FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Jury selection is underway in the case of a former high-profile attorney accused of shooting and killing his wife.
Tex McIver is being retried after the State Supreme Court overturned his previous conviction.
One person expected to take the stand during the retrial is the lone witness to the shooting.
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Dani Jo Carter was with Tex and Diane McIver when the gun went off.
Carter spoke exclusively with Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne and told him her feelings have changed since the first trial started.
Carter said she understands why the case received so much attention.
She said her friend Diane was beautiful and successful, and her husband Tex was a successful and well-connected attorney.
She said she’s not happy about it but prepared to be the focus of attention herself again if his retrial takes place and she testifies as the only one who heard Diane say, “Tex, you shot me.”
Carter said she was driving through Midtown Atlanta in 2016 with her friend Diane in the front passenger seat of an SUV and Diane’s husband, prominent attorney Tex McIver, in the back seat directly behind Diane.
“I heard a loud boom,” Carter said. “Diane turns around to me and says, ‘Tex what did you do?’ I could see the poof of smoke coming from the gun and I could see a grocery bag and his hand moving and he said the gun discharged. Because he had asked for the gun earlier because he thought we were in a bad area.”
Last year the Georgia Supreme Court overturned Tex McIver’s aggravated assault and felony murder convictions.
Winne spoke with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last week about the case.
“It’s always hard to go back years later and try a case. You have to have people’s memories refreshed. It’s hard on victims to reopen the wounds of losing someone. And so we always hate, as prosecutors, to have to do that. But we stand ready to do what is necessary to bring justice,” Willis said.
As the Supreme Court noted, McIver contended that Diane’s death was caused by an accident.
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Winne interviewed Tex McIver in jail soon after his 2017 indictment.
“The reality is that there were, in my judgment, hugely compelling facts that point to an accident,” Tex McIver said.
Carter said she testified in the original 2018 trial on parts of three consecutive days.
“Has the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office put you on notice you will be testifying for the state again?” Winne asked.
“Yes,” Carter replied.
“How do you feel about that?” Winne asked.
“I’m not looking forward to it but I feel a lot differently right now than I did when the first case had started and I think that he belongs in prison,” she replied.
In court on Monday, both sides argued about a key motive issue but most of the day was spent on the early stages of jury selection.
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