Trial Starting For Attorney Who Claimed He Accidentally Killed Wife, Whom He Owed Over $300,000

This week kicks off Claud “Tex” McIver’s trial, where a jury must decide if he is a murderer or if he simply had an accident. He was a Georgia lawyer who claimed that he accidentally fatally shot his wealthy wife Diane while they were going for a ride with a friend in 2016. Both were in the backseat of their own Ford Explorer, being driven home by a friend after dinner, according to CBS46.

Jury selection began on Monday morning. Watch the court developments live.

McIver, now 75, claimed he only had two sips of wine at the dinner, and got out his gun because thought they were driving through an unsafe area. Then, he said he pulled its trigger while taking a nap in the backseat.

At the time of 64-year-old Diane’s death, McIver reportedly owed her $350,000, CBS46 reported.

The state is expected to argue that the widower orchestrated the murder with financial debt as a motive, predicts The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The defense will likely point to the fact that the couple seemed happy.

“He absolutely worships her,” Dani Jo Carter, who was driving the couple’s car during the shooting, told police, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Absolutely. They’re like, I get jealous sometimes because they were more like lovebirds than my husband and I.”

However, prosecutors have said that they will present possibly damning evidence that McIver allegedly tried to tamper with evidence. He allegedly tried to convince Carter to tell police that she wasn’t present during the shooting, prosecutors say, according to the AJC.

A reporter from CBS46 previously asked McIver if he killed his wife. His response?

"No ma'am. No. Don't hurt me with that. We were the perfect couple, we really were," he told the outlet.

[Photo: Fulton County Sheriff's Office]