0:04

Southern Fried True Crime covers cases that

0:06

are not suitable for young listeners, and

0:08

there may also be some explicit language

0:10

used. Listener. Discretion is

0:13

advised. In

0:17

two Thousand and Sixteen Tax and Diane

0:19

Macgyver it's been a hot Sunday in

0:21

the late September. Son in Georgia. Playing.

0:24

Golf and then going to dinner with a

0:26

colleague of Diane's and Conyers a town about

0:28

a half hour. From Atlanta. The

0:32

Any Joe Carter Diane's friend and manicurist

0:34

had acted as chauffeur for the couple

0:36

that day. after they played golf, she

0:38

had gone horseback riding at the couple's

0:41

Putnam County Ranch as they govt and

0:43

then they picked her up and she

0:45

took over driving as they both drink

0:48

wine in the car as they headed

0:50

to dinner. After dinner, it was late

0:52

in the evening as they were headed

0:55

back to Atlanta in it's famous congested

0:57

traffic with Danny Joe driving Diane in

0:59

the passenger seat and tax on. The.

1:01

Back seat directly behind his wife.

1:05

Though red wine had been served at

1:07

dinner tax didn't drink much of it,

1:09

he didn't like it. But still, on

1:11

the way home, he struggled to keep

1:13

his eyes open, Exhausted after a full

1:16

day and the Georgia heat. Diane

1:18

kept turning around and passing it, her

1:20

husband arguing that if he slept on

1:23

the way home, he wouldn't sleep well

1:25

that night. As. They

1:27

neared Atlanta. Traffic on the Downtown

1:29

Connector was a parking lot. Even

1:31

at ten Pm on a Sunday

1:33

night, you can count on Atlanta

1:35

traffic being the worst. Diane told

1:37

Danny Joe to take the edge

1:39

would Avenue exit. And. Then she

1:41

turned around and told tax to wake up.

1:45

When he did he looked around

1:47

and realized they were in a

1:49

mid area. He said girls, this

1:51

is a bad idea, this isn't

1:53

safe. He was talking about the

1:55

area of midtown they were in.

1:57

Diane said will be on Piedmont.

2:00

Shortly. But

2:02

then Heck said Saarland, hand me

2:04

my gun and Diane Reese since

2:06

as a center console and pulled

2:09

out a Snub Nose Thirty Eight

2:11

revolver wrapped in a plastic bag

2:13

and handed it to her husband.

2:16

Tax to the gun and ladies in his

2:18

lap and then nodded off back to sleep.

2:21

What happened next would be hotly

2:23

debated. For years and sexless, Ivor

2:26

would go on trial for murdering

2:28

his wife. There has

2:30

been a major update in this case. Since then

2:32

it's a day for going to go for it.

2:37

Welcome to episode two! Tin

2:39

update on the tax Macgyver

2:41

case. For

2:48

and a half years ago, I released

2:50

episode sixty Six Packs and I am

2:52

Macgyver. Accident. Or murder.

2:55

As I said, there's that a

2:58

major update and the outcome is

3:00

sure to reignite strong debate as

3:02

to whether as episode title implies.

3:05

Tax. Intended to kill his wife,

3:07

or whether it's tragedy with nothing

3:09

more than a terrible accident. I

3:13

have really mastered and rereleased. Episode.

3:15

Sixty six if he wants the full

3:17

deep dive. When I originally covered this

3:19

case, But. For now,

3:22

I'll do my best to summarize before

3:24

we get into the new court rulings.

3:28

Late in the evening of September. Twenty

3:30

Fifth. Two Thousand and sixteen. Seventy.

3:32

Two year old Claude Techs make Iver

3:35

and to sixty two year old wife

3:37

Diane were on their way home and

3:39

Atlanta, Georgia. Earlier

3:41

that day, they had braved the heat

3:43

to play. Around Us Govt followed

3:45

by dinner and Conyers with Diane's

3:48

best friend. Any show. Carter. And

3:50

one of Diane's colleagues. Afterward

3:53

danny. Show was driving the couple

3:55

back to the condo they shared in Buckhead.

3:58

Diane. was in the front past seat while

4:00

Tex sat behind her in the back. The

4:05

couple were each high-flyers professionally,

4:07

extremely successful in their

4:09

own right, well-connected and wealthy.

4:13

Tex was a corporate labor lawyer and

4:15

a partner with a prestigious firm, while

4:18

Diane was CEO of Corey Enterprises, where

4:20

she had worked her way at the

4:22

corporate ladder since starting there as

4:24

a payroll clerk 46

4:26

years earlier. Diane

4:29

was a shrewd businesswoman whose

4:32

strong business acumen, directness, and

4:34

ability to make tough decisions

4:37

garnered her a tremendous amount of

4:39

respect, but underneath, she

4:41

was also a loving and generous person.

4:45

She was definitely a conservative, though

4:47

not as obvious with her politics,

4:50

but her husband was a loyal

4:52

Republican who served on the American

4:55

Bar Association Committee on Gun Violence.

4:58

It was a second marriage for both Tex and

5:01

Diane, and those who knew them

5:03

could see how deeply in love they were, even

5:06

after five years of dating and ten

5:08

years of marriage. That

5:11

early fall night, Tex, Diane, and

5:14

Danny Jo drove back to Atlanta

5:16

after spending the weekend at the

5:18

McIver's Ranch in Putnam County, where

5:20

Danny Jo had been riding horses.

5:23

After Tex and Diane's golf outing, they

5:25

picked Danny Jo up at the ranch

5:27

in their Ford Expedition SUV and all

5:29

went to dinner. Given

5:32

Tex and Diane both had a few

5:34

drinks that afternoon and into the evening,

5:37

Danny Jo was the designated driver on the

5:39

way home. But

5:41

as they got closer to the city, the

5:43

SVU pretty much came to a

5:45

standstill as traffic was bumper to

5:47

bumper on the downtown connector. At

5:51

Diane's suggestion, Danny Jo

5:53

took the exit at Edgewood Avenue. Tex

5:56

dozed on and off in the backseat. He

5:59

had spent hours in the city. son earlier that day

6:01

and it was late and he

6:03

had now had some red wine under his

6:05

belts, though he wasn't intoxicated. When

6:08

he awoke after nodding off at one point and

6:10

saw the area the group was driving

6:12

through, he felt uneasy, saying,

6:15

girls, this is a bad idea.

6:18

This isn't safe. Much

6:21

would later be made of Texas assessment

6:23

of this situation, given that

6:25

Black Lives Matter protesters had been out

6:27

in force in Atlanta since July, protesting

6:30

police shootings. For

6:34

reasons that would later be

6:36

debated, Tex apparently felt unsafe,

6:38

telling Diane, darling, hand

6:40

me my gun. Diane

6:42

pulled Texas loaded .38 caliber

6:44

revolver wrapped in a plastic grocery

6:46

bag out of the center console.

6:49

She handed it back to her husband and

6:52

Tex set the gun on his lap before

6:54

quickly falling back asleep. Not

6:58

long afterward, the car was stopped

7:00

at a red light on Piedmont Road when

7:02

Danny Jo heard what she later described

7:04

as a big boom. Tex,

7:07

who had been jolted out of

7:09

his sleep moments earlier, realized the

7:12

gun had discharged. Everyone

7:15

seemed fine at first, but suddenly

7:17

Diane realized she had been hit. Breathing

7:21

heavily, she said, I've been shot. Tex

7:25

instructed Danny Jo to drive to

7:27

Emery Hospital, where Diane made

7:29

a dying declaration that her

7:31

husband shot her accidentally. But

7:34

as Diane deteriorated with her blood

7:36

pressure dangerously low and headed into

7:39

surgery, the doctor asked if she

7:41

wanted to see her husband. She

7:43

said no. Maybe

7:46

she didn't want him to see her in a

7:48

state she felt would be distressing to him. Maybe

7:51

she was just too out of it to know what

7:53

she was saying. Who knows? Her

7:57

Death was a heartbreakingly abrupt ending.

8:00

Well known couple who seem to have

8:02

it all. I'm

8:05

going to pass down for a short commercial break.

8:12

Following Diane's death, tax told the

8:14

police that he fell asleep with

8:17

a gun in his lap and

8:19

at some point soon after it

8:21

fired. He had previously com ended

8:23

at the hospital that the gun

8:26

discharged accidentally. When the car went over

8:28

a bump. Knowing.

8:30

His actions would be subject to

8:32

strong scrutiny and in an attempt

8:34

at damage control. Tech Third

8:37

Pr Consultant Bill Trade. Bill

8:40

told reporters had to ask Diane

8:42

for the gun as he was

8:44

concerned they were at risk being

8:46

carjacked in relation to the recent

8:49

Black Lives Matter protests. Even

8:51

though there wasn't a protest in the area

8:53

that night, Bills.

8:56

Com and ignited a storm of

8:58

debate about taxes, racial bias, But.

9:00

Text denied it had anything to do with

9:03

Black Lives Matter. Things.

9:05

Got more complicated. When according to

9:07

Bill text tried to change this narrative

9:09

saying he was worried about homeless people

9:12

in the area. Not. Protesters.

9:15

These. Conflicting accounts would later be

9:17

used against tax and the court.

9:20

In December, two thousand and

9:23

sixteen Atlanta Pd initially charged

9:25

tax with reckless conduct and

9:28

seventy involuntary manslaughter. Is.

9:31

Convicted. He would face a

9:33

maximum of ten years in prison. But.

9:37

In April two thousand and seventeen. Jerks.

9:40

Was indicted on upgraded charges at

9:42

the insistence of the phone county

9:44

Da's office. That. It's important

9:47

to note. A homicide investigator

9:49

with twenty years experience had not

9:51

believed their recent chance or need

9:53

for the more serious charges. He

9:56

believed it was a tragic accident.

9:59

now The DA disagreed.

10:03

Tex now faced one count of malice

10:05

murder, where intent is the

10:07

key factor, like first degree

10:09

murder in other states, and

10:11

one count of felony murder, similar

10:13

to second degree. He

10:16

was also charged with aggravated assault with

10:18

a deadly weapon, possession of

10:20

a firearm during a crime, and three

10:23

counts of influencing a witness. But

10:26

if it was an accident, as Tex

10:28

claimed, why a malice murder

10:30

charge? There was understandably a

10:33

lot of focus on the decisions

10:35

Tex made in the hours, days,

10:37

and weeks following Diane's

10:39

death. Like

10:41

I said in the original episode, even

10:44

accounting for the grieving process, Tex

10:46

showed extremely poor judgment on

10:49

multiple occasions. When

10:52

Diane was initially shot, her

10:55

husband didn't call 911. Instead,

10:57

he directed Danny Joe to Emory

11:00

Hospital, which wasn't even the

11:02

closest medical facility or the

11:04

most equipped to deal with a gunshot wound. However,

11:08

Emory Hospital was one of

11:10

his clients, so he knew how

11:12

to get there quickly. They

11:14

didn't call 911 and were rushing Diane

11:16

to a hospital, so Tex chose

11:18

the one he knew the way to. The

11:22

Tex also asked Danny Joe to

11:24

say she wasn't in the vehicle

11:26

when the shooting occurred. And

11:29

it took two days for the police to question

11:32

Tex. Much was

11:34

made of this delay, making Tex

11:36

look bad, but we need

11:38

to remember that the police did not insist

11:40

on an interview right away. Following

11:44

Diane's death, Tex asked

11:46

one of her coworkers as he could

11:48

draw on his late wife's social security.

11:52

Then he auctioned off Diane's

11:54

extensive, high-end collection of clothes

11:56

and jewelry, that December on

11:58

the advice of a lawyer. lawyer. Regardless

12:02

of the rationale behind these

12:04

decisions, they look bad. Some

12:07

would say quite callous. These

12:11

things reflected poorly on Tex in the

12:13

eyes of many, but

12:15

questionable choices after the fact

12:17

are not indicative of intent.

12:20

Meaning, you can believe

12:23

that Tex McIver was a rich,

12:25

white, and titled asshole, but

12:27

it doesn't mean he murdered his wife.

12:31

Those who believed it was a case

12:34

of murder argued that Tex's request to

12:36

Danny Jo was an attempt to cover

12:38

up something sinister from the state. But

12:42

the facts are more nuanced. Tex

12:45

had been drinking in the hours before handling

12:47

the gun, and handling a

12:49

weapon under the influence in itself is

12:51

an offense, regardless of

12:53

whatever does or does not

12:55

happen afterward. So

12:59

it makes sense that Tex wanted to

13:02

avoid the repercussions of this, hence

13:04

his comment to Danny Jo. At

13:09

Tex's trial in April 2018, the

13:12

defense submitted that the jury

13:14

should be able to consider

13:16

the charge of misdemeanor involuntary

13:18

manslaughter. In

13:20

Georgia, this is when someone

13:22

unintentionally causes the death of

13:24

another person by engaging

13:26

in lawful behavior but in an

13:29

unlawful way. But

13:31

the request, strongly opposed by

13:34

the prosecution, was denied by

13:36

Fulton County Superior Court Chief

13:38

Judge Robert McBurney. And

13:41

I do have thoughts on

13:44

this, which I'll come back

13:46

to later. I'm going to pause

13:48

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16:32

In my original episode,

16:34

I referenced the Atlanta

16:36

Journal Constitution's excellent podcast,

16:38

Breakdown, which covered Texas

16:40

trial extensively. In

16:43

2022, Vault Studios and

16:46

11Alive WXIA News

16:48

released a compelling long-form

16:50

podcast of their own entitled,

16:52

Intent, the Tex McIver

16:54

Case. If

16:57

you're after blow-by-blow accounts of Texas

17:00

trial and the aftermath, I can

17:02

recommend both of these as essential

17:04

listening, and you can watch

17:07

the entire trial on YouTube. The

17:10

way Texas trial played out, you would have

17:13

thought it was the role of the defense

17:15

to prove the shooting was accidental when

17:17

in reality, it is the

17:20

state's responsibility to demonstrate the burden

17:22

of proof that this was a murder. There

17:25

was a contentious debate from both sides

17:27

about the question of money. The

17:30

prosecution case was that Tex wanted

17:32

Diane dead so he could inherit

17:35

her multimillion-dollar estate. The

17:38

court also heard that Tex had

17:40

recently become much more financially reliant

17:43

on Diane after he went from

17:45

equity partner at his law firm

17:47

to income partner, reducing his

17:49

annual income from $700,000 to $120,000. However,

17:55

Tex was in his early

17:57

70s and semi-retired. But

18:00

it's not as though he had gotten some

18:02

sort of demotion and was panicking about money.

18:05

He was close to full retirement, but

18:07

like his wife, he loved working. The

18:11

defense argued there was absolutely nothing

18:13

for Tex to gain financially with

18:15

Diane dead. As she

18:18

earned more than Tex, he was far

18:20

better off with her alive so she

18:22

could continue to support their lavish lifestyle.

18:26

And also, she could lend her husband money

18:28

if he needed it. Loning

18:31

money was a favor Diane did for those

18:33

close to her. It

18:35

might sound a bit unorthodox in the

18:37

context of a marriage, but Diane

18:40

and Tex happily kept their finances

18:42

separate with no issue. They

18:45

had both gone through ugly divorces from

18:47

their first marriages, so this

18:49

arrangement was what they both wanted. It's

18:52

what worked best for their marriage. Which,

18:57

indisputably, had been a happy marriage

18:59

for 10 years. Even

19:02

friends who later turned against Tex

19:05

could not argue that he and Diane

19:07

had marital problems. After

19:09

five years of dating and 10 years of

19:12

marriage, they were still the kind

19:14

of couple who held hands all the time.

19:17

When agreed, they had an extremely

19:20

loving relationship. The

19:22

prosecution also tried to argue the existence

19:25

of a rumored new will which Diane

19:27

was said to have made before her

19:29

death, naming the couple's

19:31

godson as the sole beneficiary.

19:35

But no hard proof of such a will

19:37

was ever produced. All

19:39

the testimony about Tex and Diane's

19:41

relationship spoke only to their undying

19:43

love for one another. There

19:46

was no mention of conflict, upset,

19:48

or tension between the couple. At

19:52

one point during the jury's deliberation, they

19:54

reached a deadlock on the verdict. Judgment

19:57

Bernie gave them an Allen charge. encouraging

20:00

them to continue deliberating until they

20:02

had an outcome. Finally,

20:05

after further deliberation, Tex

20:08

MacGyver was found guilty of felony

20:10

murder, aggravated assault with a deadly

20:12

weapon, possession of a firearm

20:14

during a crime, and influencing a

20:16

witness. Despite

20:19

expert evidence, it wasn't possible to

20:21

confirm whether the gun discharged as

20:23

a result of a single or

20:25

double action mechanism. The

20:29

verdict on the major charges made

20:31

no sense at all. How

20:33

can you acquit on malice murder

20:35

but convict on both felony murder, which

20:38

requires the killing to occur during

20:40

the commission of another felony where intent

20:42

is involved, and aggravated assault

20:44

with a deadly weapon? Judgment

20:48

Bernie later said in December

20:50

2023 that the aggravated assault

20:52

charge does not allege intent

20:54

to kill. The

20:57

jury's decision essentially meant they believed

20:59

Tex did not intend to kill

21:01

his wife, but they did

21:03

believe he intended to seriously harm her.

21:07

It's difficult to find the logic in that. What

21:10

would Tex have to gain by maliciously

21:12

wounding the love of his wife, and

21:15

not just in front of any witness, but

21:17

in front of her best friend? And

21:19

why do it in a car anyway? Who

21:22

leaves themself open that way if an

21:25

act is intentional? This

21:27

too makes no sense. While

21:32

no one is required to take the stand in

21:34

their own defense, the fact that

21:36

Tex chose not to give evidence may

21:38

have also worked against him in the eyes of

21:40

the jury. But

21:42

considering the many blunders he made

21:45

after Diane's death, causing him to

21:47

be a PR nightmare, I'm

21:49

sure his attorneys believed he would be

21:51

a wildcard on the stand. simply

22:00

did not believe that guns just

22:02

go off. The

22:05

fact that Tex was an

22:07

experienced and passionate gun owner

22:09

who owned almost 40 firearms,

22:11

made the suggestion of an

22:13

accident doubtful for the jury.

22:17

And it appears the jury did not

22:19

feel the evidence about a sleep diagnosis

22:21

of Texas. The REM

22:24

sleep disorder causes sudden involuntary

22:26

movements during sleep, but

22:28

the jury did not believe this was

22:30

a sufficient explanation for the gun discharging

22:32

at Texas finger was on the trigger.

22:37

In my episode on Tex and Diane,

22:39

I noted that much was made by

22:41

the prosecution of whether Tex would have

22:44

had time to fall into REM sleep

22:46

so quickly between asking for the gun

22:48

and then Diane being shot, which

22:51

was said to be around 10 minutes. But

22:54

as I noted before, as witnessed by

22:56

Danny Jo and Diane herself at the

22:58

time, Tex kept nodding

23:00

off, struggling to stay awake. And

23:04

as we fall asleep, we can

23:06

experience something called a hypnic jerk, which

23:09

is a sudden muscle contraction. While

23:12

the defense did explain Texas sleep issues,

23:15

I'm not sure they went into great detail to

23:17

explain how he could have jerked and pulled

23:19

the trigger. For

23:21

example, in the Handbook of Clinical

23:23

Neurology, the hypnic jerk

23:25

is defined as quote, Hypnic

23:28

jerks or sleep starts are normal

23:31

physiological events occurring at the

23:33

transition from wakefulness to sleep,

23:36

often associated with sensory phenomena,

23:38

such as a feeling of

23:40

falling, unexplained alarm or fear,

23:43

inner electric shock or light flash. The

23:46

most distinguishing feature of sleep starts

23:48

is that they occur during drowsiness

23:51

and the transition from wakefulness

23:53

to sleep before sleep onset.

23:57

We don't know if the gun was cocked. because

24:00

Tex said he simply could not remember.

24:03

If it was, which makes sense,

24:05

given that Tex felt uncomfortable enough to

24:08

ask Diane for the weapon, the

24:10

amount of pressure required to discharge the

24:12

firearm was less than two pounds. If

24:15

it had not been cocked, the trigger would have

24:17

needed 12 pounds of pressure. Even

24:21

after taking all the evidence into account,

24:24

the jury had clearly decided, rightly

24:26

or wrongly, that Tex

24:28

did harbor intent to some degree

24:31

based on the verdict for aggravated assault.

24:34

Yet they found him not guilty of

24:36

malice murder. I

24:39

personally don't get why executive

24:41

assistant DA Clint Rucker pushed

24:44

back so hard against involuntary manslaughter

24:46

or why the judge denied it.

24:49

Juries need to have all the options. That

24:52

was quite the gamble, in my opinion,

24:54

and one which obviously paid off for

24:56

the state. But one,

24:58

they would now come to regret. And

25:01

yes, I'm doing the told you so dance

25:03

in my head right now. I

25:07

have talked about this gamble before, most

25:09

recently in the Ray Carruth trial, in

25:11

which the gamble did not work for

25:14

the prosecution. I

25:16

am more in favor of what I call

25:18

kitchen sink charges. Give the

25:20

jury every option. I

25:23

believe it is so obviously much more

25:26

fair to the defendant. But the problem,

25:28

as I see it, is

25:30

that the state and defense attorneys would

25:32

often rather gamble with the defendant's

25:34

lives in order to prove their

25:37

theory is right. And

25:39

to be fair, the defense did

25:41

not want the involuntary charge either

25:43

initially. They wanted their

25:45

client found not guilty on all charges.

25:48

Again, a huge gamble with their

25:50

client's life. But

25:54

it could have gone either way for Tex, and

25:56

really should have. A conviction

25:58

on the lesser charges. would still

26:00

have carried prison time. Sure,

26:03

it's not life, but for

26:05

the state, a conviction against a prominent

26:07

and a fluent attorney still would have

26:10

had an impact on one of the

26:12

most high-profile infamous trials Atlanta had ever

26:14

seen. Plus, he was 73

26:16

years old. Chances

26:19

are he still could have died in prison, even

26:21

on the lesser charge. But

26:24

the DA's gamble worked, and Texas

26:26

sentenced to life in prison with

26:29

an additional five years for influencing

26:31

a witness to be served concurrently.

26:34

For the weapons charge, he received

26:36

a suspended five-year sentence. Almost

26:40

immediately, his legal team began

26:42

preparing an appeal, filing

26:44

a motion for a new trial in February 2020.

26:50

I'm going to pause now for a final

26:52

commercial break. When

26:57

I released the original episode, a

26:59

$10 million wrongful death lawsuit brought

27:02

on behalf of Diane's estate, naming

27:04

both Tex and Danny Jo, was

27:07

still on foot. The

27:09

suit alleged Danny Jo failed to drive

27:12

in a safe manner, focusing on her

27:14

decision to drive to the hospital and

27:16

failure to call 911. While

27:19

there's minimal information available about the

27:22

outcome, including any impact on Danny

27:24

Jo, it appears the suit

27:26

was confidentially settled with Texas Insurance Company

27:28

in March 2020. Over a year later,

27:30

in July 2021, Judge

27:36

McBurney denied Texas' request for a

27:39

new trial. Undeterred,

27:42

the defense took their case to the Georgia Supreme Court

27:44

in January 2022, arguing that Tex did not receive a

27:49

fair trial for several reasons.

27:53

One was how conflicted the jury

27:55

clearly was when it came to

27:57

the question of accident or murder.

28:01

Judge McBurney's decision had meant there

28:03

was no option for the jury

28:06

to consider involuntary manslaughter, so

28:08

they only had two choices. The

28:11

defense proposed what the jury should have

28:14

been presented with all along, the

28:16

scenario where Tex negligently fell asleep with

28:18

a loaded gun in his lap. If

28:22

this had been considered, Tex would

28:24

have possibly been convicted of the lesser

28:27

charge, instead of being sentenced to

28:29

life in prison, the maximum he would

28:31

have received would have been 12 months.

28:34

The defense also argued that

28:36

certain evidence at trial was

28:39

prejudicial and therefore inadmissible, especially

28:41

that relating to racial bias

28:43

on Tex's part, as

28:45

well as the prosecution's speculative

28:48

portrayal of him as money-hungry.

28:52

The Supreme Court ruled on this as

28:54

follows. With

28:56

respect to McIver's contention as

28:59

to improper argument by the state

29:01

in which it was stated or

29:03

implied that McIver harbored racial prejudice,

29:05

we caution the state and the

29:07

trial court to be mindful of

29:10

the impropriety of such arguments if

29:12

there is a retrial. We

29:15

note particularly and with disapproval

29:17

the prosecutor's display of a

29:19

PowerPoint slide with a bullet

29:21

point reading KKK during his

29:23

closing argument. The

29:26

state ultimately acknowledged that no evidence

29:28

was produced at trial to support

29:31

any inference that the Ku

29:33

Klux Klan was relevant to this case.

29:37

In addition, the defense claimed Judge

29:40

McBurney should not have permitted jurors

29:42

to examine the Ford Expedition to

29:44

see how the gun could have

29:46

discharged. It was a compelling

29:48

case for the defense. In

29:51

June 2022, the Georgia

29:53

Supreme Court unanimously reversed

29:56

Texas convictions for felony

29:58

murder and possession of a firearm. firearm in

30:00

the commission of a felony. It

30:03

was highly critical of the Fulton County

30:06

DA's office, particularly flamboyant

30:08

prosecutor Clint Rucker and

30:10

Judge McBurney in their

30:12

failure to offer involuntary manslaughter

30:15

as an option to the jury. According

30:18

to courthouse news, Justice Michael Boggs

30:21

wrote in the court's unanimous decision,

30:23

quote, while the state's evidence

30:25

was sufficient to support the appellant's conviction

30:27

of murder, it also could

30:29

have supported a finding that the appellant

30:32

killed the victim without any intention of

30:34

doing so. He

30:37

added that any evidence brought by

30:39

the state pertaining to intent was

30:41

weak, therefore making proof

30:43

of Texas guilt not overwhelming

30:45

or even strong. The

30:49

court ruled that any evidence of intent

30:51

on Texas part was extremely weak.

30:54

On the other hand, it found the

30:56

evidence supporting his actions as negligent was

30:59

much stronger. Ruling, quote,

31:01

the jury could have concluded

31:03

that the revolver was discharged

31:05

as a result of being

31:07

startled awake, reflexively or involuntary

31:09

clutching of the bag holding

31:11

the firearm and inadvertently contacting

31:13

the trigger. The

31:16

DA's office, again, particularly Clint

31:19

Rucker, also came under fire

31:21

for improper comments at closing

31:23

and some of the alleged

31:25

prejudicial evidence brought against Texas.

31:29

With the ball back in the DA's court,

31:31

there was the option for no new charges

31:33

to be brought and the case to be

31:36

dismissed. Instead, prosecutors

31:38

doubled down. In

31:41

July, 2022, they announced they

31:44

would again try Texas for felony

31:46

murder, aggravated assault with a deadly

31:48

weapon and possession of a firearm

31:50

during a felony. But

31:53

this time, involuntary manslaughter would be

31:55

on the table for the jury

31:57

to consider. Three

32:00

months later in October, Texas

32:02

bond application was denied again

32:05

by Judge McBurnie who felt that the 78

32:07

year old was a flight risk. Stated

32:10

that as Tex was a man of means,

32:13

again facing life in prison, there

32:15

was strong incentive for him to flee the

32:17

state and not return. Nor

32:20

was Judge McBurnie confident Tex would

32:23

not try to influence witnesses or

32:25

stay away from firearms. Part

32:28

of Tex's proposed bond conditions was that

32:30

he go live with his sister in

32:32

Texas and return to Georgia for the trial.

32:36

His attorneys filed a request for a second

32:38

bond hearing ahead of the retrial scheduled

32:41

for September 2023. In

32:44

February of that year, Tex temporarily

32:47

surrendered his license to practice law

32:49

in Georgia, ending the

32:51

outcome of his trial. The

32:54

court accepted Texas surrender of his license

32:56

in April. But

32:59

things weren't going to be as straightforward the

33:01

next time around as the prosecution hoped.

33:05

Tex had requested bond on the

33:07

basis that he required access to

33:09

his defense team as well as

33:11

medical assistance given his age. His

33:14

attorney, Don Samuel, stated Tex

33:17

was experiencing issues with memory

33:19

and communication. Though there

33:21

were no issues with competency. The

33:25

prosecution pushed for bond to be denied.

33:28

In mid-November 2023, Judge McBurnie

33:30

ruled that 80 year old

33:33

Tex would remain in Fulton

33:35

County Jail while awaiting his

33:37

retrial, which was due to begin in

33:39

early December. Despite

33:42

Tex's age, the judge noted that

33:44

he had previously violated his bond

33:47

for improperly seeking to influence a key

33:49

witness for which he was convicted.

33:53

On December 4th, jury selection

33:55

for the second trial got underway. Tex

33:58

had the same defense team by his aside as

34:00

he had since day one, Bruce Harvey,

34:03

Don Samuel, and Amanda Clark

34:05

Palmer. But no

34:07

sooner had things got going that they ground to

34:09

a halt. In

34:12

accordance with instructions from the Georgia

34:14

Supreme Court and in response to

34:17

a motion in lemony, which is

34:19

a motion discussed in the absence of

34:21

the jury, arguing that evidence be included

34:23

or excluded from trial, the

34:26

prosecution was dealt a blow when

34:28

Judge McBurney ruled that they could

34:30

not present evidence arguing intent to

34:33

kill. This

34:35

was distinct from intent to shoot. Text

34:39

had already been acquitted of malice murder after

34:41

all. This meant that

34:43

key aspects presented as part of the

34:46

state's case at the first trial would

34:48

now not be heard. The

34:51

state would not be able to

34:53

enter evidence about Diane's alleged second

34:55

will unless they could prove text

34:57

suspect to his wife intended to

34:59

decrease her husband's entitlements as a

35:02

beneficiary. The

35:04

state would first need to argue this point

35:06

without the jury present. Judge

35:09

McBurney stated the prosecution's evidence of

35:12

a second will at the first

35:14

trial was not particularly strong. According

35:18

to the AJC, the judge

35:20

stated that the prosecution failed to demonstrate

35:22

that text knew of any such second

35:24

will. Nor

35:27

was the state allowed to

35:29

mention Georgia's slayer statute, which

35:31

prevents convicted killers from profiting from

35:33

the estate of their victim. Among

35:36

the evidence the state could bring

35:39

at retrial was Texas behavior at

35:41

the hospital and his attempts to

35:43

both influence witnesses and bribe the

35:45

then district attorney Paul Howard to

35:47

drop the charges. The

35:51

prosecution could also argue that text

35:53

shot Diane in order to incapacitate

35:55

her as a way to

35:58

gain control over her assets as power. of

36:00

attorney. The defense

36:02

wanted this argument excluded but lost on

36:04

this point. As

36:07

for the speculation that Tex was having an

36:09

affair, prosecutors would be able

36:11

to introduce this evidence in terms of

36:13

a possible motivation for the shooting, but

36:16

Tex's alleged infidelity would have

36:18

to be proven, and there was

36:21

no proof. The

36:23

prosecution announced it would appeal Judge

36:25

McBurney's decision to the Supreme Court.

36:28

Proceedings would again be delayed, this

36:31

time until mid to late 2024, perhaps even indefinitely

36:33

according to the AJC. Again, Texas defense

36:35

team planned

36:41

on requesting bond be granted. But

36:44

late the following month there was an

36:47

unexpected development. On

36:49

January 26, 2024, 81 year old Tex McIver pled guilty

36:55

to involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct,

36:57

and possession of a firearm

36:59

during a felony. There

37:02

would be no retrial after all as

37:04

one of the highest-profile legal sagas in

37:07

the state came to an end. At

37:10

sentencing, Tex told the court, quote,

37:13

Diane's the best friend I ever had.

37:16

She's the best partner I could

37:18

possibly imagine and I will always,

37:20

always love her. She

37:22

died as a result of my actions,

37:24

plain and simple. I've worn

37:26

my wedding ring since the day we were married

37:28

and I intend to wear it until the day

37:30

I die. I hope we're at

37:33

a point where we're not judging each other and

37:35

we can all move on. She's

37:37

my angel and she's waiting for me

37:39

in heaven. Others

37:42

from Diane's life were also given the

37:44

opportunity to speak. Her

37:47

best friend, Danny Joe Carter, told

37:49

the court her life had all but

37:52

been destroyed by Diane's death saying, the

37:54

stress has been tremendous. I'm

37:56

just angry. Diane's

38:00

former boss, Billy Corey, was also

38:02

read to the court, saying Diane's

38:04

death, quote, was no accident.

38:07

One man, one hand and one bullet

38:09

ended her life and caused a lifetime

38:11

of misery and loss for so many

38:13

others. There will never

38:15

be another Diane McIver. Diane

38:18

was full of life and she should never have

38:20

been taken away from us in such a careless

38:22

and malicious way. She is today

38:25

missed as much as she was on that

38:27

tragic day. In

38:29

accordance with Texas plea deal, he

38:32

was sentenced to 15 years in prison

38:34

with the last seven years to be

38:36

served on probation. He

38:38

also had to agree to relinquish

38:40

any entitlement to any civil settlement

38:42

arising from Diane's death.

38:45

With time already served and his

38:48

five-year sentence for influencing a witness

38:50

completed, according to Texas

38:52

attorneys, he could be paroled prior to the

38:54

end of his sentence in mid 2025. Given

38:59

that Tex has already served at least six

39:01

years in prison, this technically makes

39:04

him eligible for parole right now.

39:08

His attorneys told Atlanta news first that

39:10

the plea deal was struck to bring

39:12

an end to something that had now

39:15

dragged on into its eighth year with

39:17

Don Samuel saying, anyone who thinks this

39:19

was a well-planned murder, nobody

39:21

could think that. It makes

39:24

no sense to even think that was

39:26

intentional or malicious. Whether

39:29

it was reckless, whether you want to

39:31

define it as gross negligence, or whether it

39:33

was just simply an accident, that's

39:35

debatable. Judge

39:39

McBurney too, seemed satisfied with

39:41

what he described as a

39:43

healthier and cleaner method of

39:45

resolution that ultimately saved the

39:47

state the cost of further

39:49

proceedings saying, Mr. McIver shouldn't

39:51

have had that loaded gun in his hand

39:53

with his finger on the trigger. For

39:56

those who seek purely punishment through this

39:58

process, you're going to be disappointed. According

40:02

to Atlanta News First, Tex will

40:04

serve the first five years of

40:06

his probation under home confinement with

40:08

a 7pm to 7am curfew. He

40:11

is not to have any contact with

40:13

Danny Joe Carter or Billy Query. As

40:18

I explained in my original episode, I

40:20

do not believe Tex intended to kill

40:22

his wife. I agree

40:25

that much of his Tex's actions after

40:27

the fact did not look good whatever

40:30

way you try to spin it. He

40:32

got a lot of bad advice and made a

40:34

lot of stupid mistakes, but that

40:36

doesn't make him a killer. I

40:40

am probably pissing off my Atlanta

40:42

area listeners who I know feel

40:44

passionately about this case. Tex

40:49

McIver is not popular there. When

40:52

I'm sorry, I do believe the

40:54

justice system finally worked right for

40:56

this man and for Diane

40:58

McIver. I just

41:00

believe him. I always have.

41:03

His story makes much more sense than

41:05

a planned murder in his car in

41:07

front of Diane's best friend. After

41:11

my original episode aired, Tex found out

41:13

about Southern Fried and his lawyer asked

41:15

for a transcript of the episode so

41:17

Tex could read it in prison since

41:20

he was not allowed to listen to the podcast. Hopefully

41:23

he will be able to listen to this

41:25

update soon. It's

41:28

not clear exactly when Tex will be

41:30

released on parole, but it seems it

41:32

could literally be any day. And

41:34

when he is, we can only hope

41:37

that having done his time, he

41:39

can continue processing his grief for

41:41

his wife Diane and honoring

41:43

her memory. Southern

41:52

Fried True Crime is hosted and produced

41:54

by me, Erika Kelly. Today's episode was

41:57

researched and written by me and Gemma

41:59

Harris. As usual, any editorial

42:01

comments and opinions are my own.

42:04

Southern Fried's original music is by Rob Harrison

42:06

of Gamma Radio and the original graphic art

42:08

is by Koli Horner. Today's episode

42:10

was edited and mixed by Brandon Chexnider

42:12

of Southern Gothic and Erika Kelly. If

42:15

you have any case suggestions, please

42:17

go to my website, southernfriedtruecrime.com and

42:20

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42:25

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