Jury finds Tex McIver guilty of felony murder of wife

ATLANTA -- (WGCL) -- A jury has found Tex McIver guilty of several charges including felony murder Tuesday afternoon.

Jurors delivered the verdict just before 4:30 p.m. Georgia time.

The jury also found McIver guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, as well as influencing a witness. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Earlier in the day, jurors told Judge McBurney on Monday that "we don't see a path to overcome our differences on counts 1,2,3,4,5, telling the court that the jury is deadlocked at this time.

CWD: Crime Watch Daily covers Tex McIver case

The prosecution asked the judge to instruct the jury to continue deliberating on Monday, and the defense also asked Judge McBurney to advice the jury to do the same.

The judge then said he was considering reading the jury an Allen Charge.

After about 30 minutes of back and forth, the judge dismissed the jury to lunch and told the prosecution and defense that he will read them an Allen Charge when they return.

Jurors adjourned on Friday without reaching a verdict, ending their third full day of deliberations in the Tex McIver murder trial.

The jury told the judge at 3:45 p.m. that they were making progress and wanted to work past their scheduled 4 p.m. end time on Friday. At 4:02 p.m., the jury light went on again. Media in the courtroom thought there was a verdict, but there was not.

The jury changed its mind and decided to end deliberations for the week. It was one of the only interactions in the courtroom on Friday, as they didn't ask any questions the entire seven hours they were deliberating.

“It is by far what I consider to be the most gut-wrenching portion of the trial,” said Sara Becker, criminal attorney for Arora and Lascala Law Firm. “You don't see it on TV, they don't teach you about it in law school, but you are completely utterly waiting and you're waiting an indefinite amount of time for an incredibly important decision.”

The defense and the state finished up closing arguments on April 17 after nearly a month-long trial that saw dozens of witnesses and experts take the stand. During closing arguments, prosecutors pleaded with the jury to get justice for Diane McIver. The defense attacked the state's case, saying it was weak and full of empty promises.

Diane McIver was shot in 2016 in what the defense described as an accident.

CWD: Crime Watch Daily covers Tex McIver case

The couple was on their way back from their Putnam County farm. Tex says they stopped in Conyers for dinner. Diane had two glasses of wine and McIver's lawyer says Tex had two sips. The woman driving the vehicle referred to us as only "Dani Jo," didn't have any.

The three took a detour off I-85 downtown and got off at the Edgewood Road exit. Tex, who was sleeping in the back, asked for his gun because he didn't think it was a safe area. After falling back to sleep in the backseat, he woke up to the sound of a gunshot and realized it was him who pulled the trigger.

"Once we determined that Diane had been hurt, there was this race to the hospital," he said.

Diane was rushed to Emory University Hospital where she was treated for a gunshot wound. She died shortly after.