ATLANTA — Channel 2 Action News has obtained video of former attorney Tex McIver speaking at length on camera in connection with the legal battle over a wrongful death settlement and his dead wife’s fortune.
A lawyer who was involved said there are potentially millions of dollars at stake as a result of Diane McIver’s death and the deposition video of Tex McIver is related to some of that money.
Attorney Bob Cheeley told Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that he knows Tex McIver has been involved in a lot of legal proceedings in recent years.
He was convicted of felony murder involving the death of his wife Diane. It was then overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court.
Then there was negotiated pleas of guilty to involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
But Cheeley said he took McIver’s deposition in Augusta State Medical Prison one month before McIver was released on parole last week as part of the legal wrangling over what happens to a wrongful death settlement in connection with Diane’s death and to her fortune.
“Mentally, he was sharp,” Cheeley said.
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“Did you and Diane kind of keep your finances separate?” McIver was asked during the deposition.
“Yes, we both had been through divorces and the complications that comes from that,” McIver said.
Former Channel 2 reporter Dale Cardwell said he watched the deposition via Zoom while it was happening for his podcast about the McIver case called “Deadly Fortune.”
“He looked better than I expected because I was present when he pled guilty and he looked a bit disheveled, spoke weakly and talked about his hearing loss in prison,” Cardwell told Winne.
“I’m in a solitary cell, and it gets a little lonely sometimes,” McIver said during the deposition.
Cheeley said he represents Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig Schwall -- A friend of the McIvers for decades and his two sons Including Austin Schwall who was the godson of the McIvers.
“Did Diane’s world, so to speak, revolve around Austin Schwall?” McIver was asked.
“Yes, she had -- well – well she was the president of the -- the company that was -- she was with. Excuse me. I don’t talk very much here, so my voice is weak, but yes,” McIver answered.
Cheeley said issues still to be hashed out in court include who gets the wrongful death settlement, and separately, who gets Diane’s estate including the proceeds from the sale of a ranch the McIvers owned, which he said Diane wanted to go to Austin Schwall.
“I ended up agreeing with Diane on that. It’s the only -- only dispute we ever had in all our lives, so it was remarkable, but I agreed,” McIver said.
Cheeley said so far McIver is only on record seeking $337,000 of Diane’s estate.
Last week a parole board spokesman said: “This offender was sentenced to serve 8 years in prison. The Board’s decision is to parole 9 months prior to the end of sentence date of September 1, 2025. The Board considers prison conduct and program completions as evidence an offender will be successful on parole.”
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