Five things to know as the Tex McIver trial resumes

Defense is expected to take center stage at some point this week.

After a one-week hiatus, the Claud “Tex” McIver trial resumes this morning in Fulton County Superior Court. McIver is charged with murdering his wife, Atlanta businesswoman Diane McIver, but insists it was an accident. The defense is expected to take center stage sometime this week. Here’s a look at where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

1. Questions unasked. It was Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard, not Atlanta police, who charged McIver with malice murder. On the trial’s last day before the break, prosecutor Clint Rucker grilled APD Detective Darrin Smith over what questions were not asked of Tex McIver three days after his wife’s death. Smith never asked why McIver didn’t call 911 after the shooting, or whether the hammer on the .38 revolver was cocked. “The trigger was pulled. That I am certain of,” Smith said. “Whether it was single action or double action didn’t make any difference to me.”

2. The central question. Smith didn’t know it at the time, but whether the hammer was cocked or not may well be the difference between an accident and murder. A cocked hammer requires only a single action, and roughly 2 pounds of pressure; uncocked requires double action and about 12 pounds of trigger pressure. Only Tex McIver knows for sure.

3. The state rests. With 15 days of testimony from

more than 60 witnesses, the prosecution indicated last week that they expect to wrap their case after two or three more days. Some highly anticipated witnesses remain, including public relations executive Jeff Dickerson, whom McIver allegedly bribed to make the charges against him disappear, and the defendant’s former spokesman, Bill Crane, who told reporters that his client took out his gun out in part because Black Lives Matters protesters were gathering nearby. 4.

Closure? The McIvers’ masseuse, Annie Anderson, accompanied Tex to his interview with police. She spent the night, along with other friends, at the McIver’s Buckhead condo the night after Diane’s death. Later that week she was with the defendant at his Putnam County ranch, wearing boots that once belonged to Diane. The state has insinuated much but asserted nothing as far as Anderson and McIver’s relationship. It’s unclear whether she will have a chance to speak to the rumors from the witness stand. 5.

Follow the case in real time. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been with this story since the beginning, nabbing the exclusive first interview with Tex McIver and following every twist and dramatic turn of the case since. Stay with us as we continue to provide gavel-to-gavel coverage and analysis of the trial. The AJC’s live blog of the McIver trial resumes this morning on ajc.com, where you can also find Channel 2 Action News livestream of the court action.