Atlanta attorney Claud “Tex” McIver surrendered to authorities Wednesday night after Atlanta police charged him with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct in the shooting death of his wife, businesswoman Diane McIver.
McIver shot his wife in the back as the couple rode in their SUV near Piedmont Park, late on the night of Sept. 25. He was in the back seat and she in the front when his .38-caliber revolver discharged. She died later that night at the hospital.
McIver has said the shooting was an accident. Atlanta police have been investigating for the better part of three months.
» EXCLUSIVE: McIver says shooting an accident
McIver turned himself in about 8 p.m. Wednesday and he was being held without bond pending his first court appearance Thursday morning.
The involuntary manslaughter charge is a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The reckless conduct charge is a misdemeanor.
Despite the criminal charges, those closest to the McIvers called the shooting a tragic accident involving a happy couple.
“This has completely destroyed his life,” John “Spike” McIver, Tex’s brother, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning. “This was his life mate. They were inseparable. This was a horrible accident.”
» UPDATE: McIver sells wife’s clothes, jewels
Spike McIver, who lives in Florida, said his brother called him Tuesday night to say that he’d heard the warrants were being issued and that he was trying to arrange for booking at the jail.
“He’s very depressed about it,” McIver said of his brother. “He keeps getting hit over and over from one direction and another. … He’s upset that this is occurring on Christmas week. They could’ve waited, but they work in strange ways.”
Credit: Hyosub Shin
Credit: Hyosub Shin
McIver’s attorney, Steve Maples, told the AJC that the charges don’t make sense to him.“We’re very, very disappointed,” Maples said. “We feel it was an accident. Hopefully the grand jury would dismiss it when they hear the evidence.“
He was not doing anything in a reckless or negligent manner.”
He described his client as “very, very embarrassed and very, very disappointed” by the charges.
“Tex said this was the second worst day of his life,” Maples said.
Maples has acknowledged that McIver pulled the trigger on the .38 short barrel pistol, that the gun did simply “go off” as McIver’s spokespeople had said earlier. But the shot was still an accident, Maples said.
He also noted that neither of the charges suggests that McIver had any malice toward his wife nor any intent to cause her harm.
Doubts in the community
Atlanta civil rights activist Joe Beasley said Wednesday evening he thought the investigation took too long, and he believes the police should have brought more serious charges against McIver.
He said explanations from McIver and those around him did not make sense, and he found other aspects of the story strange, such as McIver’s decision to sell off his wife’s clothes so soon after her death.
In addition, Beasley said, he was offended by early accounts in which a McIver spokesman said that McIver initially pulled out the gun because he thought he had driven into a Black Lives Matter rally.
Atlanta criminal defense attorney Don Samuel said Wednesday he didn’t think the investigation took too long.
“Maybe they were looking at something more serious or whether it was intentional,” Samuel said.
The charges somewhat change the public discussion on this case. It is no longer about whether McIver meant to shoot his wife. The authorities are not asserting that.
“Reckless conduct is the opposite of ‘meant to shoot her,’” Samuel said. “The allegation is that he was reckless and not careful.”
He added, “It must have been the way he was handling the gun. Presumably the method of handling the gun was reckless and resulted in the death.”
‘Would not hesitate to be a witness’
Tex McIver had planned to spend Christmas in Texas with his mother, said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, a longtime friend of McIver.
“Obviously I’ve been sorry about this from the start,” Sills said. “It’s a tragic situation that continues to be tragic.”
Andrew Ward, a longtime friend of McIver’s, said Wednesday that the couple adored each other. “This was a tragic accident. If it has to go through court to prove that, so be it,” said Ward, who has known McIver for more than a decade. “He meant no harm to Diane. … I would not hesitate to be a witness in court to support their wonderful relationship.”
Thursday will be McIver’s 74th birthday, his lawyer said.
Earlier this month, thousands attended the estate sale of Diane McIver, purchasing her fur coats, designer jewelry and hats from a Buckhead showroom.
Maples, the attorney, previously said the proceeds would be used to cover some $350,000 in bequests that Diane McIver left in her will to friends and employees.
Timeline in the McIver case
Feb. 27, 1990: Three teenagers accuse Claud "Tex" McIver of firing shots into the air and into their Ford Mustang outside his DeKalb County home.
May 1990: Tex McIver is indicted in DeKalb County on three counts of aggravated assault as well as other lesser charges in the shooting incident. Prosecutors would go on to drop the case after the parties decided to settle privately.
July 31, 2000: Tex McIver and his first wife are divorced.
November 2005: Tex McIver and Diane Smith are married.
Sept. 25, 2016: Tex McIver shoots Diane in their SUV near Piedmont Park. She dies early the next morning at Emory University Hospital on Clifton Road.
Sept. 26, 2016: An autopsy performed on Diane McIver determines she died of a gunshot wound to the back. The medical examiner declares the incident a homicide.
Sept. 30. 2016: Bill Crane, a spokesman for Tex McIver, says the lawyer shot his wife accidentally after the Ford Expedition they were riding in hit a bump. Crane told the AJC the McIvers became alarmed and took their .38-caliber revolver from the console after individuals approached the vehicle. Crane said the McIvers were also worried about unrest surrounding recent Black Lives Matter protests in the area.
Oct. 6, 2016: In his first public comments on the case, Tex McIver tells The AJC that the shooting was an accident. McIver's lawyer, Stephen Maples, also says some details provided by Crane about the night of the shooting were wrong. Maples said there was never a concern about Black Lives Matter. And he disputes that the gun went off after the SUV struck a bump. Instead he says Tex McIver was startled awake and the gun, which was in his lap, went off.
Oct. 24, 2016: State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, issues a letter to Senate leaders calling for the removal of Tex McIver as vice chairman of the state Board of Elections.
Nov. 2, 2016: Dani Jo Carter, a friend of Diane McIver who was driving the couple the night of the shooting, speaks for the first time. Carter says the SUV was stopped when the gun went off.
Dec. 21, 2016: Nearly three months after the shooting, Atlanta police issue warrants for McIver's arrest on two charges: involuntary manslaughter, a felony, and reckless conduct, a misdemeanor.
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