A WEALTHY LABOR LAWYER SHOOTS HIS WIFE FROM THE BACKSEAT OF A CAR - WAS IT A TRAGIC ACCIDENT OR COLD-BLOODED MURDER?

"48 Hours" Investigates in "The Last Ride Home"

Saturday, April 28, 10:00 PM ET/PT

This is known for sure: wealthy Atlanta lawyer Tex McIver shot his wife from the backseat of a car while their friend drove them home from their family farm on Sept. 25, 2016.

What is unknown, however, is whether it was a tragic accident or cold-blooded murder. Maureen Maher and 48 HOURS investigate the incident and the case against McIver in "The Last Ride Home" to be broadcast Saturday, April 28 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Diane McIver died from a gunshot wound to the back on Sept. 26, 2016. Exactly what led to the gunshot is at the heart of the murder case against McIver. It's a story that raises questions about race, class and whether money can come between those more fortunate.

"This was an enormously high-profile case," says Bill Rankin, a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and a 48 HOURS consultant. "They were a big-time power couple."

Tex and Diane McIver were riding in a car driven by friend Dani Jo Carter. When traffic got bad, Diane told Carter to get off the interstate and take backroads toward the tony Buckhead section of Atlanta.

That's where the story takes a turn. Diane was in the front passenger seat. Tex was behind her. He says he asked for the .38 caliber handgun he kept in the car's console because he was concerned about the neighborhood they were in at the time. Diane handed him the weapon. He told police he fell asleep and that the gun accidentally went off. Diane was shot in the back. Carter sped to a hospital four miles away at Tex's insistence, even though one of the best trauma centers in Georgia was closer. He never dialed 911. Diane later died on the operating table, but not before telling doctors she thought the shooting was an accident.

Three days later, a spokesperson issued a statement for McIver, expanding on the reason for holding the gun, says Rankin. "Tex told him that he asked for the gun because they were either homeless people, carjackers or Black Lives Matter protesters," Rankin says.

In December 2016, the Atlanta Police Department investigated the shooting and decided that it was not intentional. The Fulton County District Attorney charged McIver with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. But the district attorney's office thought there was more to the shooting and conducted their own investigation. Four months later, they charged McIver with the murder of his wife. The trial began in March and ended this week in Atlanta.

Was it an accident as McIver maintains? Or did McIver want his wife dead, as prosecutors claim?

McIver's attorney Bruce Harvey admits the trigger must be pulled for a .38 to fire. "Clearly a trigger was pulled. The question is," Harvey tells Maher, "was that a voluntary, knowing and intentional action, or an involuntary action based upon an accident?"

"Tex absolutely adored Diane," says family friend Anne Schwall.

Two months after the shooting, Tex McIver started selling off some of his late wife's worldly goods. Likewise, Carter told prosecutors Tex initially told her to tell police she wasn't in the car that night. Both points raised red flags for investigators.

"I think there are people who absolutely believe that he killed his wife for whatever reason, probably for money," says Rankin. "People get killed over money all the time."

Harvey, however, dismisses the idea that McIver planned to kill his wife while riding in the back of a car.

"That's the dumbest plan on the history of the planet," Harvey says. "And anybody that thinks that that is the way that Tex McIver deliberately killed his wife is just living in a fantasy world."

Maher and 48 HOURS report the story through interviews with friends of the McIvers, his attorney and others, and they are in the courtroom for the verdict. 48 HOURS: "The Last Ride Home" is produced by Judy Rybak and Josh Gaynor. Michelle Feuer is the development producer. Lauren A. White is the associate producer. Jud Johnston, Paulo Bolivar and Lesli Theobald are the editors. Peter Schweitzer is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Susan Zirinsky is the senior executive producer.

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