'Tex' McIver indicted for Malice Murder in fatal shooting of wife

McIver, 74, charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife, Diane, posted bond earlier on the day of the 11th. He was released shortly before 9 p.m., The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

McIver's trial is expected to begin in March 2018.

UPDATE June 15, 2017: Claud "Tex" McIver III has been denied bond on charges of murder and assault against his wife.

The Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court announced Thursday a judge has denied bond for McIver, finding the defendant "is a significant threat to the community and himself as well as poses a significant risk of husing his influence to suppress witness testimony."

McIver faces charges of Malice Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault With a Deadly Weapon, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, and three counts of Influencing Witnesses in the case.

McIver will remain confined at the Fulton County Jail until his scheduled trial date on October 30, 2017.

Diane McIver was fatally shot in the back on Sept. 25, 2016.

CWD: NEW CHARGES, QUESTIONS IN ATLANTA SHOOTING DEATH OF DIANE MCIVER

April 27, 2017:

ATLANTA -- (CWD) --

A Fulton County, Georgia Grand Jury indicted Claud "Tex" McIver III Thursday for Malice Murder and six other counts in the shooting death of his wife in 2016.

Tex McIver is accused of fatally shooting his wife Landa Diane McIver on Sept. 25, 2016.

The Grand Jury issued a "No Bond" warrant for McIver's arrest Thursday, according to a news release from the Fulton County District Attorney's Office.

McIver will be assigned to a Fulton County Superior Court Judge within the next several days and appear at a court arraignment a short time later, according to the news release.

In addition to the murder charges, McIver was also indicted for his efforts to unlawfully influence witnesses in this case, the release stated.

On Wednesday, after three days of hearings, a judge in Fulton County decided he would revoke Tex McIver's bond. McIver remained in custody Wednesday, WGCL reported.

Last Friday, the D.A.'s office filed a motion to revoke McIver's bond because investigators found a gun in a sock drawer in his Buckhead condo. It was discovered on the previous Friday during a search for documents to be used as evidence in McIver's upcoming manslaughter trial.

CWD: NEW CHARGES, QUESTIONS IN ATLANTA SHOOTING DEATH OF DIANE MCIVER, 01/09/2017

The Fulton County medical examiner called Diane McIver's death a homicide.

A family spokesman says Tex and Diane were heading back home after a weekend trip to their family farm. Driving them back was Diane's longtime friend Dani Jo Carter. According to the family spokesperson, Tex naps in the backseat while Diane and Dani Jo talk up front.

"The spokesperson's story about what happened next kept changing," said WGCL reporter Natalie Rubino. "First he said that Tex asked for his gun after they drove by a large Atlanta homeless shelter. Then the story changed. He said that Tex asked for his gun because he was afraid of Black Lives Matter protests that had previously happened in that area before, and then after getting backlash from the community, the story changed for a third time, he added that Tex was afraid of getting carjacked."

The spokesman says Diane handed a jittery Tex a small .38-caliber revolver he kept in the vehicle's center console.

"And Tex fell back to sleep. McIver's attorney then says that Tex woke up to the sound of a gunshot," said Rubino. "And realized that the gun went off while Tex was holding it."

Diane slumps, bleeding from the gunshot wound. Terrified and panicked, Dani Jo and Tex reportedly race Diane to the hospital, but Diane McIver dies in the emergency room.

In a telephone interview, a distraught Tex tells reporter Natalie Rubino, from Crime Watch Daily Atlanta affiliate WGCL, that it was a terrible accident.

"I spoke to Tex about two weeks after the shooting," said Rubino. "He said it was an accident and he's living with a lot of guilt right now."

After three months of investigation following the shooting, Claud "Tex" McIver surrendered to police and was charged with reckless conduct, a misdemeanor, and felony involuntary manslaughter.

Just a week after Tex posted a $200,000 bond to get out of jail, WGCL uncovered a stunning detail in the couple's finances: Tex owed Diane money. According to the agreement, in December 2011, Tex borrowed $350,000 from his wealthy wife. It was supposed to be paid back, with interest, by December 2014. Tex failed to do that. So Diane gave her husband an extension to December 2017.

Tex put a treasure trove of Diane's luxury clothes and jewelry up for auction, more than 2,000 items, just two months after her death. His lawyers said the auction provided the cash to pay the people Diane named in her will.

Investigators found this wasn't the first time Tex has gotten in trouble packing a pistol. In 1990, a grand jury indicted him, 15 years before his marriage to Diane, when Tex was accused of firing his gun at a car full of teenagers who were parked in front of his house. Published reports show McIver denied firing a gun. He was quoted as saying he went outside to investigate a suspicious car because he was worried about burglaries and vandalism in the neighborhood.