Victim's final words to doctor could play key role in attorney's murder trial

ATLANTA — A prominent attorney accused of killing his wife will go on trial for murder next week.

Channel 2's Mark Winne is taking a closer look at the case both sides could make in court.

Prosecutors say Claud “Tex” McIver intentionally shot his wife Diane as they drove on Piedmont Avenue on Sept. 25, 2016. He is facing a seven-count indictment, including charges of malice murder, felony murder and influencing witnesses.

McIver and his attorneys maintain he accidentally shot his wife while holding a gun in the back seat of an SUV.

Channel 2 Action News and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will bring you LIVE gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Tex McIver murder trial. Check back each day for a live blog from the courtroom and daily video recaps. Visit our Tex McIver murder trial special section for an interactive timeline, history of the case and much more.

Prosecutors said they plan to call nearly 100 witnesses and believe the state’s case could take nearly a month to complete.

McIver's attorneys filed lengthy motions about a laundry list of items they don't want jurors to hear when the trial begins. The attorneys also signaled concern about seating a jury, saying that potential jurors had probably heard about the case and might have formed an opinion.

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Diane McIver's words to a doctor before she died could play a key role in the case for both sides.

Dr. Susanne Hardy worked on Diane McIver in the emergency room at Emory Hospital. Channel 2 Action News obtained a transcript of an Atlanta police interview with Hardy. In the transcript, Hardy said, "When I went to intubate her I said, um, 'You want me to intubate?' or 'I'm going to put this tube down your throat.' And she said, 'Yes, please.'

Hardy went on to say, "So then I asked, 'Do you want to see your husband?' I don't know why that just came to me. And she said, 'No.'"

Tex McIver's attorney, Don Samuel, told Winne that if the prosecution plans to claim Diane McIver's preference not to see her husband when she may be dying is evidence against Tex -- they're wrong.

Hardy also said in the transcript, "But, she said it was an accident without me prompting."

Samuel said the doctor has that repeatedly and that bolster's Tex McIver's claim that he is innocent of murder.

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Winne also obtained a transcript of Hardy's grand jury testimony. One part indicates she was asked, "Her (Diane's) chances of survival if she goes to Grady originally, in your opinion, were they greater had she gone to Grady versus coming to Emory first?"

"They were greater if she went to Grady first," Hardy said.

Samuel said the prosecution claims Tex McIver bypassed closer hospitals to go to Emory, including Grady, but suggests he had no way of knowing that Grady is a top-level trauma center. Samuel said Emory is one of the top all around hospitals in the country.

He said the McIvers' car trip, with a friend at the wheel, started in Eatonton and if Tex intended to murder his wife, it made no sense to wait until he was close to any hospital.

Cox Media Group