March 3, 2024 • 48 mins
Late on a Sunday night in September of 2016, Atlanta power couple, Tex and Diane McIver, were driving back into the city and got caught in Atlanta’s notorious traffic. Diane’s best friend was driving as Diane rode in the passenger seat and her husband, Tex, sat directly behind her. When they were stopped in what they considered a dangerous part of town, Tex asked for his gun, and then fell asleep. What happened next would cause one of the most hotly debated criminal cases in recent Atlanta history.
Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley
Edited and mixed by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio
**Remastered version
Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/66-tex-diane-mciver-accident-or-murder
Written, hosted and produced by Erica Kelley
Edited and mixed by Erica Kelley
Original Graphic Art by Coley Horner
Original Music by Rob Harrison of Gamma Radio
**Remastered version
Sources: https://www.southernfriedtruecrime.com/66-tex-diane-mciver-accident-or-murder
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:13):
Southern fried True crime covers cases thatare not suitable for young listeners, and
there may also be some explicit languageused. Listener discretion is advised. On
a hot Sunday in September of twentysixteen, Text and Diane mc iver played
golf in the searing Georgia's sun forfour hours. They picked up Diane's best
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friend, Danny Joe Carter from theirPutnam County ranch where she had been riding
horses before they all headed back toAtlanta, stopping for dinner and Conyers.
The mc iver's had been drinking,so after dinner, Danny drove the rest
of the way home with Diane inthe front seat and Text behind her in
the back seat. At around tenpm that Sunday night, Atlanta traffic was
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at a standstill on the Downtown Connector. Diane told Danny Joe to get off
at Edgewood Avenue. Tex had fallenasleep in the backseat and his wife fussed
at him to wake up so we'dbe able to sleep that night. When
he looked around and saw the areathey were in, he said, girls,
this was a bad idea. Thisis a bad area. And then
he said, Darling, hand memy gun. Diane McIver then handed her
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husband the gun that would kill her. The Atlanta PD charged mac Iver with
involuntary manslaughter, but the DA disagreedand charged Text mac ivor with malice murder.
But did Tex mac ivor really meanto kill his wife? Welcome to
episode sixty six Text and Diane MacIveraccident or Murder. Atlanta, Georgia is
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one of the most famous US Southerncities in the world. During the American
Civil War, the burning of Atlantawas crucial in General Sherman's March to the
Sea. It crippled the Confederacy andwas the beginning of the end of the
Civil War. The city fell inSeptember of eighteen sixty four, and the
war ended in April eighteen sixty five. The fall of Atlanta was extensively covered
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by northern newspapers, and they gavea huge boost to Northern morale as well
as President Lincoln's political standing, ashe won the election that November by significant
margin. Sadly, Lincoln was assassinatedjust five days after Confederate General Robert E.
Lee surrendered in Appomattox, Virginia.Today, modern Atlanta is known for
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its eclectic, diverse culture. Ithas been a mecca for African American political
power, education, and culture.There has been a black mare and office
in Atlanta since nineteen seventy four.During the civil rights movement in the sixties,
a popular Atlanta slogan was it wasa city too busy to hate,
a slogan that would continue into thenineties, and in comparison to other large
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cities in the Deep South, theprogressive politics and diversity would make that slogan
ring true, But in reality,the people of Atlanta are still dealing with
racial disparity, tensions and the economiceffects of gentrification. In twenty sixteen,
when Diane mac ivor was killed,Atlanta was in an exciting transitional phase.
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Real estate prices that had lagged sincethe recession finally saw an uptick. New
ground was broken for retail and officespaces. The Braves left Turner filled for
sun Trust Park, a new entertainmentcomplex within walking distance of bars, shopping,
and residential areas. In popular culture, the critically acclaimed show Atlanta premiered,
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as well as Stranger Thinks, theNetflix hit that while sat in Indiana,
had been filmed in Atlanta and surroundingareas, giving another boost to the
local economy. On April fourteenth,Prince played his final show at the Fox
Theater in what patch dot Com calledan intimate, stripped down performance just a
week before his death. That May, Atlanta was chosen to host the twenty
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nineteen Super Bowl, making way fora new one point four billion dollar stadium
that would host the Atlanta Falcons andthe new Atlanta Soccer Club. Twenty sixteen
was also the third year of theBlack Lives Matter movement. In July,
hundreds had marched in downtown Atlanta toprotest police shootings. The day before,
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a young black man had been foundhanging in Piedmont Park. The AJC reported
that the protest was in party reactionto what many believed was a modern day
lynching. However, the young man'sdeath was ruled as suicide, and as
social media posts showed that he hadbeen shamed by his family for being gay.
It was a terrible coincidence as therewere so many police shootings nationwide that
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had led to the protests. Inthe first half of July alone, there
were one hundred and twelve protests ineighty eight cities. It's important to mention
the Atlanta March because it does becomea factor in this case. Though there
was no official march on the dayDiane McIvor was killed, but still the
specter of dangerous Black Lives Matter protesterswas raised by Text mc Ivor's pr guy,
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a move that was seriously detrimental tomac Ivor's defense. I'm going to
pause now for a short commercial break. Claude Lee MacIvor was born in San
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Antonio, Texas, on December twentysecond, nineteen forty three. He graduated
from law school at the University ofTexas before moving to Atlanta. Claude,
known as Texts all of his life, worked for Fisher Phillips law firm for
decades. He was a labor lawyer, but he didn't represent the little guy.
He represented the corporations. By twentysixteen, he was a longtime partner,
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but recently he went from equity partnerto income partner, meaning his income
dropped from about seven hundred thousand dollarsa year to about one hundred and twenty
thousand dollars a year. He wasseventy three years old. That's not unusual
tex mac Ivor was also a staunchRepublican who served on the state election board
for twelve years. He was nominatedby the governor in two thousand and five
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to be on the Judicial Nomination Committee, and even more telling, he served
on the American Bar Association Committee onGun Violence. Tex was a man who
knew guns. He didn't just knowthem, he loved them, owning close
to forty guns, some twenty twoof those being rifles. He was such
a good shot he could toss abottle in the air and hit it.
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Tex MacIvor married his first wife,Nancy, in nineteen sixty six. They
had three kids, two sons anda daughter. Nancy filed for divorce in
nineteen ninety seven, citing several affairs. She said Tex had, specifically that
he was having an affair with awoman that worked at their Putnam County ranch.
The eighty five acre ranch was Texascrown Jewel. He had horses and
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cattle and a big, sprawling ranchhouse, as well as a guesthouse and
pool. Tex kept the ranch inthe divorce, but otherwise took quite the
hit financially. It was an uglythree year court battle. When they settled
in July of two thousand, Texhad spent more than one hundred thousand on
attorney's fees, and he had agreedto pay Nancy almost seven hundred thousand dollars
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in alimony. Nancy also got halfof his retirement account, which was valued
at a little over seven hundred thousandat the time of settlement, and also
half of their property, which wasfour hundred thousand dollars. Tex also had
to pay one hundred thousand for herattorney's fees. The settlement even stipulated how
Tex could visit their dog malone quote, the wife shall allow the husband to
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use her garden hose if necessary towash the dog after one of his visits.
His daughter and one of his sonsstopped speaking to him after the ugly
divorce, to the point that hewasn't even invited to his daughter, Meredith's
wedding. At the time of hisdivorce, his assets totaled almost one million,
but his monthly income was down toseventeen thousand dollars a month. He
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used to bring in close to sixtythousand, but like I said, his
age and semi retirement had changed hissalary. He met Diane the year of
his divorce, though there is nospeculation whatsoever that there was any overlap or
that she was one of the affairsNancy accused him of. He met her
through business associates and was immediately enamoredof the beautiful forty seven year old woman.
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Being ten years her senior didn't deterhim at all. Diane Biddy Smith
mac ivor was born on July twentyfirst, nineteen fifty three in Auburn,
Alabama. She had a kind ofrags to Rich's aura about her, but
she grew up middle class, thoughher relationship with her mother was always very
volatile. She had never known herfather and her mother was an alcoholic with
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several ex husbands. Diane had abrother who died in his early twenties.
She moved to Atlanta with her familywhen she was in high school, and
a business owner named Billy Corey hiredher when she was just seventeen years old
as a part time payroll clerk.She worked nights to earn an accounting degree
from Georgia State University. In herfirst job for Corey at US Enterprises,
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she started out answering phones and soonbecame president. US Enterprises is the umbrella
company that Corey Enterprises falls under.At the time of her death, Diane
mac ivor was the CEO of CoreyEnterprises and her net worth was estimated at
twelve million. She had worked forCorey Enterprises for forty three years. She
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was respected as a formidable businesswoman,ambitious, uncompromising, and tough as nails.
Diane didn't marry until she was fortyyears old. She always just said
that was a mistake. She neverhad children of her own. Friends later
said it was a painful divorce,and like Texas divorce, it was also
ugly with the splitting of finances,and Diane was estranged from her mother for
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fifteen years. Before her death.She wouldn't even attend her funeral, telling
her neighbor that she would not shedone tear for her mother. Though tex
and Diane had met before, hestarted pursuing her more vigorously when she moved
into the luxury villa Buckhead Condos inAtlanta in the summer of two thousand.
He slipped a note under her doorwelcoming her to the building. She wasn't
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interested at first, but he woreher down when she finally agreed to a
date. It was dinner in Texasapartment, and Diane showed up in yoga
gear in a ball cap. Shewas determined that this was going nowhere,
but Text charmed her. Rachel Styles, one of Diane's assistants, said quote,
he was the perfect match for Diane. Diane was a very strong woman.
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She intimidated a lot of men.They just didn't want to compete with
her. The text didn't want tocompete with her. He was just infatuated
with her. Diane didn't trust manypeople, but seemed to trust those that
worked for her. Her best friend, Danny Joe Carter, the one driving
that night, was her manicurist.They had been friends for forty years,
though there was a ten year periodthey didn't speak because Danny Joe had a
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drinking problem. She got sober andwas then welcomed back into Diane's life.
Diane's other trusted confidants were her twopersonal assistants at work, and the man
who detailed her car and ran errandsfor her. And that's about it.
You would think a woman in herposition would have many rich, high society
friends, but Diane chose to trustpeople who worked for her. It's not
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that she didn't rub elbows with thewell heeled in Atlanta. She did,
but her close friends were more downto earth, and I think there is
something else at play here. Dianecould be a bit controlling. She was
known as a very blunt person.She would tell you that you've put on
weight, offer tips on how tolose it. It wasn't really malicious.
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She was just fastidious and she alwaysthought she knew best. She could be
really critical, but everyone in herlife accepted that as the other side of
the coin. That was Diane becauseshe was also very generous and loving,
and she was hard on herself too. That's probably why she felt critical of
others. She got up at fiveam every day to work out, and
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she kept weights in her office.But she can't always behave that way with
your peers and get away with it. Diane did. But her friends were
not exactly her peers. She wasthe CEO of a company, a self
made millionaire. Her friends were mostlyemployees and co workers. She didn't have
close friends in her own social standing, which isn't that unusual. How many
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female CEOs do you know? Herpeer group would be mainly men in that
sense, and before text she hadeven decided not to remarry. I think
that wealth can be insulating from theworld's problems, but it can also be
very isolating. You never know ifsomeone is your real friend or if they
want something from you. At leastwith employees, you know where you stand.
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But Diane wound up falling hard fortexts. They dated for almost five
years before marrying in November of twothousand and five and a lavish ceremony at
the Ranch. Diane came down theaisle in a horse drawn carriage. The
horse, wearing a flower crown,was her maid of honor, and they
lived a jet setting extravagant lifestyle,trips to Paris and the south of France.
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She in taxts would fly into Louisvillefor the Kentucky Derby, but have
Danny Joe or her husband drive theirlimo up so they could have it to
ride around town in. But shewas generous to Danny Joe with these trips,
even if Danny Joe might drive thelimo or handle some other things for
her. She was getting to goon all these fabulous trips all over the
world with her generous best friend,and Diane often lent money to her friends.
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Terry Brown was one of Diane's personalassistants at Cory enterprises, and he
was in charge of keeping track ofthe loans she gave friends. He told
the AJC that around the third ofevery month, she would ask him if
the money was all in. Sheloaned money but with reasonable interest rates,
and she even loaned money to Text. It's important to note here that she
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and Text made the decision before theymarried to keep their finances separate. Both
had been through messy, expensive divorces, and both were still self made millionaires.
At the time of her death.It was estimated that Diane was worth
around twelve million, but most ofthat was in real estate holdings. She
had about four hundred thousand in thebank, and Text was worth about one
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point seven million on his own.I told you before that his income had
significantly decreased, but it's not likehe was a poor man. The engagement
ring he gave Diane was worth sixtythousand dollars. The loan she made to
Text was to expand the guesthouse,making it a real party house on the
property in the style of an OldWest saloon. I've seen conflicting reports on
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whose idea this was. Friends toldreporters that it was Diane's. She loved
having huge parties on the ranch.Text was fine with that as long as
she could pay for it, butshe made it a loan in his name
with interest. He was paying aroundfifteen hundred dollars a month on the loan,
just the interest. It was supposedto have been a three year loan,
but in twenty fourteen Diana extended theloan for another three years. Terry
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Brown said that Text always made hispayments on time. But the interesting thing
on this extension is that she puta codicil that if Text defaulted, she
could call on the loan and takecontrolling interest of the ranch. Well,
tex had already willingly put her nameon the deed to the ranch when they
got married. This is where theirfinances seem murky to me. If she
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really was the one who wanted thesaloon party house, she certainly could afford
to pay for it, but sheexpected Text to and that condicul was her
insurance that he would pay for it. But the same friends who claimed the
saloon was her idea said that theloan through Text was merely for tax purposes.
She in Text also made new wills. In two thousand and five.
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Much was made at Texas trial aboutthe possibility of another new will that Diane
had recently made, but they neverfound proof of it. The other important
person to point out when it comesto the MacIvor finances is their godson,
Austin schwal His parents were divorced andhe was the son of a Fulton County
judge. They both doted on theboy, but especially Diane, who never
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had children of her own. Austincalled her mommy die. She threw him
lavish birthday parties, paid for privateschool, and intended to pay for his
college. If there were issues withher will, it was discussed on an
offer for a few years. Itwas Austin Diane wanted to leave him everything,
but text wanted to leave all,or at least part, to the
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son that still spoke to him.But Diane never legally changed her will.
Despite the rumors the prosecution continuously broughtup, there was no proof. No
other will was ever found. Theprosecution even put out an ad for any
Atlanta lawyer who might have worked ona will for Diane MacIvor to please come
forward. None did. But beforewe get into that, we need to
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go back to that Sunday night onSeptember sixth, twenty sixteen. I'm going
to pause now to hear a wordfrom today's sponsors. That Sunday was a
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hot day for September even in Georgia, with temperatures rising into the nineties.
Diane Texts and Danny Joe had beenat the ranch all weekend. Danny Joe
later testified that Tex got up thatmorning and brought her on Diane coffee upstairs
before making breakfast for everyone. Likeddoing little things like that. He was
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always the courtly gentleman, even afterten years of marriage. Text and Diane
had given Danny Joe a horse,and that Sunday the mcgivers went to meet
a friend to play golf while DannyJoe stated the ranch to ride her horse.
Text later told investigators that his wifeshot a seventy four that day while
he shot a ninety two. Theyall had a lot of fun that day
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despite the heat. After they finishedplaying golf, Text and Diane picked up
Danny Joe to head back to Atlanta. Danny Joe said they poured wine in
a Yetti cup and sipped it asthey headed to dinner and Conyers Georgia.
On the way back into the city, they were meeting a friend and colleague
of Diane's for dinner at the LonghornSteakhouse. There, a bottle of red
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wine was opened. Text later saidhe didn't drink much of it because he
didn't like it, but still afterdinner, Danny Joe took over the driving
because Diane in text, had beendrinking and she was sober. As they
neared Atlanta, travel on the DowntownConnector was a parking lot. Even at
ten pm on a Sunday night,you can count on Atlanta traffic being the
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worst. Diane told Danny Joe totake the Edgewood Avenue exit, and then
she turned around and fussed Text towake up. He had fallen asleep in
the back seat. Diane was inthe front passenger seat and Text was directly
behind her. She didn't want himto fall asleep because she said he wouldn't
be able to sleep that night.When Tex woke up and looked around,
he said, quote, girls,this is a bad idea. This isn't
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safe. He was talking about thearea of Midtown they were in. Diane
said, we'll be on Piedmont shortly, but he said, quote, Darling,
hen me my gun, and Dianereached into the center console and pulled
out a snubnose thirty eight revolver wrappedin a plastic bag, and then she
handed it to her husband. Andhere is where everything went wrong. Text
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took the gun and laid it inhis lap and then knotted back off to
sleep. Danny Joe said that shewas driving on Piedmont when she got stopped
by a red light at either twelfthor thirteenth Street, and then she heard
a boom. She thought at firstthat they had been hit by another car,
but Tex quickly said I discharged thegun and asked if everyone was all
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right. Diane said, Text,what did you do? Danny Joe said
she thought there would be a bullethole on the floor of the car,
and no one realized Diane was shotat first, not even Diane until she
started breathing heavy and slumped in herseat, and then she said, I've
been shot. At this, Texleaned forward cradling her head as Danny Joe
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stepped on the gas to speed toa hospital. This is another huge point
of contention at trial. Why didn'tthey just call nine one one? Danny
Joe admitted she was scared because ofthe location and wasn't sure how long it
would take to get an ambulance there. She had Piedmont Hospital in mind,
but didn't know the way. Texspoke up and directed her to Emory Hospital,
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which was not the closest. Evenif it was the closest, anyone
from Atlanta can tell you that GradyMemorial Hospital has a renowned Level one trauma
unit. It handles almost all gunshotwounds in Atlanta. At trial, the
prosecution won't apply that Tex intended togo to a further away hospital, But
the truth is Emory Hospital was aclient of his as a lawyer at Fisher
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Phillips. He had represented the hospitaland had been there many times. He
knew exactly where it was, andthis makes sense to me. Despite the
fact that Grady was known to bethe place for a gunshot wound, Tex
went to the first hospital he knewhow to get to. What Tex and
Danny Joe didn't know was that therewas a firehouse some three hundred yards or
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so from where the SUV was sittingwhen Diane was shot, though the exact
distance is estimated because they were ona section of Piedmont where the traffic cameras
were not working. Danny Joe alsowasn't sure which stoplight she was at,
so there were medics extremely close by. I think the decision to drive to
a hospital, any hospital, wasa mistake. They should have called nine
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one one At the hospital, texasseen on security cameras jumping out of the
suv and waving Danny Joe through tothe emergency doors. He also helps get
his wife into a wheelchair. DoctorSuzanne Hardy took Diane's case at the er.
Diane made a spontaneous comment in frontof the doctor while she was examining
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her. She said, quote,it was an accident. At trial,
the prosecution focused on her only otherstatement. She said, I'm dying.
And then the doctor asked if shewanted to see her husband, and Diane
said no. To this, Isay Diane was dying. Who knows if
she even understood the doctor's question.At that point, her blood pressure was
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extremely low and she was about tobe taken in for emergency surgery. The
other spontaneous comment can be considered adying declaration. It was not an answer
to a question made under duress.Diane just said it. The bullet hit
where Diane's eleventh rib met her eleventhvertebra, scattering pieces of bone. It
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then traveled through her left adrenal glandand left kidney and severed blood vessels,
going into her spleen, then throughher pancreas and stomach, so blood quickly
started filling her abdominal cavity. Thebullet missed her heart by centimeters, but
because it nicked those arteries, shebled out internally anyway. Doctor Hardy wanted
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to transfer her to Grady, butDiane was never stable enough for transfer.
In the operating room, surgeons openedher abdomen only to find several liters of
blood close to what would be thetotal blood volume in her body. For
over an hour, surgeons fought tosave Diane's life, tying off damaged blood
vessels and removing pieces of damaged organs, but her blood pressure kept dropping.
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The attending surgeon's report read her chanceof survival was zero at this stage.
There is no disagreement whatsoever among anyoneinvolved, including all of the surgeons and
the antithesiologist, that we could havedone anything differently and given her a chance
to survive. At the hospital,Tex called an old friend of his this
would wind up being a very baddecision. His friend was also an attorney,
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an attorney who had represented him before. Stephen Maples is a Decatur attorney
who defended Text when he was chargedin nineteen ninety with three counts of aggravated
assault for firing his pistol at acar with three young men inside. The
teens had been hanging out in theCul de Sac of Texas neighborhood, playing
their music loud and annoying him.He tried seeking his dogs on them before
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he got his gun out, butthe charges were dropped when Techs agreed to
pay for the damages to the teen'scar. And this was the guy who
sat on the American Bar Association Committeeon gun violence. It's an example of
what the prosecution would later Seizon Pondtex was a politically connected white man.
He got away with that incident fifteenyears earlier, and now he was involved
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in another gun incident. At thehospital, Text and Stephen Maples were overheard
conferring, and Text was heard saying, what do I say? What do
I do? Naturally, there wasmuch made of this at trial, but
honestly, if you had just shotyour wife, even accidentally, wouldn't you
be scared? But optics are everything, and his behavior even while still at
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the hospital put people off, andat this point he had no idea that
Diane had already told the doctor itwas an accident. He went up to
Danny Joe and said, why don'tyou just say you weren't there? Things
like this can get so turned around. Just say you came here to be
with us as a friend. AndDanny Joe told him no, she couldn't
do that, quote text, Ijust drove you to the r I can't
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do that. Why would I behere at this time of night on a
Sunday without my own car. Joetalked to the Atlanta police right away and
insisted it was a tragic accident.She said there was no doubt in her
mind, and this was even afterhis strange request for her to lie at
the hospital. She didn't tell policeabout Texas request the first time they questioned
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her, but she did the secondtime, and a very different Danny Joe
testified at trial. She did notchange her story, but she was no
longer on Texas side. She nowbelieved the shooting was intentional. I think
like everyone else, she was putoff by Texas behavior. After Diane's death,
starting with him asking her to lieat the hospital. Afterwards, he
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went so far as to call DannyJoe's husband and tell him to get Danny
Joe to retract what she told thepolice. Interestingly, Texas defense team found
another reason for Danny Joe's flip.Diane had loaned her money also as she
did for many friends and associates,and texts expected her to pay the loan.
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Now, this isn't as heartless asit sounds. Tex was executor of
Diane's estate. Danny Joe wasn't theonly friend expected to repay their loan.
And about TeX's behavior, well,first of all, Tex didn't go voluntarily
talk to police for two days.That does look bad. Why wouldn't you
just sit down with them right awayif it was an accident? And why
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didn't the police insist on speaking withhim right away? I'm pretty sure if
I shot my husband, I wouldbe questioned that same day, even with
a witness saying it was an accident. It does show that Tex was getting
preferential treatment. The police felt confidentit was an accident after taking Danny Joe's
statement, So maybe this isn't asbad as it looks. But again,
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optics are everything, and to theworld, this looked like a rich white
lawyer with political connections. Wasn't beingquestioned by the police right away? And
why would he choose to wait?Friends say, Text was beside himself.
It wasn't to get his story straight. He was just in shock. When
he did finally talk to the police, he said the gun was in his
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lap and it just went off.Text told police Quote, I was handling
the gun. I forgot it wasin my lap and it just went off.
And I don't think he's lying.Text was diagnosed with rim behavioral disorder,
which means where most people don't actout their dreams, Texts often did
thrash around. Bill Rankin with theAJC podcast Breakdown explained this diagnosis very well.
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He said, normally people have awall between their dreams and actual bodily
movements and reaction to the dream.People with Rim behavioral disorder somehow, Quote
breached that wall. Specifically, Textwould clench his fingers and thrash his arms.
A masseuse named Annie Anderson testified atTexas trial about his condition. He
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often fell asleep while getting a massageand she had to be careful about where
she was standing in relation to hisbody if he fell asleep or he might
accidentally hit her. She also hadto testify to deny allegations of a sexual
relationship with Texts. I will comeback to this in a moment. The
next big mistake text made was hiringa pr consultant by the name of Bill
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Crane. He made an official statementto the press that text was alarmed about
the recent unrest surrounding several Black LivesMatter protests in the area and feared that
they would be carjacked. This isthe mistake that took this case. National
Black Lives Matter representatives across the countrywere outraged. In fact, there is
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no evidence that there were protesters inthat area on the ninth of September sixth.
As many people have said, BillCrane injected race into a case where
it did not belong. I agreeto a certain extent. First of all,
Tex mac Ivor denies ever saying this. He said Crane made that statement.
All he had said was that itwas a bad area. Crane stands
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by his statement and testified that Textstried to get him to retract the statement.
This would lead to one of thethree charges. The prosecution indicted texts
for of trying to manipulate a witness. The other two counts for the same
thing were for when he asked DannyJoe to lie and say she wasn't in
the suv that night, and alsofor the message he left on her husband's
voicemail. Text foolishly left the voicemailfor Danny Joe's husband from jail. This
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was before he made bond. Hefound out that Danny Joe told the police
what he had asked her to do, and he called her husband to ask
him to get Danny Joe to stoptalking to the police. Oh and he
also said delete this message, exceptall calls coming out of the Fulton County
Jail are recorded. Foolish indeed,and that is what I think is Tex
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mac Ivor's huge problem. He wasarrogant and foolish. But before he had
ever even been indicted, he madehis next huge mistake. Within days of
Diane's death, he was taking inventoryof her extensive collection of cature clothing,
vers, shoes, hats, andjewelry, and then he auctioned everything off.
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He held three auctions actually, andthis is really hard for people to
swallow. It was tacky. Itwas unseemly and it definitely looked callous.
But Diane's estate lawyer actually advised Textsto do this until they could look wuidate
assets to cover not only her bequestsbut other financial issues related to her estate
(31:25):
and just the wrapping up of herlife. But still this looked awful.
The estate lawyer spoke with the AJACand defended the advice he gave, saying
those clothes would appreciate within a yearwhen styles change, and also you need
to sell winter clothes. At thestart of winter. Diane had one hundred
and thirty seven fur coats. Theauctions were held in early December. Okay,
(31:49):
I get all of that, butit's hard to believe that this guy
and text both thought that this wasa good idea. But then I think
about it this way. Tech saidit was an accident. I don't think
he really believed that he would beprosecuted, so why not follow the lawyer's
advice. He was not officially chargeduntil December twenty first, after the auctions,
(32:13):
and he was charged with involuntary manslaughterand reckless conduct. One big point
of contention with this auction is notonly how it looked. There were some
ruby and diamond pieces that had beenwilled to a friend of Diane's with the
same birthstone. If he was reallyauctioning to honor requests, why would he
auction pieces for someone in the will, pieces that she was supposed to get.
(32:35):
Well, she wasn't supposed to getthose pieces. According to the AJC,
in total, there was a rubyring, bracelet, and earrings that
brought around eighteen thousand dollars at auction. Now that's no small amount, but
Diane had many other ruby and diamondpieces, and in fact, there was
a ring, bracelet and earrings valuedat more than one hundred thousand that he
did not auction. He was savingthose for her friend. Texas bond was
(33:00):
set at seventy five thousand dollars,which he quickly made and was out until
trial. By April, prosecutors servedmultiple subpoenas for the mc iver's financial records.
Now it would seem that the DA'soffice did not agree with the Atlanta
PD. They didn't believe this wasan accident. During the search of Texas
condo, a glock pistol was foundin his saut drawer. This was a
(33:23):
violation of his bond. He hadall other firearms removed from the condo and
ranch except this one. The judgerevoked Texas bond, and then a few
days later, on April twenty seventh, he was indicted on a charge of
malice murder. George's malice murder chargeis what many states refer to as first
degree murder. The DA indicted Textson seven additional counts. He was also
(33:47):
charged with felony murder, which iswhat other states call second degree murder,
then aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm, and commission
of a felony, and those threecharges of trying to influence what aness that
I told you about. And thistrial would be dramatic in so many ways.
For one, they had a judgewho allowed jurors to ask questions throughout
(34:09):
the trial, not just in deliberations. This is highly unusual and something the
defense attorneys didn't like. If thestate wasn't making their case clear enough,
that's on them. This judge allowingclarification questions clearly gives the prosecution a leg
up. Prosecutor Clint Rucker is oneof those preacher prosecutors and natural born theatrical
(34:31):
speaker he uses that thing where hesays something and then repeats it for emphasis.
He recites poetry or scripture. Hisbooming voice and lyrical way of speaking
is very effective in a court room. In late October of twenty seventeen,
three days before the trial was tobegin, the prosecution asked for a continuance,
(34:52):
saying they felt the defense needed moretime, which was some hilarious legal
wrangling because the defense strongly disputed this. If they needed a continuance, they
would have asked for it. BillRankin with AJC said that the prosecution was
actually still looking for evidence to supporttheir indictment of malice murder, so they
(35:12):
put it on hold for four monthsand then came back. The AJC also
pointed out that they had some ninetythousand email to go through between texts and
Diane. The state's position is thatTex mac Ivor needed, not just wanted
his wife's fortune. They also broughtup the specter of supposed affairs he was
having, which was convenient as itwas the reason his ex wife divorced him,
(35:37):
but they could never find any proofof an affair. Tex worshiped his
wife. The state brought a womannamed Annie Anderson. To testify. She
was the messuse I mentioned earlier.She came over and gave massages to Diane
and text regularly. Being wealthy people, they didn't make appointments at a salon.
They had a personal messuse who cameto their house. And it's important
(35:59):
to note that she treated both themac Ivors and also considered them close friends,
as did many of their employees.Annie Anderson and Rachel Styles, Diane's
other personal assistant, stayed with textsthe first couple of days after the shooting
because they were afraid he would mixup his medication and hurt himself. Annie
slept on the floor in Texas room. The prosecution had a fuelled day with
(36:22):
this. But you know what isgross. Their godson, Austin was sleeping
in the bed with texts. Werethey insinuating that he had sex with Annie
with his godson in the room.For her part, Annie Anderson was angry
and humiliated that this was even insinuated. She was a professional and this accusation
(36:44):
was detrimental to her career. Andwhat's more, she cared about the mac
Ivers That is really clear in hertestimony. But aside from imaginary affairs,
all the state really had was money. Tex wanted Diane's money. As I
told you, his income had drasticallydecreased at his age. He was no
(37:05):
longer an equity partner, but anincome partner, and his expenses at the
ranch were exorbitant, and it issomething he and Diane were talking about.
In an email the state found,he tells her he's trying to reduce his
monthly expenses. She then playfully suggeststhat he'd take over the job of his
ranch hand at the Putnam County ranch. He says, well, guess it's
(37:25):
back to being a jiggalow. Andthe state thought this was nefarious. The
defense thought it was playful banter.Yes, there were money issues, but
Tex still made money, and heand Diane were both millionaires. They would
work it out. To me,this sounds very much like playful banter.
I would hate for a prosecutor tosee some of the texts I sent to
(37:46):
my own husband when joking around.Danny Joe Carter was the state's star witness
at trial. They later even calledher the MVP. But the biggest problem
with the state's case is all thepromises they made in the opening statement.
They continued to allude to a secondwill, a will that could never prove
(38:06):
existed. It was never found.It's why they wanted to go through all
those emails and when they did findan email talking about wills, but nothing
was formalized. The lawyer who wascopied on this email told the AJAC that
drafting a will for people is kindof like selling life insurance. Folks keep
putting this stuff off because they don'twant to think about it. The lawyer
(38:28):
didn't think it was fishy at all, and yes, the state proved that
Tex was ever spending and his incomehad gone down, but in reality,
Diane made more money than him.If he was really worried that much about
money, it makes more sense forDiane to live. She was the breadwinner,
and every friend agreed that they werein love, ridiculously in love,
(38:52):
the kind of couple who, afterfive years of dating and ten years of
marriage, still held hands all thetime. Friends turned on Tech by the
time of the trial because of hismany bad, callous looking choices. He
did auction off her things, andhe also asked a colleague of hers if
he would be able to draw herSocial Security benefits. This was only a
(39:13):
few days after her death. Andthat's the problem with Tex. He not
only takes bad advice, but hemakes bad decisions. But none of that
makes him a murderer. I dothink he was worried about how he would
live out his days, how hewould maintain this lifestyle. And he could
also just be a greedy bastard.That's true, but I don't think he
(39:35):
killed her over it. She wasthe one keeping him in such a lavish
lifestyle to begin with, and headored her. Even friends who turned against
him couldn't argue with that. It'swhy they found it so shocking. At
trial, Text did not take thestand in his own defense. I am
(40:05):
not going to take you, gabbledto Gabble through the trial of Tex MacIvor.
I would rather point you to theexcellent podcast breakdown by the AJAC that
I've already mentioned. Their long formpodcast on this case covers Texas trial extensively,
so I will just give you somehighlights. There were competing firearms experts.
One sticking point is that no oneknows if the gun was actually cocked.
(40:28):
The police didn't ask that question rightaway, and Text later said he
couldn't remember. The difference is ifit wasn't cocked. It takes twelve pounds
of pressure to pull that trigger.If it was cocked, it takes less
than two pounds. That makes alot more sense for an accidental shooting.
There was no way to know forsure, but I am willing to bet
(40:49):
that after Diane handed text the gun, he cocked it to be ready and
had it sitting in his lap,and then he did not off back to
sleep. And many people have difficultywith this. If he was afraid enough
to ask for his gun, howcould he just not off to this?
I say he was seventy three yearsold, he had played golf and the
hot Georgia son for four hours,and then had been drinking wine. The
(41:13):
defense also made some really good pointsabout why if he wanted to kill his
wife would he do it this way? Why try and shoot her in the
car through the seat. There wasa great chance that the bullet could have
ricocheted back at him or get lodgedin Diane's seat. There's any possible scenario
that would have made this a strangeway to kill his wife, the first
problem being that he did it infront of her best friend. But the
(41:37):
prosecution did do a good job ofmaking texts out to be the entitled,
white, rich, politically connected manhe was. None of that is false.
It just makes the police look badfor not going after him harder in
the first place. However, Idon't think the police were going that easy
on him. The detective on hiscase had worked over forty malice murder cases
(41:58):
before. He had an ex excellentrecord. He had an eyewitness that said
it was an accident. He hada dying declaration from the victim saying it
was an accident. I will saythat they definitely should have brought him in
for formal questioning that night, iffor no other reason than protocol. If
his connections helped at all, itwas that they gave him those couple of
(42:19):
days before their formal interview. Theproblem was both the prosecution and defense,
when all or nothing in closing arguments, both asked the jury not to find
him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Thedefense wanted a straight not guilty this was
an accident. The state wanted premeditatedmalice murder, so the original involuntary manslaughter
(42:44):
charge was taken off the table.The jury could choose malice or felony,
or they could find him not guilty, but that was it. During deliberations,
the jury kept sending out questions thatmade the defense feel pretty good.
They didn't seem to grasp the lifelegal definition of intent. Things were looking
pretty good for Texts, especially oncethe jury sent word that they were deadlocked,
(43:07):
but the judge gave them instructions tokeep deliberating, and then they came
back with a confusing verdict. Theyfound Tex guilty of felony murder, aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon, possessionof a firearm, and commission of a
felony, and witness influencing. Thereason it's confusing is felony murder is like
second degree murder. It means aperson was killed in the commission of another
(43:30):
felony. In this case, thatwould be the aggravated assault charge, meaning
there was no actual intent to killDiane, but just to harm her.
See what I mean by the jurynot understanding intent. So why did they
decide this way with the conflicting verdicts. Why would Text shoot Diane unless he
(43:51):
meant to kill her? The problemhere lies in what the jury was not
allowed to ask. Malice murder andfelony murder have the same punishments, but
they were not allowed to ask howlong Text would go to prison for these
offenses. They did ask, butof all the questions that this judge allowed,
he refused this one. And itis a matter of law, except
(44:13):
in capital cases, juries are notto consider punishment during their deliberations. Maybe
they thought that felony murder was alesser charge, when in reality it's basically
the same in terms of punishment.Tex MacIvor will spend the rest of his
natural life in prison he would haveif he had been convicted of malice murder.
Also, I think the defense madea crucial mistake with all or nothing
(44:37):
charged to the jury. Typically,all types of murder charges are on an
indictment to give the jury and outif they don't believe it was premeditated.
It's not surprising the prosecution one ofthis charge removed, But it was the
defense who really rolled the dice.Here. Tex is now embroled in a
wrongful death suit with Diane's estate.But here's the thing, so is Danny
(44:59):
Joe Carter. She is named inthe same suit. The suit says that
she breached the duty of driving ina safe manner at all times, but
specifically cites her decision not to callnine one one and to drive to an
ear instead. As of May oftwenty nineteen, the lawsuit hasn't been settled,
so I'm sure by now you guysknow what I think. I think
(45:22):
Tux mac Ivor was guilty of involuntarymanslaughter due to reckless conduct. I do
not believe he intended to murder hiswife. I think he is an old
man who had handled guns his wholelife and never thought something like this could
happen to him. I think itwas a horrible tragedy, and his behavior
after the fact was shitty. Hetook bad advice and also made several bad
(45:45):
choices on his own. He reallywas his own worst enemy. But being
a dumbass does not make you amurderer. And you know what, maybe
race did belong in this trial,regardless of whether Tax made the Black Lives
Matter comment or if it was reallyhis pr guy, the specter of race
(46:05):
is there. This bad spot oftown they were stopped at wasn't just about
homeless people, It was about blackpeople. Tex was an old white guy.
His automatic response to this kind ofneighborhood is indicative of his own racial
bias, whether he was conscious ofit or not. And ironically, Diane
mcgiver had donated money to the BlueLives Matter campaign in Atlanta, tex may
(46:30):
Or may not have understood the BlackLives Matter movement, but it would seem
that his wife did. Either way. When he awoke on this dark street,
he didn't feel safe, so hesaid, Darling, hand me my
gun, and Diane mcgiver handed herhusband the gun that killed her. Southern
(46:54):
Fried True Crime is written and producedby me Erica Kelly, the original graphic
artist by Khey Horner, and SouthernFred's original music is by Rob Harrison of
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(47:15):
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(47:36):
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(48:00):
listening. You'll take care
Southern fried True crime covers cases thatare not suitable for young listeners, and
there may also be some explicit languageused. Listener discretion is advised. On
a hot Sunday in September of twentysixteen, Text and Diane mc iver played
golf in the searing Georgia's sun forfour hours. They picked up Diane's best
(00:38):
friend, Danny Joe Carter from theirPutnam County ranch where she had been riding
horses before they all headed back toAtlanta, stopping for dinner and Conyers.
The mc iver's had been drinking,so after dinner, Danny drove the rest
of the way home with Diane inthe front seat and Text behind her in
the back seat. At around tenpm that Sunday night, Atlanta traffic was
(01:00):
at a standstill on the Downtown Connector. Diane told Danny Joe to get off
at Edgewood Avenue. Tex had fallenasleep in the backseat and his wife fussed
at him to wake up so we'dbe able to sleep that night. When
he looked around and saw the areathey were in, he said, girls,
this was a bad idea. Thisis a bad area. And then
he said, Darling, hand memy gun. Diane McIver then handed her
(01:25):
husband the gun that would kill her. The Atlanta PD charged mac Iver with
involuntary manslaughter, but the DA disagreedand charged Text mac ivor with malice murder.
But did Tex mac ivor really meanto kill his wife? Welcome to
episode sixty six Text and Diane MacIveraccident or Murder. Atlanta, Georgia is
(01:55):
one of the most famous US Southerncities in the world. During the American
Civil War, the burning of Atlantawas crucial in General Sherman's March to the
Sea. It crippled the Confederacy andwas the beginning of the end of the
Civil War. The city fell inSeptember of eighteen sixty four, and the
war ended in April eighteen sixty five. The fall of Atlanta was extensively covered
(02:17):
by northern newspapers, and they gavea huge boost to Northern morale as well
as President Lincoln's political standing, ashe won the election that November by significant
margin. Sadly, Lincoln was assassinatedjust five days after Confederate General Robert E.
Lee surrendered in Appomattox, Virginia.Today, modern Atlanta is known for
(02:38):
its eclectic, diverse culture. Ithas been a mecca for African American political
power, education, and culture.There has been a black mare and office
in Atlanta since nineteen seventy four.During the civil rights movement in the sixties,
a popular Atlanta slogan was it wasa city too busy to hate,
a slogan that would continue into thenineties, and in comparison to other large
(03:00):
cities in the Deep South, theprogressive politics and diversity would make that slogan
ring true, But in reality,the people of Atlanta are still dealing with
racial disparity, tensions and the economiceffects of gentrification. In twenty sixteen,
when Diane mac ivor was killed,Atlanta was in an exciting transitional phase.
(03:22):
Real estate prices that had lagged sincethe recession finally saw an uptick. New
ground was broken for retail and officespaces. The Braves left Turner filled for
sun Trust Park, a new entertainmentcomplex within walking distance of bars, shopping,
and residential areas. In popular culture, the critically acclaimed show Atlanta premiered,
(03:43):
as well as Stranger Thinks, theNetflix hit that while sat in Indiana,
had been filmed in Atlanta and surroundingareas, giving another boost to the
local economy. On April fourteenth,Prince played his final show at the Fox
Theater in what patch dot Com calledan intimate, stripped down performance just a
week before his death. That May, Atlanta was chosen to host the twenty
(04:06):
nineteen Super Bowl, making way fora new one point four billion dollar stadium
that would host the Atlanta Falcons andthe new Atlanta Soccer Club. Twenty sixteen
was also the third year of theBlack Lives Matter movement. In July,
hundreds had marched in downtown Atlanta toprotest police shootings. The day before,
(04:27):
a young black man had been foundhanging in Piedmont Park. The AJC reported
that the protest was in party reactionto what many believed was a modern day
lynching. However, the young man'sdeath was ruled as suicide, and as
social media posts showed that he hadbeen shamed by his family for being gay.
It was a terrible coincidence as therewere so many police shootings nationwide that
(04:48):
had led to the protests. Inthe first half of July alone, there
were one hundred and twelve protests ineighty eight cities. It's important to mention
the Atlanta March because it does becomea factor in this case. Though there
was no official march on the dayDiane McIvor was killed, but still the
specter of dangerous Black Lives Matter protesterswas raised by Text mc Ivor's pr guy,
(05:13):
a move that was seriously detrimental tomac Ivor's defense. I'm going to
pause now for a short commercial break. Claude Lee MacIvor was born in San
(05:35):
Antonio, Texas, on December twentysecond, nineteen forty three. He graduated
from law school at the University ofTexas before moving to Atlanta. Claude,
known as Texts all of his life, worked for Fisher Phillips law firm for
decades. He was a labor lawyer, but he didn't represent the little guy.
He represented the corporations. By twentysixteen, he was a longtime partner,
(06:00):
but recently he went from equity partnerto income partner, meaning his income
dropped from about seven hundred thousand dollarsa year to about one hundred and twenty
thousand dollars a year. He wasseventy three years old. That's not unusual
tex mac Ivor was also a staunchRepublican who served on the state election board
for twelve years. He was nominatedby the governor in two thousand and five
(06:21):
to be on the Judicial Nomination Committee, and even more telling, he served
on the American Bar Association Committee onGun Violence. Tex was a man who
knew guns. He didn't just knowthem, he loved them, owning close
to forty guns, some twenty twoof those being rifles. He was such
a good shot he could toss abottle in the air and hit it.
(06:44):
Tex MacIvor married his first wife,Nancy, in nineteen sixty six. They
had three kids, two sons anda daughter. Nancy filed for divorce in
nineteen ninety seven, citing several affairs. She said Tex had, specifically that
he was having an affair with awoman that worked at their Putnam County ranch.
The eighty five acre ranch was Texascrown Jewel. He had horses and
(07:08):
cattle and a big, sprawling ranchhouse, as well as a guesthouse and
pool. Tex kept the ranch inthe divorce, but otherwise took quite the
hit financially. It was an uglythree year court battle. When they settled
in July of two thousand, Texhad spent more than one hundred thousand on
attorney's fees, and he had agreedto pay Nancy almost seven hundred thousand dollars
(07:28):
in alimony. Nancy also got halfof his retirement account, which was valued
at a little over seven hundred thousandat the time of settlement, and also
half of their property, which wasfour hundred thousand dollars. Tex also had
to pay one hundred thousand for herattorney's fees. The settlement even stipulated how
Tex could visit their dog malone quote, the wife shall allow the husband to
(07:51):
use her garden hose if necessary towash the dog after one of his visits.
His daughter and one of his sonsstopped speaking to him after the ugly
divorce, to the point that hewasn't even invited to his daughter, Meredith's
wedding. At the time of hisdivorce, his assets totaled almost one million,
but his monthly income was down toseventeen thousand dollars a month. He
(08:13):
used to bring in close to sixtythousand, but like I said, his
age and semi retirement had changed hissalary. He met Diane the year of
his divorce, though there is nospeculation whatsoever that there was any overlap or
that she was one of the affairsNancy accused him of. He met her
through business associates and was immediately enamoredof the beautiful forty seven year old woman.
(08:37):
Being ten years her senior didn't deterhim at all. Diane Biddy Smith
mac ivor was born on July twentyfirst, nineteen fifty three in Auburn,
Alabama. She had a kind ofrags to Rich's aura about her, but
she grew up middle class, thoughher relationship with her mother was always very
volatile. She had never known herfather and her mother was an alcoholic with
(09:01):
several ex husbands. Diane had abrother who died in his early twenties.
She moved to Atlanta with her familywhen she was in high school, and
a business owner named Billy Corey hiredher when she was just seventeen years old
as a part time payroll clerk.She worked nights to earn an accounting degree
from Georgia State University. In herfirst job for Corey at US Enterprises,
(09:24):
she started out answering phones and soonbecame president. US Enterprises is the umbrella
company that Corey Enterprises falls under.At the time of her death, Diane
mac ivor was the CEO of CoreyEnterprises and her net worth was estimated at
twelve million. She had worked forCorey Enterprises for forty three years. She
(09:45):
was respected as a formidable businesswoman,ambitious, uncompromising, and tough as nails.
Diane didn't marry until she was fortyyears old. She always just said
that was a mistake. She neverhad children of her own. Friends later
said it was a painful divorce,and like Texas divorce, it was also
ugly with the splitting of finances,and Diane was estranged from her mother for
(10:11):
fifteen years. Before her death.She wouldn't even attend her funeral, telling
her neighbor that she would not shedone tear for her mother. Though tex
and Diane had met before, hestarted pursuing her more vigorously when she moved
into the luxury villa Buckhead Condos inAtlanta in the summer of two thousand.
He slipped a note under her doorwelcoming her to the building. She wasn't
(10:33):
interested at first, but he woreher down when she finally agreed to a
date. It was dinner in Texasapartment, and Diane showed up in yoga
gear in a ball cap. Shewas determined that this was going nowhere,
but Text charmed her. Rachel Styles, one of Diane's assistants, said quote,
he was the perfect match for Diane. Diane was a very strong woman.
(10:56):
She intimidated a lot of men.They just didn't want to compete with
her. The text didn't want tocompete with her. He was just infatuated
with her. Diane didn't trust manypeople, but seemed to trust those that
worked for her. Her best friend, Danny Joe Carter, the one driving
that night, was her manicurist.They had been friends for forty years,
though there was a ten year periodthey didn't speak because Danny Joe had a
(11:20):
drinking problem. She got sober andwas then welcomed back into Diane's life.
Diane's other trusted confidants were her twopersonal assistants at work, and the man
who detailed her car and ran errandsfor her. And that's about it.
You would think a woman in herposition would have many rich, high society
friends, but Diane chose to trustpeople who worked for her. It's not
(11:41):
that she didn't rub elbows with thewell heeled in Atlanta. She did,
but her close friends were more downto earth, and I think there is
something else at play here. Dianecould be a bit controlling. She was
known as a very blunt person.She would tell you that you've put on
weight, offer tips on how tolose it. It wasn't really malicious.
(12:03):
She was just fastidious and she alwaysthought she knew best. She could be
really critical, but everyone in herlife accepted that as the other side of
the coin. That was Diane becauseshe was also very generous and loving,
and she was hard on herself too. That's probably why she felt critical of
others. She got up at fiveam every day to work out, and
(12:24):
she kept weights in her office.But she can't always behave that way with
your peers and get away with it. Diane did. But her friends were
not exactly her peers. She wasthe CEO of a company, a self
made millionaire. Her friends were mostlyemployees and co workers. She didn't have
close friends in her own social standing, which isn't that unusual. How many
(12:48):
female CEOs do you know? Herpeer group would be mainly men in that
sense, and before text she hadeven decided not to remarry. I think
that wealth can be insulating from theworld's problems, but it can also be
very isolating. You never know ifsomeone is your real friend or if they
want something from you. At leastwith employees, you know where you stand.
(13:11):
But Diane wound up falling hard fortexts. They dated for almost five
years before marrying in November of twothousand and five and a lavish ceremony at
the Ranch. Diane came down theaisle in a horse drawn carriage. The
horse, wearing a flower crown,was her maid of honor, and they
lived a jet setting extravagant lifestyle,trips to Paris and the south of France.
(13:35):
She in taxts would fly into Louisvillefor the Kentucky Derby, but have
Danny Joe or her husband drive theirlimo up so they could have it to
ride around town in. But shewas generous to Danny Joe with these trips,
even if Danny Joe might drive thelimo or handle some other things for
her. She was getting to goon all these fabulous trips all over the
world with her generous best friend,and Diane often lent money to her friends.
(13:58):
Terry Brown was one of Diane's personalassistants at Cory enterprises, and he
was in charge of keeping track ofthe loans she gave friends. He told
the AJC that around the third ofevery month, she would ask him if
the money was all in. Sheloaned money but with reasonable interest rates,
and she even loaned money to Text. It's important to note here that she
(14:20):
and Text made the decision before theymarried to keep their finances separate. Both
had been through messy, expensive divorces, and both were still self made millionaires.
At the time of her death.It was estimated that Diane was worth
around twelve million, but most ofthat was in real estate holdings. She
had about four hundred thousand in thebank, and Text was worth about one
(14:41):
point seven million on his own.I told you before that his income had
significantly decreased, but it's not likehe was a poor man. The engagement
ring he gave Diane was worth sixtythousand dollars. The loan she made to
Text was to expand the guesthouse,making it a real party house on the
property in the style of an OldWest saloon. I've seen conflicting reports on
(15:05):
whose idea this was. Friends toldreporters that it was Diane's. She loved
having huge parties on the ranch.Text was fine with that as long as
she could pay for it, butshe made it a loan in his name
with interest. He was paying aroundfifteen hundred dollars a month on the loan,
just the interest. It was supposedto have been a three year loan,
but in twenty fourteen Diana extended theloan for another three years. Terry
(15:30):
Brown said that Text always made hispayments on time. But the interesting thing
on this extension is that she puta codicil that if Text defaulted, she
could call on the loan and takecontrolling interest of the ranch. Well,
tex had already willingly put her nameon the deed to the ranch when they
got married. This is where theirfinances seem murky to me. If she
(15:50):
really was the one who wanted thesaloon party house, she certainly could afford
to pay for it, but sheexpected Text to and that condicul was her
insurance that he would pay for it. But the same friends who claimed the
saloon was her idea said that theloan through Text was merely for tax purposes.
She in Text also made new wills. In two thousand and five.
(16:11):
Much was made at Texas trial aboutthe possibility of another new will that Diane
had recently made, but they neverfound proof of it. The other important
person to point out when it comesto the MacIvor finances is their godson,
Austin schwal His parents were divorced andhe was the son of a Fulton County
judge. They both doted on theboy, but especially Diane, who never
(16:33):
had children of her own. Austincalled her mommy die. She threw him
lavish birthday parties, paid for privateschool, and intended to pay for his
college. If there were issues withher will, it was discussed on an
offer for a few years. Itwas Austin Diane wanted to leave him everything,
but text wanted to leave all,or at least part, to the
(16:55):
son that still spoke to him.But Diane never legally changed her will.
Despite the rumors the prosecution continuously broughtup, there was no proof. No
other will was ever found. Theprosecution even put out an ad for any
Atlanta lawyer who might have worked ona will for Diane MacIvor to please come
forward. None did. But beforewe get into that, we need to
(17:18):
go back to that Sunday night onSeptember sixth, twenty sixteen. I'm going
to pause now to hear a wordfrom today's sponsors. That Sunday was a
(17:41):
hot day for September even in Georgia, with temperatures rising into the nineties.
Diane Texts and Danny Joe had beenat the ranch all weekend. Danny Joe
later testified that Tex got up thatmorning and brought her on Diane coffee upstairs
before making breakfast for everyone. Likeddoing little things like that. He was
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always the courtly gentleman, even afterten years of marriage. Text and Diane
had given Danny Joe a horse,and that Sunday the mcgivers went to meet
a friend to play golf while DannyJoe stated the ranch to ride her horse.
Text later told investigators that his wifeshot a seventy four that day while
he shot a ninety two. Theyall had a lot of fun that day
(18:23):
despite the heat. After they finishedplaying golf, Text and Diane picked up
Danny Joe to head back to Atlanta. Danny Joe said they poured wine in
a Yetti cup and sipped it asthey headed to dinner and Conyers Georgia.
On the way back into the city, they were meeting a friend and colleague
of Diane's for dinner at the LonghornSteakhouse. There, a bottle of red
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wine was opened. Text later saidhe didn't drink much of it because he
didn't like it, but still afterdinner, Danny Joe took over the driving
because Diane in text, had beendrinking and she was sober. As they
neared Atlanta, travel on the DowntownConnector was a parking lot. Even at
ten pm on a Sunday night,you can count on Atlanta traffic being the
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worst. Diane told Danny Joe totake the Edgewood Avenue exit, and then
she turned around and fussed Text towake up. He had fallen asleep in
the back seat. Diane was inthe front passenger seat and Text was directly
behind her. She didn't want himto fall asleep because she said he wouldn't
be able to sleep that night.When Tex woke up and looked around,
he said, quote, girls,this is a bad idea. This isn't
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safe. He was talking about thearea of Midtown they were in. Diane
said, we'll be on Piedmont shortly, but he said, quote, Darling,
hen me my gun, and Dianereached into the center console and pulled
out a snubnose thirty eight revolver wrappedin a plastic bag, and then she
handed it to her husband. Andhere is where everything went wrong. Text
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took the gun and laid it inhis lap and then knotted back off to
sleep. Danny Joe said that shewas driving on Piedmont when she got stopped
by a red light at either twelfthor thirteenth Street, and then she heard
a boom. She thought at firstthat they had been hit by another car,
but Tex quickly said I discharged thegun and asked if everyone was all
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right. Diane said, Text,what did you do? Danny Joe said
she thought there would be a bullethole on the floor of the car,
and no one realized Diane was shotat first, not even Diane until she
started breathing heavy and slumped in herseat, and then she said, I've
been shot. At this, Texleaned forward cradling her head as Danny Joe
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stepped on the gas to speed toa hospital. This is another huge point
of contention at trial. Why didn'tthey just call nine one one? Danny
Joe admitted she was scared because ofthe location and wasn't sure how long it
would take to get an ambulance there. She had Piedmont Hospital in mind,
but didn't know the way. Texspoke up and directed her to Emory Hospital,
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which was not the closest. Evenif it was the closest, anyone
from Atlanta can tell you that GradyMemorial Hospital has a renowned Level one trauma
unit. It handles almost all gunshotwounds in Atlanta. At trial, the
prosecution won't apply that Tex intended togo to a further away hospital, But
the truth is Emory Hospital was aclient of his as a lawyer at Fisher
(21:22):
Phillips. He had represented the hospitaland had been there many times. He
knew exactly where it was, andthis makes sense to me. Despite the
fact that Grady was known to bethe place for a gunshot wound, Tex
went to the first hospital he knewhow to get to. What Tex and
Danny Joe didn't know was that therewas a firehouse some three hundred yards or
(21:42):
so from where the SUV was sittingwhen Diane was shot, though the exact
distance is estimated because they were ona section of Piedmont where the traffic cameras
were not working. Danny Joe alsowasn't sure which stoplight she was at,
so there were medics extremely close by. I think the decision to drive to
a hospital, any hospital, wasa mistake. They should have called nine
(22:04):
one one At the hospital, texasseen on security cameras jumping out of the
suv and waving Danny Joe through tothe emergency doors. He also helps get
his wife into a wheelchair. DoctorSuzanne Hardy took Diane's case at the er.
Diane made a spontaneous comment in frontof the doctor while she was examining
(22:26):
her. She said, quote,it was an accident. At trial,
the prosecution focused on her only otherstatement. She said, I'm dying.
And then the doctor asked if shewanted to see her husband, and Diane
said no. To this, Isay Diane was dying. Who knows if
she even understood the doctor's question.At that point, her blood pressure was
(22:49):
extremely low and she was about tobe taken in for emergency surgery. The
other spontaneous comment can be considered adying declaration. It was not an answer
to a question made under duress.Diane just said it. The bullet hit
where Diane's eleventh rib met her eleventhvertebra, scattering pieces of bone. It
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then traveled through her left adrenal glandand left kidney and severed blood vessels,
going into her spleen, then throughher pancreas and stomach, so blood quickly
started filling her abdominal cavity. Thebullet missed her heart by centimeters, but
because it nicked those arteries, shebled out internally anyway. Doctor Hardy wanted
(23:30):
to transfer her to Grady, butDiane was never stable enough for transfer.
In the operating room, surgeons openedher abdomen only to find several liters of
blood close to what would be thetotal blood volume in her body. For
over an hour, surgeons fought tosave Diane's life, tying off damaged blood
vessels and removing pieces of damaged organs, but her blood pressure kept dropping.
(23:56):
The attending surgeon's report read her chanceof survival was zero at this stage.
There is no disagreement whatsoever among anyoneinvolved, including all of the surgeons and
the antithesiologist, that we could havedone anything differently and given her a chance
to survive. At the hospital,Tex called an old friend of his this
would wind up being a very baddecision. His friend was also an attorney,
(24:21):
an attorney who had represented him before. Stephen Maples is a Decatur attorney
who defended Text when he was chargedin nineteen ninety with three counts of aggravated
assault for firing his pistol at acar with three young men inside. The
teens had been hanging out in theCul de Sac of Texas neighborhood, playing
their music loud and annoying him.He tried seeking his dogs on them before
(24:44):
he got his gun out, butthe charges were dropped when Techs agreed to
pay for the damages to the teen'scar. And this was the guy who
sat on the American Bar Association Committeeon gun violence. It's an example of
what the prosecution would later Seizon Pondtex was a politically connected white man.
He got away with that incident fifteenyears earlier, and now he was involved
(25:07):
in another gun incident. At thehospital, Text and Stephen Maples were overheard
conferring, and Text was heard saying, what do I say? What do
I do? Naturally, there wasmuch made of this at trial, but
honestly, if you had just shotyour wife, even accidentally, wouldn't you
be scared? But optics are everything, and his behavior even while still at
(25:30):
the hospital put people off, andat this point he had no idea that
Diane had already told the doctor itwas an accident. He went up to
Danny Joe and said, why don'tyou just say you weren't there? Things
like this can get so turned around. Just say you came here to be
with us as a friend. AndDanny Joe told him no, she couldn't
do that, quote text, Ijust drove you to the r I can't
(25:52):
do that. Why would I behere at this time of night on a
Sunday without my own car. Joetalked to the Atlanta police right away and
insisted it was a tragic accident.She said there was no doubt in her
mind, and this was even afterhis strange request for her to lie at
the hospital. She didn't tell policeabout Texas request the first time they questioned
(26:15):
her, but she did the secondtime, and a very different Danny Joe
testified at trial. She did notchange her story, but she was no
longer on Texas side. She nowbelieved the shooting was intentional. I think
like everyone else, she was putoff by Texas behavior. After Diane's death,
starting with him asking her to lieat the hospital. Afterwards, he
(26:38):
went so far as to call DannyJoe's husband and tell him to get Danny
Joe to retract what she told thepolice. Interestingly, Texas defense team found
another reason for Danny Joe's flip.Diane had loaned her money also as she
did for many friends and associates,and texts expected her to pay the loan.
(27:00):
Now, this isn't as heartless asit sounds. Tex was executor of
Diane's estate. Danny Joe wasn't theonly friend expected to repay their loan.
And about TeX's behavior, well,first of all, Tex didn't go voluntarily
talk to police for two days.That does look bad. Why wouldn't you
just sit down with them right awayif it was an accident? And why
(27:22):
didn't the police insist on speaking withhim right away? I'm pretty sure if
I shot my husband, I wouldbe questioned that same day, even with
a witness saying it was an accident. It does show that Tex was getting
preferential treatment. The police felt confidentit was an accident after taking Danny Joe's
statement, So maybe this isn't asbad as it looks. But again,
(27:42):
optics are everything, and to theworld, this looked like a rich white
lawyer with political connections. Wasn't beingquestioned by the police right away? And
why would he choose to wait?Friends say, Text was beside himself.
It wasn't to get his story straight. He was just in shock. When
he did finally talk to the police, he said the gun was in his
(28:03):
lap and it just went off.Text told police Quote, I was handling
the gun. I forgot it wasin my lap and it just went off.
And I don't think he's lying.Text was diagnosed with rim behavioral disorder,
which means where most people don't actout their dreams, Texts often did
thrash around. Bill Rankin with theAJC podcast Breakdown explained this diagnosis very well.
(28:29):
He said, normally people have awall between their dreams and actual bodily
movements and reaction to the dream.People with Rim behavioral disorder somehow, Quote
breached that wall. Specifically, Textwould clench his fingers and thrash his arms.
A masseuse named Annie Anderson testified atTexas trial about his condition. He
(28:51):
often fell asleep while getting a massageand she had to be careful about where
she was standing in relation to hisbody if he fell asleep or he might
accidentally hit her. She also hadto testify to deny allegations of a sexual
relationship with Texts. I will comeback to this in a moment. The
next big mistake text made was hiringa pr consultant by the name of Bill
(29:11):
Crane. He made an official statementto the press that text was alarmed about
the recent unrest surrounding several Black LivesMatter protests in the area and feared that
they would be carjacked. This isthe mistake that took this case. National
Black Lives Matter representatives across the countrywere outraged. In fact, there is
(29:33):
no evidence that there were protesters inthat area on the ninth of September sixth.
As many people have said, BillCrane injected race into a case where
it did not belong. I agreeto a certain extent. First of all,
Tex mac Ivor denies ever saying this. He said Crane made that statement.
All he had said was that itwas a bad area. Crane stands
(29:56):
by his statement and testified that Textstried to get him to retract the statement.
This would lead to one of thethree charges. The prosecution indicted texts
for of trying to manipulate a witness. The other two counts for the same
thing were for when he asked DannyJoe to lie and say she wasn't in
the suv that night, and alsofor the message he left on her husband's
voicemail. Text foolishly left the voicemailfor Danny Joe's husband from jail. This
(30:21):
was before he made bond. Hefound out that Danny Joe told the police
what he had asked her to do, and he called her husband to ask
him to get Danny Joe to stoptalking to the police. Oh and he
also said delete this message, exceptall calls coming out of the Fulton County
Jail are recorded. Foolish indeed,and that is what I think is Tex
(30:42):
mac Ivor's huge problem. He wasarrogant and foolish. But before he had
ever even been indicted, he madehis next huge mistake. Within days of
Diane's death, he was taking inventoryof her extensive collection of cature clothing,
vers, shoes, hats, andjewelry, and then he auctioned everything off.
(31:04):
He held three auctions actually, andthis is really hard for people to
swallow. It was tacky. Itwas unseemly and it definitely looked callous.
But Diane's estate lawyer actually advised Textsto do this until they could look wuidate
assets to cover not only her bequestsbut other financial issues related to her estate
(31:25):
and just the wrapping up of herlife. But still this looked awful.
The estate lawyer spoke with the AJACand defended the advice he gave, saying
those clothes would appreciate within a yearwhen styles change, and also you need
to sell winter clothes. At thestart of winter. Diane had one hundred
and thirty seven fur coats. Theauctions were held in early December. Okay,
(31:49):
I get all of that, butit's hard to believe that this guy
and text both thought that this wasa good idea. But then I think
about it this way. Tech saidit was an accident. I don't think
he really believed that he would beprosecuted, so why not follow the lawyer's
advice. He was not officially chargeduntil December twenty first, after the auctions,
(32:13):
and he was charged with involuntary manslaughterand reckless conduct. One big point
of contention with this auction is notonly how it looked. There were some
ruby and diamond pieces that had beenwilled to a friend of Diane's with the
same birthstone. If he was reallyauctioning to honor requests, why would he
auction pieces for someone in the will, pieces that she was supposed to get.
(32:35):
Well, she wasn't supposed to getthose pieces. According to the AJC,
in total, there was a rubyring, bracelet, and earrings that
brought around eighteen thousand dollars at auction. Now that's no small amount, but
Diane had many other ruby and diamondpieces, and in fact, there was
a ring, bracelet and earrings valuedat more than one hundred thousand that he
did not auction. He was savingthose for her friend. Texas bond was
(33:00):
set at seventy five thousand dollars,which he quickly made and was out until
trial. By April, prosecutors servedmultiple subpoenas for the mc iver's financial records.
Now it would seem that the DA'soffice did not agree with the Atlanta
PD. They didn't believe this wasan accident. During the search of Texas
condo, a glock pistol was foundin his saut drawer. This was a
(33:23):
violation of his bond. He hadall other firearms removed from the condo and
ranch except this one. The judgerevoked Texas bond, and then a few
days later, on April twenty seventh, he was indicted on a charge of
malice murder. George's malice murder chargeis what many states refer to as first
degree murder. The DA indicted Textson seven additional counts. He was also
(33:47):
charged with felony murder, which iswhat other states call second degree murder,
then aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm, and commission
of a felony, and those threecharges of trying to influence what aness that
I told you about. And thistrial would be dramatic in so many ways.
For one, they had a judgewho allowed jurors to ask questions throughout
(34:09):
the trial, not just in deliberations. This is highly unusual and something the
defense attorneys didn't like. If thestate wasn't making their case clear enough,
that's on them. This judge allowingclarification questions clearly gives the prosecution a leg
up. Prosecutor Clint Rucker is oneof those preacher prosecutors and natural born theatrical
(34:31):
speaker he uses that thing where hesays something and then repeats it for emphasis.
He recites poetry or scripture. Hisbooming voice and lyrical way of speaking
is very effective in a court room. In late October of twenty seventeen,
three days before the trial was tobegin, the prosecution asked for a continuance,
(34:52):
saying they felt the defense needed moretime, which was some hilarious legal
wrangling because the defense strongly disputed this. If they needed a continuance, they
would have asked for it. BillRankin with AJC said that the prosecution was
actually still looking for evidence to supporttheir indictment of malice murder, so they
(35:12):
put it on hold for four monthsand then came back. The AJC also
pointed out that they had some ninetythousand email to go through between texts and
Diane. The state's position is thatTex mac Ivor needed, not just wanted
his wife's fortune. They also broughtup the specter of supposed affairs he was
having, which was convenient as itwas the reason his ex wife divorced him,
(35:37):
but they could never find any proofof an affair. Tex worshiped his
wife. The state brought a womannamed Annie Anderson. To testify. She
was the messuse I mentioned earlier.She came over and gave massages to Diane
and text regularly. Being wealthy people, they didn't make appointments at a salon.
They had a personal messuse who cameto their house. And it's important
(35:59):
to note that she treated both themac Ivors and also considered them close friends,
as did many of their employees.Annie Anderson and Rachel Styles, Diane's
other personal assistant, stayed with textsthe first couple of days after the shooting
because they were afraid he would mixup his medication and hurt himself. Annie
slept on the floor in Texas room. The prosecution had a fuelled day with
(36:22):
this. But you know what isgross. Their godson, Austin was sleeping
in the bed with texts. Werethey insinuating that he had sex with Annie
with his godson in the room.For her part, Annie Anderson was angry
and humiliated that this was even insinuated. She was a professional and this accusation
(36:44):
was detrimental to her career. Andwhat's more, she cared about the mac
Ivers That is really clear in hertestimony. But aside from imaginary affairs,
all the state really had was money. Tex wanted Diane's money. As I
told you, his income had drasticallydecreased at his age. He was no
(37:05):
longer an equity partner, but anincome partner, and his expenses at the
ranch were exorbitant, and it issomething he and Diane were talking about.
In an email the state found,he tells her he's trying to reduce his
monthly expenses. She then playfully suggeststhat he'd take over the job of his
ranch hand at the Putnam County ranch. He says, well, guess it's
(37:25):
back to being a jiggalow. Andthe state thought this was nefarious. The
defense thought it was playful banter.Yes, there were money issues, but
Tex still made money, and heand Diane were both millionaires. They would
work it out. To me,this sounds very much like playful banter.
I would hate for a prosecutor tosee some of the texts I sent to
(37:46):
my own husband when joking around.Danny Joe Carter was the state's star witness
at trial. They later even calledher the MVP. But the biggest problem
with the state's case is all thepromises they made in the opening statement.
They continued to allude to a secondwill, a will that could never prove
(38:06):
existed. It was never found.It's why they wanted to go through all
those emails and when they did findan email talking about wills, but nothing
was formalized. The lawyer who wascopied on this email told the AJAC that
drafting a will for people is kindof like selling life insurance. Folks keep
putting this stuff off because they don'twant to think about it. The lawyer
(38:28):
didn't think it was fishy at all, and yes, the state proved that
Tex was ever spending and his incomehad gone down, but in reality,
Diane made more money than him.If he was really worried that much about
money, it makes more sense forDiane to live. She was the breadwinner,
and every friend agreed that they werein love, ridiculously in love,
(38:52):
the kind of couple who, afterfive years of dating and ten years of
marriage, still held hands all thetime. Friends turned on Tech by the
time of the trial because of hismany bad, callous looking choices. He
did auction off her things, andhe also asked a colleague of hers if
he would be able to draw herSocial Security benefits. This was only a
(39:13):
few days after her death. Andthat's the problem with Tex. He not
only takes bad advice, but hemakes bad decisions. But none of that
makes him a murderer. I dothink he was worried about how he would
live out his days, how hewould maintain this lifestyle. And he could
also just be a greedy bastard.That's true, but I don't think he
(39:35):
killed her over it. She wasthe one keeping him in such a lavish
lifestyle to begin with, and headored her. Even friends who turned against
him couldn't argue with that. It'swhy they found it so shocking. At
trial, Text did not take thestand in his own defense. I am
(40:05):
not going to take you, gabbledto Gabble through the trial of Tex MacIvor.
I would rather point you to theexcellent podcast breakdown by the AJAC that
I've already mentioned. Their long formpodcast on this case covers Texas trial extensively,
so I will just give you somehighlights. There were competing firearms experts.
One sticking point is that no oneknows if the gun was actually cocked.
(40:28):
The police didn't ask that question rightaway, and Text later said he
couldn't remember. The difference is ifit wasn't cocked. It takes twelve pounds
of pressure to pull that trigger.If it was cocked, it takes less
than two pounds. That makes alot more sense for an accidental shooting.
There was no way to know forsure, but I am willing to bet
(40:49):
that after Diane handed text the gun, he cocked it to be ready and
had it sitting in his lap,and then he did not off back to
sleep. And many people have difficultywith this. If he was afraid enough
to ask for his gun, howcould he just not off to this?
I say he was seventy three yearsold, he had played golf and the
hot Georgia son for four hours,and then had been drinking wine. The
(41:13):
defense also made some really good pointsabout why if he wanted to kill his
wife would he do it this way? Why try and shoot her in the
car through the seat. There wasa great chance that the bullet could have
ricocheted back at him or get lodgedin Diane's seat. There's any possible scenario
that would have made this a strangeway to kill his wife, the first
problem being that he did it infront of her best friend. But the
(41:37):
prosecution did do a good job ofmaking texts out to be the entitled,
white, rich, politically connected manhe was. None of that is false.
It just makes the police look badfor not going after him harder in
the first place. However, Idon't think the police were going that easy
on him. The detective on hiscase had worked over forty malice murder cases
(41:58):
before. He had an ex excellentrecord. He had an eyewitness that said
it was an accident. He hada dying declaration from the victim saying it
was an accident. I will saythat they definitely should have brought him in
for formal questioning that night, iffor no other reason than protocol. If
his connections helped at all, itwas that they gave him those couple of
(42:19):
days before their formal interview. Theproblem was both the prosecution and defense,
when all or nothing in closing arguments, both asked the jury not to find
him guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Thedefense wanted a straight not guilty this was
an accident. The state wanted premeditatedmalice murder, so the original involuntary manslaughter
(42:44):
charge was taken off the table.The jury could choose malice or felony,
or they could find him not guilty, but that was it. During deliberations,
the jury kept sending out questions thatmade the defense feel pretty good.
They didn't seem to grasp the lifelegal definition of intent. Things were looking
pretty good for Texts, especially oncethe jury sent word that they were deadlocked,
(43:07):
but the judge gave them instructions tokeep deliberating, and then they came
back with a confusing verdict. Theyfound Tex guilty of felony murder, aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon, possessionof a firearm, and commission of a
felony, and witness influencing. Thereason it's confusing is felony murder is like
second degree murder. It means aperson was killed in the commission of another
(43:30):
felony. In this case, thatwould be the aggravated assault charge, meaning
there was no actual intent to killDiane, but just to harm her.
See what I mean by the jurynot understanding intent. So why did they
decide this way with the conflicting verdicts. Why would Text shoot Diane unless he
(43:51):
meant to kill her? The problemhere lies in what the jury was not
allowed to ask. Malice murder andfelony murder have the same punishments, but
they were not allowed to ask howlong Text would go to prison for these
offenses. They did ask, butof all the questions that this judge allowed,
he refused this one. And itis a matter of law, except
(44:13):
in capital cases, juries are notto consider punishment during their deliberations. Maybe
they thought that felony murder was alesser charge, when in reality it's basically
the same in terms of punishment.Tex MacIvor will spend the rest of his
natural life in prison he would haveif he had been convicted of malice murder.
Also, I think the defense madea crucial mistake with all or nothing
(44:37):
charged to the jury. Typically,all types of murder charges are on an
indictment to give the jury and outif they don't believe it was premeditated.
It's not surprising the prosecution one ofthis charge removed, But it was the
defense who really rolled the dice.Here. Tex is now embroled in a
wrongful death suit with Diane's estate.But here's the thing, so is Danny
(44:59):
Joe Carter. She is named inthe same suit. The suit says that
she breached the duty of driving ina safe manner at all times, but
specifically cites her decision not to callnine one one and to drive to an
ear instead. As of May oftwenty nineteen, the lawsuit hasn't been settled,
so I'm sure by now you guysknow what I think. I think
(45:22):
Tux mac Ivor was guilty of involuntarymanslaughter due to reckless conduct. I do
not believe he intended to murder hiswife. I think he is an old
man who had handled guns his wholelife and never thought something like this could
happen to him. I think itwas a horrible tragedy, and his behavior
after the fact was shitty. Hetook bad advice and also made several bad
(45:45):
choices on his own. He reallywas his own worst enemy. But being
a dumbass does not make you amurderer. And you know what, maybe
race did belong in this trial,regardless of whether Tax made the Black Lives
Matter comment or if it was reallyhis pr guy, the specter of race
(46:05):
is there. This bad spot oftown they were stopped at wasn't just about
homeless people, It was about blackpeople. Tex was an old white guy.
His automatic response to this kind ofneighborhood is indicative of his own racial
bias, whether he was conscious ofit or not. And ironically, Diane
mcgiver had donated money to the BlueLives Matter campaign in Atlanta, tex may
(46:30):
Or may not have understood the BlackLives Matter movement, but it would seem
that his wife did. Either way. When he awoke on this dark street,
he didn't feel safe, so hesaid, Darling, hand me my
gun, and Diane mcgiver handed herhusband the gun that killed her. Southern
(46:54):
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much a Southern lifestyle group. Ourgroup is a safe and fun corner of
Facebook, and by God, wemean it when we say no shit ass
is allowed. It's not just amotto, it's how we run the group.
If you enjoyed today's show, don'tforget to subscribe and please tell a
friend or rate and review. I'malso on all large platforms like iTunes,
Aheartspotify, Amazon, and Audible.Until next time, thanks so much for
(48:00):
listening. You'll take care
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