diane in the back seat. And off they went.

[08:24] brake lights. Danny Jo says Tex was dozing in the back seat as the two women decided to get off the interstate to avoid the traffic. As we're riding down the ramp, [08:35] Text. [08:36] becomes fully awake I guess and he looks around and he says girls [08:40] I really wish you hadn't done this. This is a bad idea. This is a bad area. That's when Tex McIver made a request of his wife. And Tex said, [08:50] said, [08:51] "Darlin, will you hand me my gun?" Tex regularly kept a gun in that car. [08:56] It was right in the center console, a Smith & Wesson .38 caliber revolver. And so she reaches down and gets it and hands it back to him. The plastic bag? Mm-hmm. In minutes, they were out of the sketchy area and moving up Piedmont Avenue to the cushier parts of Midtown. Everything was normal, unremarkable. We were talking about [09:22] politics and the debates. And what is Tex doing? He wasn't really talking. I kind of [09:28] I thought that he'd gone back to sleep. [09:30] They were at Piedmont and 14th Street.

[10:00] You shot me. [10:03] When we come back... Tex was calling her name, and she was kind of breathing panicky. He said, there's been an accident. What happened in that SUV? The questions began. I was handling the gun. I didn't realize it was in my lap. I'm going to cry. The love of my life. [10:34] Danny Joe Carter's best friend Diane had just been shot right at Piedmont and 14th in Midtown, Atlanta. What was crazy, impossible to understand, was that the shooter was Diane's own husband, Tex, sitting right behind Diane in their SUV. She started making these noises that I'd never heard before. [10:58] her die. A street sign pointed the way to Emory University Hospital. Tex told Danny Jo to head there. Tex was calling her name and he leaned forward and [11:11] kind of grabbed her head and she was [11:14] kind of breathing panicky. They arrived at Emory. That's Tex in the red shirt. Hospital personnel heard him yelling gunshot and Diane went into the ER. Less than an hour later, a doctor came out to tell Tex and Danny Joe that Diane was alert. And she said that, um,

[11:33] that Diane had spoken. [11:35] and, um, [11:36] that her heart was strong. They had taken her up to surgery [11:40] By then, police had arrived. They wanted to talk to Danny Joe... [11:43] Outside. They wanted to drive the route. [11:46] - Oh, they drove the route with you right then? - Yes. [11:49] Then they took her to headquarters for questioning. She told the police what happened in the car. [12:05] As she sat there, Danny Jo was still thinking Diane was going to be okay. But then... They had gotten a call. [12:14] and they both left the room. I was sitting alone, and then I get this text [12:19] from my husband that Diana died. [12:30] Thank you. [12:33] laughter [12:34] Thank you. [12:36] Thank you. [12:37] It turned out the gunshot wound through Diane's back was catastrophic. The blood loss, too great. [12:53] I couldn't believe it. Diane McIver, so much larger than life in so many ways, was suddenly gone. Tex called me in the early hours of the morning, and he said, there's been an accident, and we've lost Diane. Dixie Martin, Tex's sister.

[13:11] How long until you realized that the accident involved something that he had done? [13:15] later in the conversation. [13:17] And he was very emotional on the phone. I mean... [13:21] We were both crying. - What was it like to break that news to people at the office? - It was, [13:27] It was heartbreaking. [13:29] Diane's company put her picture up on their landmark tower in Atlanta. [13:33] All the while, police were trying to figure out what exactly had happened in that car that night. Three days after the shooting, Tex and his attorney Steve Maples went to answer their questions. [13:47] Maples offered a preview. His only recollection is he had the brown paper bag, I mean plastic bag, and he's holding it down like this. [13:58] He said he didn't play with the hammer. [14:01] Yeah, he didn't pull it back to full cost. [14:03] This is Texas attorney saying the gun wasn't cocked. [14:07] You'll want to remember that part. [14:10] Tex himself entered shortly after and went over the whole story. [14:14] explaining why he was so scared on that drive he felt he needed his gun. We went through an area I thought that was particularly dangerous. At night, I'd seen police vehicles there. It's a route I take from my office to her office. That's one that has a particularly high population of homeless people. And I quickly said, this is a big mistake and we're in a place that we don't belong. That, Tech said, is when he asked for the gun.

[14:44] That seemed to pass, and Tech said he fell back asleep. Anyway, I'm just, just time to wake up. But she came to a stop, and I was handling the gun. I realized it was in my lap, and it went off. [15:03] He seemed emotional as he recalled how doctors told him his wife was dead. Two surgeons in scrubs and a chap come around the corner and start walking towards him. I actually looked behind me, hoping it was somebody else. [15:20] Sorry. No, no. Take it down. [15:23] The love of my life. [15:26] If Tex McIver had done nothing after that, if he'd kept his mouth shut, if he'd just grieved, [15:33] we probably wouldn't be telling you this story. But doing nothing? That's just not Tex McIver. Coming up, a media firestorm and Tex provides the match. Tex's comment gets blown up into [15:50] he's making this up to get out of the fact that he shot his wife. Could this have been more than an accident? There were no tears. There was no... I never saw him cry. When Dateline continues. [16:03] . [16:06] Need to pay a friend back for festival tickets or a morning coffee run? Apple Cash makes it simple. Just tap plus in the Messages app to find Apple Cash. No need to jump between apps or search for usernames. It's a private and secure way to send money. Send cash right in the chat with Apple Cash. Apple Cash services are provided by Green Dot Bank. Member FDIC. Terms apply.

[16:34] Earning your college degree can be a big win. [16:38] But it can also be a big commitment. [16:40] Southern New Hampshire University understands. [16:43] They work hard to make learning flexible, offering more than 200 programs you can take online. [16:50] And with no set class times, you can do it all on your schedule. [16:53] Life is busy. [16:55] But your goals don't have to wait. [16:57] Visit snhu.edu slash dateline to learn more. Insurance is not one size fits all. [17:05] That's why drivers have trusted progressives' "name your price" tool for years. [17:10] Just tell Progressive what you want to pay. [17:13] And they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget. [17:16] Visit Progressive.com to find a car insurance rate that works for you. [17:21] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. [17:33] The death of Diane McIver at the hand of her husband, Tex, was big news in Atlanta. New at five, an Atlanta lawyer who says that he accidentally shot and killed his wife. And with two wealthy, prominent people involved in a shooting, rumors were on everyone's lips. [17:51] That's when Bill Crane, a public relations consultant, offered to help his old friend Tex. [17:57] Social media was reporting a lot of wild rumors. Yes, they were. For example. And particularly on Facebook, that Mr. MacGyver's having an affair with the driver. Now, you weren't. There's nothing to that. No. You think there's any chance he was having an affair with somebody else? I never, I never thought so.

[18:15] Tex had given his statement to police, but the online rumors continued. There were also more substantive questions, like why would the gun just go off? According to Bill Crane, Tex said it happened after the car jolted. [18:29] That was part of Tex's initial account to me, that he was jarred awake, he thought, by a bump in the road. And why in the first place would Tex suddenly feel threatened by a homeless encampment he'd driven past many times before? And I ask him that. Bill says Tex claimed he was thinking of several 2016 Black Lives Matter protests in Atlanta, and how protests in other places had gotten violent. [18:59] homeless people, were they going to carjack us or were they Black Lives Matter protesters? But I was concerned. Tex apparently thought that would help explain to the public why he asked for the gun. So he told Bill to give that story to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. [19:15] It didn't exactly work as planned. Tex's comment, he didn't know whether the people around the car were [19:23] homeless people or some kind of street criminal or a Black Lives Matter protest. It's blown up into bonfire of the vanities writ large in life, and he's making this up to get out of the fact that he shot his wife. [19:37] And that comment somehow morphs into, I saw a Black Lives Matter protest and I was afraid. That's correct, which he never said and I never said that he said.

[19:45] The story, with its racial overtones, went viral. While Tex was fighting to repair his public image, Diane's colleagues were questioning his behavior after her death. There were no tears. There was no... I never saw him cry. Ken Rickert is the company's general counsel. I never heard him say, it was a tragic accident. I'm so sorry. [20:09] Tex looked crushed, crying, sad. [20:12] I didn't detect any of that. [20:15] He was just kind of matter of fact. [20:19] Diane's colleagues also thought Tech seemed way too interested in how his financial situation would change now that Diane was dead. [20:28] asked a very strange question about [20:31] Did I know anything about Social Security? Could he get [20:34] any of Diane's benefits. I was [20:38] shocked. [20:39] Tex's sister Dixie says she was flabbergasted that anyone thought Tex wasn't behaving appropriately. [20:46] She says he was clearly devastated by Diane's death. He cried all the time. I don't know why no one else has seen this. Tears running down his face. [20:56] He's never been the same since. [20:58] Imagine losing your loved one at your own hand. [21:02] And that's what he had to face. In perhaps another effort to counteract all the rumors and innuendo, Tex decided on his own to take a lie detector test, administered by an examiner his attorneys hired.

[21:15] I think it's important to note that he passed with flying colors. Diane, we love you and we're gonna miss you. But a month after her death, Tex walked into the lion's den. [21:27] at the company memorial service for Diane. [21:30] Dixie attended with Tex, and it was an evening she came to regret. We walked in through a little gangplank-looking thing, and to the left is her jaguar. [21:43] with a light on it and a red rose on the hood. [21:46] And I'm thinking, "Okay." They passed Diane's car and entered a large room. [21:53] And there's a mannequin with Diane's clothes on it. [21:56] with godson Austin at his side. [21:59] Did Tex even notice the undercurrent in the room? [22:03] Dixie sure did. [22:04] And as I'm walking around, I notice that my brother is not in any of the photographs, not on the video. [22:11] He has been [22:13] basically erased from her life. No way that could be accidental. Oh gosh, no. They removed him. Yes. [22:20] That was the turning point for me. I realized that they had turned on him. It was a not-so-subtle shift in attitude away from a man who was once considered Diane McIver's loving partner and protector. Maybe he noticed, maybe not. But his next move would get people talking even more. [22:42] Coming up, luxury for sale. There were over 100 jewelry items. Auctioning off Diane's estate. Another mistake. That's a taste. This doesn't, that doesn't look good. I mean, if you don't have to do this right now, don't do it. And that frantic drive. Wait a minute, he's telling you to slow down? Yes. When Dateline continues.

[23:14] With police investigating, rumors flying, and even old friends becoming suspicious, Tex McIver seemed to be doubling down. About two and a half months after Diane was killed, Tex put her furs, clothes, and jewelry up for sale, even though his friend Sheriff Sills told him, bad idea. [23:38] It doesn't look good. I mean, if you don't have to do this right now, don't do it. [23:45] But he did. Never met a mannequin she didn't like. That's right. [23:51] Auction house owner Robert Ehlers ran the sale. [23:54] And even he was impressed. How many pieces total? There were over 100 jewelry items. Not costume, but the fine jewelry. And one of the big lots was a pair of diamond studs that were several carats each. [24:08] I heard people were lined up like three and four deep to try on the jewelry. [24:12] Yeah, well before the sale started there were probably 150 to 200 people in line [24:17] So [24:18] to get into the building. So the notoriety helped? The notoriety definitely affected the sale, yeah. [24:24] Did you tell him that unloading all of Diane's stuff so soon after she died [24:30] was going to be seen by some people as [24:33] sort of callous? No, and I don't think it was callous. [24:37] And more than that, Texas Sister Dixie says it was necessary. Diane was wealthy by any standard, but her estate was cash poor. Selling her belongings raised money for Diane's bequests. She left money to people that she didn't have.

[24:53] So the estate attorney said the quickest way to raise the cash is, is, [24:59] sell her things. So the idea to sell everything, that came from the attorney, not from Tex. Oh, absolutely. Between the estate sale, the memorial service, and those nonstop rumors, it would have been easy to forget that the police were still quietly investigating Diane's death. On December 21st, 2016, they made their move. Tex McIver was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. Those were, to be sure, serious charges. But they also made [25:29] clear, police believed Tex didn't mean to kill Diane. [25:33] Tex had dodged a murder charge. [25:35] But his sister says Tex didn't seem to get that. He just kept saying, but it was an accident. [25:41] And I said, "But someone died." [25:43] I don't know what he thought. Who knows what was going through his mind at that point. [25:49] Tex McIver was released on bond, and while he seemed clueless about why he was charged with anything, Diane's friends and colleagues wondered if he'd been charged with enough. I was angry. It's like I didn't care. I didn't care what, I was angry. I didn't care what happened to him. In the months since Diane's death, Danny Joe had become suspicious about [26:13] that final, fatal drive. So we asked her to take us along the route they drove that night. [26:21] This is the underpass where Tex says he first began to worry about the homeless people in the area. Danny Joe says there was no danger. Nothing that would have kept you from driving away, going on your way? No. Just a few minutes later, we came to where they made that fateful stop in Midtown Atlanta. And it was, says Danny Joe, just a stop. We were sitting at a red light. No bump? No bump. You know the rest.

[26:50] She says she was frantic, but Tex, she says, was calm. As a matter of fact, at some point a little bit farther up, he told me to slow down and be careful that there might be people out here walking with baby carriages. Wait a minute, his wife's wounded in the front seat here by his hand, and he's telling you to slow down? [27:16] Yes. [27:20] police showed up. And that, according to Danny Joe, is when Tex said the weirdest thing. He looked past me and he said, I don't trust these guys. I hate to see you get wrapped up in this, Danny Joe. [27:34] I've seen how these things can go down. [27:37] And he said, "You just need to tell them "that you're down here as a friend of the family." Wait a minute, you're here as a friend of the family, [27:45] and not as the person who was driving the car when the shooting happened? - Right. And so I leaned down again, [27:51] Well, I said, "Tex, I just drove you into the emergency room." [27:54] And he looks at me and he goes, "Well, they don't know that." [27:57] And I thought... [27:58] I'd [27:59] What do you mean they don't know that? Danny Jo shared her misgivings with Diane's co-workers. They were now convinced Atlanta police hadn't dug deeply enough. [28:10] Jay Grover was skeptical of Tex's claim that the gun had just gone off. [28:15] This does not make [28:17] sins. [28:19] logically

[28:20] It just doesn't make sense what he's saying. [28:23] something wasn't right. [28:25] It turns out Fulton County Prosecutor Clint Rucker was thinking the very same thing. There was no malfunctioning with the gun at the time that it was discharged. It was in perfect operating condition. It had 12 pounds of pressure required to pull the trigger. Meaning it's not easy to do. It's not easy to do. And it became very clear to me that this had to be an intentional act. [28:48] Diane's colleagues gave the DA her computer and files, hoping Rucker might find more evidence. And that is when the evolution of the motive then developed. [28:58] Rucker's investigators found documents suggesting Tex was in financial trouble. [29:03] What's more, Diane's colleagues revealed she'd been working on a new will. Rucker wanted to find that will, so he got a search warrant for the ranch and condo. No will turned up, but something else did. [29:16] A Glock in Tex's condo. That was a violation of his bond, so Tex went back to jail. [29:23] The next day, Rucker filed new charges, and the Tex McIver case escalated from careless accident to malice murder. It was, according to Tex's sister Dixie, preposterous. If you were going to kill your wife, is that the way you choose to do it? It makes no sense. Who commits a murder with a witness that you can't control sitting right there? Exactly. Absolutely an accident. Coming up, Tex McIver on trial.

[29:53] close, very affectionate, devoted husband, or desperate spouse. Diane could take control of the ranch by foreclosing on it if the defendant did not pay. When Dateline continues. [30:09] Need to pay a friend back for festival tickets or a morning coffee run? Apple Cash makes it simple. Just tap plus in the Messages app to find Apple Cash. No need to jump between apps or search for usernames. It's a private and secure way to send money. Send cash right in the chat with Apple Cash. Apple Cash services are provided by Green Dot Bank. Member FDIC. Terms apply. [30:39] There's only one Ozempic! Hello, I'm Ozempic. Because this ad is 30 seconds, I can't get into everything I'm FDA approved to do, so I'm just going to play my jingle again. But first, ask your doctor about which FDA approved uses of me, the Ozempic pen, may be right for you. Call 1-833-OZEMPIC or visit Ozempic.com to view the medication guide and learn more about Ozempic semaglutide injection, 2 milligrams. Only Novo Nordisk makes FDA approved Ozempic. Now here's that jingle again. [31:09] . [31:09] Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment.

[31:27] Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. [31:45] The Tex McIvor case had it all. Race, privilege, tragedy, and rich people doing dumb things. And once the trial started in March of 2018, [31:58] Atlanta couldn't get enough. Now, this is a case about maintaining an image of wealth and power that the defendant created for himself and the lengths that he went through to keep it. In her opening statement, then assistant DA Salida Griffin said the motive was money. The state's theory, Diane McIver was carrying her husband financially. Right before their wedding, [32:28] dollars, for which he put up the other half of the ranch as collateral. That Diane could take control of the ranch by foreclosing on it if the defendant did not pay. With Tex near retirement, prosecutor Clint Rucker said he was no longer earning the big salary he needed to pay all the ranch expenses. [32:48] Her star was continuing to rise while his was continuing [32:52] to fall and she would tell him in no uncertain terms you're gonna have to get

[32:57] your money situation together. [32:58] The state's financial expert testified Diane's death made Tex a richer man. So the day before death... [33:07] $1.7 million, Mr. MacGyver's net worth. The day after death, [33:12] 5.9 or 6 million to 6.9 million. What's more, claimed the prosecutor, Diane had quietly made a new will. Receptionist Rachel Stiles remembers making copies of a certain document around late 2014. I went back and handed them to her, and she says... [33:32] Thank you so much. This is my new will. According to the prosecution, in the supposed new will, Diane wanted to leave the ranch to Austin. Tex did not. She said, [33:44] and that created a rift between them. A more concrete piece of evidence was the 38 that killed Diane. Prosecutors showed the jury the police interview with Tex. I was handling the gun. I realized it was in my lap, right? And it went off. [34:02] A gun expert from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation told the jury how the gun worked. If I, uh... Ahem. [34:11] sit down with him. [34:13] and hold it down here in my lap, will it just go off? No. [34:17] If I handle it [34:19] like this in any way. [34:21] Will it just go off? No. It took the prosecution 66 witnesses and 16 days to make its case.

[34:30] The defense team had a shorter, simpler case, but they also had their hands full with a client who hadn't always acted in his own best interest. [34:39] Mr. McGarver just was hell-bent on defending himself at certain times. Was one of your initial pieces of advice to him... [34:47] Please stop talking. 100% absolutely. Like I won't represent you if you keep opening your mouth. Like much worse than that. Okay. There'd be some physical consequences. Amanda Clark Palmer, Don Samuel, Bruce Harvey, three of the best lawyers in Georgia were adept at using prosecution witnesses to bolster their defense. For example, they got the state's forensics expert to agree that in some circumstances, [35:17] unintentional. And again, this weapon, as well as any other weapons, can be unintentionally discharged, correct? It can be, yes. Tex's attorneys pointed out how prosecution witnesses testified Tex and Diane were happy together and planning to stay that way. As far as I can tell you, it was a very good marriage. [35:43] They were very [35:45] close, very affectionate. It was quite obvious they were very much in love. In fact, it was a prosecution witness who knocked down the argument that Diane was going to call in that big loan and foreclose on the ranch. Her colleague, Ken Rickard, testified that while Diane could have done that, she probably wouldn't have.

[36:06] I'm not sure that that would have [36:08] ever happened. [36:09] Diane. [36:10] would have avoided that, I believe, at all costs. [36:13] Let's try to. [36:14] Keep the marriage together. As for the allegation of a second will, that was easy. It doesn't exist. That's why it was never produced. The receptionist testified she never actually saw the will. And prosecutor Clint Rucker admitted he never did find it. And he tried. [36:31] You never produced a second will. Never produced a second will. An ER doctor called by the prosecution gave the defense one of the most intriguing bits of testimony. [36:42] She said Diane told her. [36:44] The shooting was an accident. [36:46] And in the end, it was Twitter that she was saying he had the gun, right? Yes. In her coherent state, she said it was an accident. [36:54] Yes. [36:54] But the bottom line for the defense was that the murder scenario itself [36:59] was absurd. [37:00] We're going to drive back to Atlanta to our condo in Buckhead, and on the way I'm going to shoot my wife through the back of the seat with her best friend sitting there. What, are you kidding me? Come on. Finally, the defense offered a medical reason why Tex might have fired the gun when he didn't mean to. For years, Tex had been treated for a sleep disorder, which caused him to jerk in his sleep. [37:25] It's called confusional arousal. [37:28] The defense called the sleep specialist, who'd been treating Tex for a decade. He did have a previous study that was done at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville in 2004, which did specifically comment.

[37:42] about his moving his arms and legs in a sort of large amplitude movement [37:48] while he was dreaming in the sleep lab. Confusional described a lot of things in this case. But if jurors were hoping closing arguments would offer some clarity, they were about to find muddy water. Coming up. When he killed Ion Magab, you know it's like hitting the lottery. We are going to vilify Tex Magab. We are going to muddy him up. That's their mission. Accident or murder. [38:18] We got to hold the gun, the gun, and feel the force. What would the verdict be when Dateline continues? [38:39] Prosecutor Clint Rucker faced the jury for the final time with a mason jar of mud. [38:45] I'm going to make you a promise. [38:48] By the time I get through with my argument and take my seat, [38:52] this jar [38:53] is going to be clear. [38:55] And it's going to be clear, just like each and every one of your minds will be clear about the guilt of this defendant. [39:02] He drove home the prosecution's main argument one last time. When he killed Diane McGough, you know, it's like hitting the lottery. And that accidental shooting? No.

[39:13] You intended to do it! [39:16] Man like you, gun expert. [39:18] Having financial problems, arguing about this ranch, [39:21] Listen, Black Lives Matter is not about race. [39:24] It's about the justification for having the gun in the back seat. At the end of his closing, despite his promise, the DA's jar of mud was far from clear. Not a good sign. That muddy water, said defense attorney Don Samuel, symbolized the state's murky theory. We are going to vilify Tex McGuire. [39:47] We are going to muddy him up. [39:49] That's their mission. [39:50] Co-counsel Bruce Harvey said the state's own evidence proved [39:54] There was no financial motive to kill Diane. [39:57] Tex was not broke, nor was he in dire financial straits. The state's calculation put Tex's net worth at $1.7 million before Diane died. After 21 days of trial, the jury took over the fate of Tex McIver. [40:16] And after three days of deliberation, [40:18] It became clear that not many jurors were convinced by the prosecution's case. [40:23] especially when it came to motive. Jury foreman Avi Robbins told us it all boiled down to one thing, the gun. We got to hold the gun, the gun, and feel the force. [40:35] cocked, not cocked, [40:36] I did the same thing with a similar gun and the help of firearms expert Jay Jarvis. Okay, so

[40:44] hardest thing is maybe cocking the gun that requires a lot of effort. Yes. Once it's cocked, [40:52] firing it somewhat easy. Very easy. Firing it uncocked, [40:57] requires more effort. Yeah, about six times the effort. So the obvious question: was Texas gun cocked or not? We felt that if it was cocked, then yeah, it could have fairly easily been done on accident. The jury again asked to see the video from Texas police interview. Steve Maples, Texas attorney, answered their question. He didn't play with the hammer. [41:21] Yeah, he didn't put it back to full cock. So the only evidence they could find that the gun was not cocked [41:28] came from Texas' own attorney. But even that didn't do it. After five days of deliberation, jurors sent a message to the judge. We don't see a path to overcome our differences on the defendant's intent. The judge refused to accept a deadlock and sent them back to deliberate. Four hours later, the jury signaled a verdict had been reached. Texas' sister Dixie and his friend sat anxiously on one side. [41:58] including Jay Grover, filled the prosecution side of the room. The case that had riveted Atlanta was coming to an end. On count one, murder. We find the defendant not guilty. Not guilty of deliberately murdering Diane. But wait. On the felony charge of shooting the gun at Diane. We find the defendant guilty. Killing someone while committing a felony? No.

[42:22] Guilty. A felony murder. Possession of a firearm in the course of a felony? Guilty. Trying to influence the witness, Danny Joe Carter? Guilty. In lay terms, the verdict meant Tex didn't mean to kill Diane, but he did mean to shoot her. So when you hear the first guilty count... [42:41] Thank you. [42:42] It was like [42:43] We got him. [42:45] We got him. [42:47] Texas lawyers were mystified. - I think it's a mistaken verdict, and it is the result of a compromise, and I think it is just plain wrong. [43:02] Tex's sister Dixie is still stunned. To think that one moment in time, you lose your wife, you lose your friends, you lose your money, you lose your house, you lose your career, you lose your dignity, and you lose your freedom and your future. Only once did Tex McIver speak in court. [43:32] declared how much he'd miss his godson Austin, the food at Chick-fil-A, and then finally, his wife Diane. But if I might just say to her directly, because I know she's here, I feel her presence as I speak to you. Darling, you have brought me more joy and fulfillment than few men on this earth have ever known. Thank you until we are together again.

[43:59] Tex McIver is now serving a life sentence. His attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial. But at his age, freedom for Tex is a long shot. [44:11] And Danny Jo says she's okay with that. She misses her friend Diane every day. And I dream about her a lot. [44:20] I miss her. For months after the verdict, the beloved McIver ranch stood vacant. [44:28] parties and celebrations, just memories. Diane's wedding dress hung there in the closet. [44:36] alongside a shrine of sorts text-made in her honor. [44:40] Remnants of a marriage many thought was as good as it gets. [44:44] But as Tech settled into prison, an auctioneer sold it all to the highest bidder. [44:55] That's all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for joining us. [45:08] With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. He wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums, he'd also talk about how Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. [45:26] "'What's in your wallet?' [45:27] Terms apply. See CapitalOne.com slash bank. Capital One N.A. Member FDIC.