Dale Cardwell has been a consumer advocate for decades both as a former journalist and as head of his own company TrustDALE.

But in 2016, Cardwell ended up in the middle of a bizarre murder case that drew massive media coverage: the death of his close friend and wealthy business executive Diane McIver, shot and killed by her husband and attorney Claud Lee “Tex” McIver III in their vehicle while a friend was driving through Midtown Atlanta. Tex’s claim that it was an accident drew skepticism from Cardwell and many of Diane’s confidants.

Tex McIver was convicted of felony murder by a jury in 2018 and landed in prison for life. But his case was overturned in 2022 by the Georgia Supreme Court and before a retrial early last year, he pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and gun possession. After more than seven years in prison, McIver was released in early January and is now on parole.

When Cardwell last year heard that McIver might not only get out on parole but may also gain access to at least some of his wife’s fortune, he thought the case might make a good podcast. There have been other podcasts about the case. But this would be the first one where the host was intimately involved with the case.

Cardwell connected with Atlanta podcast executive Jason Hoch. They signed a deal with Sony Music Entertainment’s The Binge true-crime podcast network and released “Deadly Fortune” on Jan. 1, days before McIver was released from prison. It was recently in the top 10 most popular podcast series, according to Apple.

Cardwell interviewed many of the key players in the case including the trial judge and some of Cardwell’s friends, including Atlanta entrepreneur Billy Corey, who employed Diane McIver as a high ranking executive of his real estate and advertising company.

Doing the podcast, Cardwell said in a recent interview, “was cathartic, but it also gave me PTSD.”

Cardwell was not around Sept. 26, 2016, when Dani Jo Carter was driving the McIver couple back in their Ford Expedition to their Atlanta condo from Eatonton, Georgia. They hit traffic on I-85 and decided to turn off on an exit right before Freedom Parkway. According to testimony from 2018, McIver asked for his .38-caliber revolver from the center console because he thought they had driven upon a Black Lives Matter protest.

After they stopped at a traffic light on Piedmont Avenue, Tex McIver, who had fallen asleep, fired a shot through the front seat into his wife’s back. He never denied pulling the trigger but later said it was an accident. She died the next day.

“We all wanted to believe it was an accident but he kept doing stupid stuff,” Cardwell said. McIver refused to give any details about the incident to Corey, one of his closest friends. He began setting up an auction of Diane’s jewelry and clothing within weeks.

Soon after the Atlanta police charged McIver with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, they learned McIver owed his wife $350,000 for a barn with guest quarters on their Eatonton farm. Cardwell said he thinks Diane was willing to dump Tex if he didn’t pay up.

J. Tom Morgan, a professor and attorney who knew Diane McIver when he was assistant district attorney in DeKalb County, said on the podcast, “I think Diane would take business over a marriage any day.”

Morgan attended much of the 2018 trial as a curious bystander and was not surprised by the guilty verdict for felony murder. “This is,” he said on the podcast, “the craziest case I’ve ever seen in Georgia history.”

Cardwell also provides supporters of Tex McIver airtime, including political consultant and commentator Bill Crane, a longtime friend. “I know he shot Diane, but I don’t believe that it was an intentional act,” said Crane, who has not yet heard the podcast, in a statement. “Even now, that life episode seems more than a bit surreal.”

The final two episodes delve into the odder elements of Tex McIver’s 2024 plea agreement, including who will end up with Diane McIver’s sundry assets, a dispute that is now in civil court.

McIver declined requests for an interview with the podcast although his attorney cooperated.

“We’d be open to doing a bonus episode and sit with Tex and have him tell us what happened,” Hoch said. “That is an open offer.”