Tex McIver is a prominent Atlanta Lawyer, Vice Chair of the State Elections Board, and his wife, Diane, is a beautiful, incredibly successful business woman in her own right. They are married 11 years, but on a September night, Tex McIver shoots his wife in the back, killing her. Diane McIver is shot inside a Ford Expedition she is riding in with her husband and a close family friend. They are returning home from their ranch in Putnam County late on Sunday night. Diane is in the front passenger seat, Tex is in the back seat. Dani Jo Carter is driving the SUV back from the Ranch to the Condo in Buckhead when the interstate traffic gets heavy and she takes an exit into Downtown Atlanta. McIver tells the police it was a bad area and he asked his wife to hand him his gun. He said it was in the center console up front. Diane McIver hands Tex his gun. McIver says soon they were out of danger and he fell asleep. He wakes up when Dani Jo stops the car and somehow the gun fired.
As friends come to offer condolences on the passing of his wife, most expect to see Tex McIver upset, in shock that he accidentally shot his wife, the love of his life, and caused her death. Instead, they find a man who seems more concerned about money. Within two days of Diane's death, Tex is asking about his wife's Social Security benefits. Then Tex McIver seems to be investigating how to liquidate his late wife's assets. Tex McIver organizes many of his wife's possessions to sell at an auction as part of an estate sale. Tex McIver said he was liquidating things to settle his wife's estate. McIver sold everything he could of his wife's clothing, jewelry, furs, hats, just about everything. The sale lasted several days. It was later revealed that Tex McIver owed his wife nearly $350,000 which she loaned him for a barn he built on the ranch for guests on their estate
The Atlanta Police eventually came to the decision to charge Tex McIver with involuntary Manslaughter and reckless conduct in the shooting death of his wife. The charges seem to suggest that they believe Tex McIver's claim that the shooting was an accident. The day after a judge sends McIver to jail, McIver is indicted on a charge of malice murder along with six other charges including three counts of influencing a witness.