Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20201207

I hear a big explosion. I just knew immediately that i had to get out of there. A single gunshot, and she was gone. Im going to cry. The love of my life. You said tex was emotional and distraught. Yes. Hes never been the same since. What happened in that dark suv . And what was hiding beneath the surface . Trying to cover up something. It just took my 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 cant lie. All that glitters is not actually gold. All they wanted was to get home, turning off the interstate to escape the crawling atlanta traffic. He says, girls, this is the wrong place. We dont need to be here. This was a bad idea. Its still hard to fathom what happened next or why. I was trying to figure out where the explosion was. But heres whats 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. Our story begins and ends with her. Diane mciver. Nobody knows her better than dani jo carter. Oh, shes beautiful. Shes funny. She was brilliant. And she was driven. Oh, she was very driven. She was a workaholic when i first met her. She didnt know how to relax. She didnt spend a saturday afternoon just laying around watching tv. I mean she wasnt just that way in business. She was that way throughout her entire life. 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. Diane was barely out of high school when she went to work at u. S. Enterprises, a company in atlanta. She was a bookkeeper but soon caught the eye of her boss, billy corey. There were some people working there that werent really doing their jobs, and she told him that she could do her job and their job. And what happened . I think he fired them, and she did their job. It was back in the 80s when dani jo and diane first teamed up, best friends and confidants. Dani jo was a cosmetologist with a front row seat to dianes brilliant career. She loved crunching numbers. And along with billy corey, i think she learned how to wheel and deal. She rose through the ranks. And with her boss blessing became president of the company. Hiring, firing, and calling the shots. She would say, i dont want to hear about the labor pains, just show me the baby. Jay grover was a Vice President at dianes company. When she started in business here in atlanta, there were not a ton of female executives. No, absolutely. And i think thats one of the things that really set diane apart. I mean, she was a a woman in a mans world. But i think the competitors quickly found out that diane was not someone you could mess with. Diane diane could hold her own. She had a big personality, loved clothes, furs, hats, and kids. Although she never had any of her own. She survived one bad marriage and was in her 50s when she met tex mciver. He was selfmade too, a military brat from san antonio who earned a rep in atlanta as a labor lawyer and a champion of republican candidates. He had great relationships. He had everybodys direct dial mobile number. Bill crane is a political commentator and consultant in atlanta and a longtime friend of texs. He was a gentleman, he as gentleman. Both in terms of old courtly manners, standing when a lady enters the room. Tex was divorced too. Thats how he ended up living in the same condo complex as diane. They started going out. She said she started talking to him, but he was too short and too old. But obviously she got over that. It didnt 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, gun range, ponds, horses, a saloon, and some texas longhor longhorn cattle. Thats diane. They were there a lot. Diane was a great hostess. She was the life of the party. Soon tex and diane decided to make it permanent and a wedding date was set. November 5th, 2005, at the ranch. Everyone at the rehearsal could tell this wedding would be over the top. And it was. It looked like something out of a disney movie. Sheriff howard sills was on the guest list. Diane came in the gate with the horses and brought her up here in this elaborate carriage. There were hundreds of people here, people from all aspects of society here. A couple of bands, a note the Country Music singer performed. It was quite a quite a soiree as we would call it here. Theyd both been married before and decided this time to keep finances separate. Nearly a year later, 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. Dianes 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. Its all about austin. That was never more obvious than at the birthday bashes she and tex threw for austin. An annual exercise in excess. We love you very much, dont we, darling . Yes, forever. And ever. Byebye bye. Love you. Three weeks after austins 10th birthday, tex and diane, with their friend dani jo, 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 25th, 2016, the day everything changed. After dinner, they headed for home, a trip of about 45 minutes. Tex and diane had had a little wine at dinner, so dani jo drove. Diane sat next to dani jo in the front seat and tex was right behind diane in the back seat, and off they went. Well, we headed on into atlanta on i20. As we got off of 20 to get onto the connector, it was just eight lanes of brake lights. Dani jo says tex was dozing in the back seat as the two women decided to get off the interstate to avoid the traffic. As were riding down the ramp, tex becomes fully awake, i guess. He looks around and he says, girls, i really wish you hadnt done this. This is a bad idea. This is a bad area. Thats when tex mciver made a request of his wife. And tex said, darling, will you hand me my gun . Tex regularly kept a gun in that car . Uhhuh. It was right in the center condole, a smith wesson. 38caliber revolver. And so she reaches down and gets it and hands it back to him. In a plastic bag . Uhhuh. In minutes they were out of the sketchy area and moving up Piedmont Avenue toward the cushier parts of midtown. Everything was normal, unremarkable. We were talking about politics and the debates. What is tex doing . He wasnt really talking. I kind of i thought that he had gone back to sleep. They were at piedmont and 14th street. We were just sitting there, still waiting for the light to turn, and i hear a big explosion. Within seconds, diane turned around toward the back and said, tex, what did you do . Did he say anything . He said the gun discharged. Then she started moving. She started moving forward. And she kind of turned around. And she was moving funny. And she said, tex, you shot me. Coming up tex was calling her name, and she was kind of breathing panicky. He said theres been an accident. What happened in that suv . The questions began. I was handling the gun. I didnt realize it was in my lap. Im gonna cry. The love of my life. When deadly detour continues. Trelegy for copd. Birds flyin high you know how i feel breeze drifting on by you know how i feel [man coughing] its a new dawn, its a new day. 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Honey lemon ahh woo Vicks Vapocool drops now in honey lemon chill sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. Shes confident, protected, her strength respected. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. Depend. [whats this . ] oh, are we kicking karly out . We live with at t. It was a lapse in judgment. At t, we called this house meeting because you advertise gigspeed internet, but we cant sign up for that here. Yeah, but im just like warming up to those speeds. Youve lived here two years. The personal attacks arent helping, karly. Dont you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something . [ muffled scream ] stop living with at t. Xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. Dani jo carters 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 dianes own husband, tex, sitting right behind diane in their suv. She started making these noises that i had never i had never heard before, and i i thought i was hearing her die. A street sign pointed the way to Emory University hospital. Tex told dani jo to head there. Tex was calling her name, and he leaned forward and kind of grabbed her head, and she was kind of breathing panicky. They arrived at emory. Thats tex in the red shirt. Hospital personnel heard him yelling gunshot, and diane went into the e. R. She was in an emergency bay, and i knew there were doctors all around her. I glanced over there, but i didnt want to see anything that i didnt want to see. Tex is there . Yes. Whats he whats he saying . Whats he doing . Hes just standing there with his arms crossed, and hes not really saying a whole lot of anything. Less than an hour later, a doctor came out to tell tex and dani jo that diane was alert. And she said that diane had spoken and that her heart was strong. They had taken her up to surgery. By then police had arrived. They wanted to talk to dani jo outside. They wanted to drive the route. Oh, they drove the route with you right then . Yes. Then they took her to headquarters for questioning. She told police what happened in the car. He woke up, and i guess he had it had it in his hand, and he just pulled the trigger. As she sat there, dani jo was still thinking diane was going to be okay, but then they had gotten a call, and they they both left the room. I was sitting alone, and then i get this text from my husband. No. No. That diane had died. It turned out the gunshot wound through dianes back was catastrophic. The blood loss too great. And i was devastated. I was i couldnt 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, theres been an accident and weve lost diane. Dixie martin, texs sister. How long until you realized the accident involved something he had done . Later in the kofrgconversati and he was very emotional on the phone. I mean we were both crying. What was it like to break that news to people at the office . It was it was heartbreaking. Within our company, if you go down the roster of employees, diane had hired most of these people and had been the boss to most of these people. It was devastating. Its stunning to everybody. Absolutely stunning. Dianes company put her picture up on their landmark tower in atlanta. 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. Maples offered a preview. His only recollection is he had the the brown paper bag i mean, plastic bag and hes holding it down like this. And he said he didnt play with the hammer, and he didnt pull it back to full cock. This is texs attorney saying the gun wasnt cocked. Youll want to remember that part. Tex himself entered shortly after and went over the whole story, 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 had seen Police Vehicles there. Its its a route i take from my office to her office. Thats one that has a particularly high population of Homeless People. Okay. And and i quickly said, this is a big mistake and were in a place that we dont belong in. That, tex said, is when he asked for the gun. A few minutes later the threat seemed to pass and tex said he fell back asleep. Anyway, i just just time to wake up and but she came to a stop, and i was handling the gun. Did not realize it was in my lap. Right. And it went off. He seemed emotional as he recalled how doctors told him his wife was dead. Two surgeons in scrubs and a chaplain come around the corner and start walking towards me. I actually looked behind me, hoping it was somebody else. Im sorry. No, its all right. Take your time. The love of my life. If tex mciver had done nothing after that, if he had kept his mouth shut, if he had just grieved we probably wouldnt be telling you this story. But doing nothing . Thats just not tex mciver. Coming up, a media firestorm, and tex provides the match. Texs comment. Gets blown up into hes making this up to get out of the fact that he shot his wife. Could this have been more than an accident . There was no tears. There was no i never saw him cry. When deadly detour continues. To show up. For the sweet. The hectic. The tender. The tense. And the fiery. But for many, migraine keeps them. From saying. I am here. We aim to change that. With. Aimovig, a preventive treatment. For migraine in adults. One dose. Once a month. Is proven to reduce monthly migraine days. For some, by half or more. Dont take aimovig if youre allergic to it. Allergic reactions like rash or swelling can happen hours to days after use. Severe constipation can happen. 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See ya. kid may i have a balloon, too . burke sure. Your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right . We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum burke start with a quote at 1800farmers. The death of diane mciver at the hand of her husband tex was big news in atlanta. New at 5 00, an atlanta lawyer who says he accidentally shot and killed his wife. And with two wealthy, prominent people involved in a shooting, rumors were on everyones lips. Thats when bill crane, a Public Relations consultant, offered to help his old friend tex. Social media was reporting a lot of wild rumors. Yes, they were, particularly on facebook. For example . That mr. Mciver was having an affair with the driver. Now, you werent. Theres nothing to that . No. You think theres any chance he was having an affair with somebody else . I never i never thought so. Dani jo came to a stop. 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. That was part of texs initial account to me, that he was jarred awake, he thought by a bump in the road. I actually drove within a day or two of the incident that piece of piedmont road. There are plenty of those metal plates were so famous for in atlanta, so i could easily see where there might have been something that jarred him awake. And why in the first place would tex suddenly feel threatened by a homeless encampment hed driven past many times before. I asked him that. Bill said he said tex was thinking of several black lives matter protests in atlanta and how protests in other places had gotten violent. Tex was a bit of a news junkie. So all of that was fresh in the headlines the days and weeks prior to the shooting. So tex said to me, i didnt know looking at those people, were they Homeless People . Were they 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. It didnt exactly work as planned. Texs comment, he didnt know whether the people around the car were Homeless People or some kind of street criminal or a black lives matter protest gets blown up into bonfire of the vanities writ large in life, and hes making this up to get out of the fact that he shot his wife. And that comment somehow morphs into i saw a black lives matter protest, and i was afraid. Correct, which he never said, and i never said that he said. The story, with its racial overtones, went viral. While tex was fighting to repair his public image, dianes colleagues were committquestion behavior after her death. There were no tears. There was no i never saw him cry. Ken reccer is the companys general counsel. I never heard him say, it was a tragic accident. Im so sorry. Tex looked crushed, crying, sad . I didnt detect any of that. He was he was just kind of matter of fact. His voice break at all . Anything . Nothing. I never saw those emotions from tex. What my emotions would be if i had just killed my soul mate, the love of my life, i dont know that i could talk, but he didnt seem to have any problem in in carrying on business. Diane a colleagues also thought tex seemed way too interested in how his financial situation would change now that diane was dead. And he asked a very strange question about, did i know anything about Social Security . Could he get any of dianes benefits . I was shocked. Texs sister, dixie, says she was flabbergasted that anyone thought tex wasnt behaving appropriately. She says he was clearly devastated by dianes death. He cried all the time. I dont know why no one else is seeing this. Tears running down his face. Hes never been the same since. Imagine losing your loved one at your own hand, and thats 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. I think its important to note that he passed with flying colors. Diane, we love you, andeer going to miss you. But a month after her death, tex walked into the lions den at the Company Memorial service for diane. Dixie attended with tex, and it was an evening she came to regret. We walked in through a little gang planklooking thing, and to the left is her jaguar with a light on it and a red rose on the hood. And im thinking, okay. They passed dianes car and entered a large room. And theres a mannequin with dianes clothes on it. With godson austin at his side, did tex even notice the yundt curre undercurrent in the room . Dixie sure did. And as im walking around, i noticed that my brother is not in any of the photographs, not on the video. He has been basically erased from her life. No way that could be accidental . Oh, gosh, no. They removed him . Yes. That was the turning point for me. I realized that they had turned on him. It was a notsosubtle shift in attitude away from a man who was once considered diane mcivers loving partner and protector. Maybe he noticed. Maybe not. But his next move would get people talking even more. Coming up luxury for sale. A little over 100 jewelry items. Auctioning off dianes estate. Another mistake . That doesnt look good. I mean if you dont have to do this right now, dont do it. And that frantic drive. Hes telling you to slow down . Yes. When deadly detour continues. T i was managing t i was managing my moderate to severe Crohns Disease. Until i realized something was missing me. You okay, sis . My symptoms were keeping me from really being there for my sisters. 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So shark replaced them with flexible power fins to directly engage floors and dig deep into carpets. Pick up more on every pass with no hair wrap. Shark vertex with duoclean power fins. Save for being a new customer. Save more for adding drivewise. Save even more for driving safely. See how much you can save with allstate. Hello. Im dara brown. Heres whats happening. The president says his personal lawyer, rudy giuliani, has tested positive for covid19. He was most recently seen in public thursday where he met with georgia lawmakers. In a tweet, giuliani said he was getting great care and feeling good. Two debates for Georgias Senate runoffs wrapped up in georgia sunday. Kelly loeffler went head to head with democratic challenger raphael warnock. Only jon ossoff showed up for the other debate. Now back to dateline. With police investigating, rumors flying, and even old friends becoming suspicious, tex mciver seemed to be doubling down. About 2 1 2 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. That doesnt look good. I mean if you dont have to do this right now, dont do it. But he did. Never met a mannequin she didnt like. Thats right. Auction house owner robert ailers ran the sale, 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 krcarats each. I heard people were lined up three and four deep to try on the jewelry. Before the sale started, there were probably 150 to 200 people in line to get into the building. So the notoriety helped . The notoriety definitely affected the sale, yeah. Did you tell him that unloading all of dianes stuff so soon after she died was going to be seen by some people as sort of callous . No, and i dont think it was callous. And more than that, texs sister dixie says, it was necessary. Diane was wealthy by any standard, but her estate was cashpoor. Selling her belongings raised money for dianes bequests. She left money to people that she didnt have. So the Estate Attorney said the quickest way to raise the cash is sell her things. So the idea to sell everything, that came from the attorney, not from tex . Oh, absolutely. He couldnt walk in her closet without crying. So we came in, and we started inventorying, and it was massive. I mean it took us weeks. Diane had a lot of stuff. She did, in a small space and a storage room. Tex had nothing to do with any of this. I mean we were in charge. 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 dianes 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 clear police believed tex didnt mean to kill diane. Tex had dodged a murder charge, but his sister said tex didnt seem to get that. He kept saying it was an accident. I said, but someone died. I dont know what he thought. Who knows what was going through his mind at that point . Tex mciver was released on bond, and while he seemed clueless about why he was charged with anything, dianes friends and colleagues wondered if hed been charged with enough. I was angry. Its like i didnt care i didnt i was angry. I didnt care what happened to him. In the months since dianes death, dani jo had become suspicious about texs behavior during that final, fatal drive. So we asked her to take us along the route they drove that night. This is the underpass where tex says he first began to worry about the Homeless People in the area. Dani jo 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 dani jo, just a stop. We were sitting at a red light. No bump. No bump. You know the rest. Diane was shot, and dani jo took off for the hospital. 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 with walking with baby carriages. Wait a minute. His wife wounded in the front seat here by his hand, and hes telling you to slow down . Yes. At the hospital, diane was already in surgery when Police Showed up, and that, according to dani jo, is when tex said the weirdest thing. He looked past me, and he said, i dont trust these guys. I hate to see you get wrapped up in this, dani jo. Ive seen how these things can go down. And he said, you just need to tell them that youre down here as a friend of the family. Wait a minute. Youre here as a friend of the family and not as the person who was driving the car when the shooting happened . Right. And so i leaned down again. Well, i said, tex, i just drove you into the emergency room. And he looks at me, and he goes, well, they dont know that. And i thought, what do you mean they dont know that . And i just looked at him, and i said, i cant lie. He said, im not asking to you do that. It just took my breath away. I thought, you know, that is asking me to lie. Dani jo shared her misgivings with dianes coworkers. They were now convinced Atlanta Police hadnt dug deeply enough. Jay grover was skeptical of texs claim that the gun had just gone off. This does not make sense. Logically it just doesnt make sense what hes saying. Something wasnt right. It turns out Fulton County prosecutor clint rucker was thinking the very same thing. There was no malfunctioning of 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 its not easy to do . Its not easy to do. And it became very clear to me that this had to be an intentional act. Dianes colleagues gave the d. A. Her computer and files, hoping rucker might find more evidence. And that is when the evolution of the motive then developed. Ruckers investigators found documents suggesting tex was in financial trouble. Whats more, dianes colleagues revealed shed 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, a glock in texs condo. That was a violation of his bond, so tex went back to jail. The next day, rucker filed new charges, and the tex mciver case escalated from careless accident to malice murder. It was, according to texs sister dixie, preposterous. If you were going to kill your wife, is that the way youd choose to do it . It makes no sense. Who commits a murder with a witness that you cant control sitting right there . Exactly. Absolutely an accident. Coming up tex mciver on trial. They were very close, very affectionate. Devoted husband or desperate spouse . Secrets spill out. She would tell him in no uncertain terms, youre going to have to get your money situation together. Diane could take control of the ranch by foreclosing on it if the defendant did not pay. When deadly detour continues. Wheres my bounce . My glamour . My fire . All hair is beautiful. These dove shampoo and conditioners are custom formulated for different hair types. Find the right dove care for your hair. Your lips have a unique print. And unique needs. Your lips are like no others and need a lip routine thats just right for you. Chapstick® has you covered. Chapstick®. Put your lips first®. Vicks vapopatch. Easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. Trusted soothing vapors, from vicks im a talking dog. 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Ask your veterinarian for apoquel next to you, apoquel is a dogs best friend. The tex mciver case had it all race, privilege, tragedy, and rich people doing dumb things. Once the trial started in march of 2018, atlanta couldnt get enough. Now, this is a case about maintaining an image of wealth and power that the defendant created for himself and the lengths he went through to keep it. In her opening statement, then assistant da Selena Griffin said the motive was money. The states theory, diane mciver was carrying her husband financially. Right before their wedding tex gifted diane half the ranch. Later she loaned him 350,000 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 of the ranch expenses. Her star was continuing to rise while his was continuing to fall, and that fundamentally created lots and lots of issues for them. We have email evidence between the two of them where they would discuss these issues, and she would tell him in no uncertain terms, youre going to have to get your money situation together. This was a wife speaking to her husband . This was a wife speaking to her husband. The states financial expert testified dianes death made tex a richer man. So the day before her death, 1. 7 million, mr. Mcivers net worth. The day after death, 5. 9 or 6 million to 6. 9 million. Whats more, claimed the prosecutor, diane had quietly made a new will. Receptionist rachel styles remembers making copies of a certain document around late 2014. I went back and handed them to her, and she says, 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, 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. Uh, did not realize it was in my lap. Right. And it went off. A gun expert from the Georgia Bureau of investigation told the jury how the gun worked. If i sit down with it and hold it down here in my lap, will it just go off . No. If i handle it like this in any way, will it just go off . No. Their godchild it took the prosecution 66 witnesses and 16 days to make its case. The defense team had a shorter, simpler case, but they also had their hands full with a client who hadnt always acted in his own best interest. Mr. Mciver was just hellbent on defending himself at certain times. Was one of your initial pieces of advice to him to stop talking . Absolutely. Like i wont represent you if you dont stop opening your mouth . Much more than that. Like physical consequences. Three of the best lawyers in georgia were adept at using prosecution witnesses to bolster their defense. For example, they got the states forensics experts to agree that in some circumstances, the shooting could have indeed been unintentional. And, again, this weapon as well as any other weapons can be unintentionally discharged, correct . It can be, yes. Texs 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. They were very 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 rickert, testified that while diane could have done that, she probably wouldnt have. Im not sure that that would have ever happened. Diane would have avoided that, i believe, at all costs to try to keep the marriage together. As for the allegation of a second will, that was easy. It doesnt exist. Thats 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. You never produced the second will . Never produced the second will. An e. R. Doctor called by the prosecution gave the defense one of the most intriguing bits of testimony. She said diane told her the shooting was an accident. And in the end, it was quoted as saying he had the gun, correct . Yes. In her coherent state, she said it was an accident . Yes. But the bottom line for the defense was that the murder scenario itself was absurd. Were going to drive back to atlanta to our condo in buckhead, and on the way, im 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 didnt mean to. For years tex had been treated for a sleep disorder which caused him to jerk in his sleep. Its called contusionfusional a. The defense called the sleep specialist who had been treating tex for a decade. He did have a previous study that was done at anywmayo clini jacksonville in 2000 had which did specifically comment about his h moving his arms while he was 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 diane mciver, its like hitting the lottery. We are going to muddy him up. Thats their mission. Accident or murder . A defendant under the gun and a jury all over it. We got to hold the gun. The gun, and feel the force. What will the verdict be when deadly detour continues. 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And relieve it with this. But new preparation h soothing relief is the 21st century way to do all three. Everyday. Preparation h. Get comfortable with it. The teams been working around the clock. Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. Prosecutor clint rucker faced the jury for the final time with a mason jar of mud. Im going to make you a promise. By the time i get through with my argument and take my seat, this jar is going to be clear, and its going to be clear just like each and every one of your minds will be clear about the guilty of this defendant. He drove home the prosecutions main argument one last time. When he killed diane mciver, it was like hitting the lottery. And that accidental shooting . He intended to do it. A man like you, gun expert, having financial problems, arguing about this ranch. Listen, black lives matter is not about race. Its about the justification for having the gun in the back seat. At the end of his closing, despite his promise, the d. A. s jar of mud was far from clear. Not a good sign. That muddy water, said defense attorney don samuel, symbolized the states murky theory. We are going to vilify tex mciver. We are going to muddy him up. Thats their mission. Cocounsel bruce harvey said the states own evidence proved there was no financial motive to kill diane. Tex was not broke, nor was he in dire financial straits. The states calculation puts texs net worth at 1. 7 million before diane died. After 21 days of trial, the jury took over the fate of tex mciver. And after three days of deliberation, it became clear that not many jurors were convinced by the prosecutions case, especially when it came to motive. The jury foreman told us it all boiled down to one thing the gun. We got to hold the gun the gun and feel the force. Cocked and not cocked. I did the same thing with a similar gun and the help of firearms expert jay jarvis. Okay. So the hardest thing is maybe cocking the gun. That requires a lot of effort. Yes. Once its cocked, firing it somewhat easy. Very easy. Firing it uncocked requires more effort. Yeah, about six times the effort. So the obvious question, was texs 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 texs Police Interview. Steve maples, texs attorney, answered their question. He didnt play with the hammer, and he didnt put it back to full cock. So the only evidence they could find that the gun was not cocked came from texs own attorney. But even that didnt do it. After five days of deliberation, jurors sent a message to the judge. We dont see a path to overcome our differences on the defendants 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. Texs sister dixie and his friend sat anxiously on one side. Dianes colleagues, including jay grover, filled the prosecutions side of the room. The case that had riveted atlanta was coming to an end. On count 1, 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 guilty of felony murder. Possession of a firearm in the course of a felony. Guilty. Trying to influence the witness, dani jo carter. Guilty. In lay terms, the verdict meant tex didnt mean to kill diane, but he did mean to shoot her. So when you hear the first guilty count it was like, we got him. We got him. Texs lawyers were mystified. I think its a mistaken verdict, and it is the result of a compromise, and i think it is just plain wrong. Texs 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. In a rambling statement before sentencing, tex declared how much hed miss his godson austin, the food at chickfila, and then finally his wife diane. But if i might just say to her directly, because i know shes here. I feel her presence as im speaking. Darling, you have brought me more joy and fulfillment that few men on this earth have ever known. Thank you until we are together again. Tex mciver is now serving a life sentence. His attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial, but at 76 years old, freedom for tex is a long shot. And dani jo is okay with that. She misses her friend diane every day. I loved her. Theres theres been a hole in my heart. I dream about her a lot, and i believe in heaven, and i i think shes in a much better place. Wasnt ready for her to go, not anywhere close to it. I miss her. Everybody does. For months after the verdict, the beloved mciver ranch stood vacant. Extravagant parties and celebrations just memories. Dianes Wedding Dress hung there in the closet alongside a shrine of sorts tex made in her honor, remnants of a marriage many thought was as good as it gets. But as tex settled into prison, an auctioneer sold it all to the highest bidder. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline. Oh, my god a fire chief murdered. His wife the only witness. This detective knew them both. She started telling me about a young man coming into their home and shooting keith. Her job now, solve this crime. And clue number one was a doozy. She said that after he shot keith, said he turned to her and said, im sorry, maam. Im sorry . A killer who apologized