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wedding starts at sola,

0:40

in the hours before she died when

0:42

nurses at emory hospital as diane

0:44

macgyver what happened she told them

0:46

it was in accidents her

0:48

husband sex macgyver also

0:51

said it was an accident i started

0:53

questioning am i a lean then and kind

0:56

of a comforting manner and and

0:58

said what happens what what's

1:00

going on and he said to

1:03

me it

1:05

, an accident i was

1:07

i had begun in the back seat and

1:09

it just went off tax macgyver says

1:11

he must have dozed off when he was jarred awake

1:14

by a flash of light and the sound of the sun

1:16

firing he says he doesn't recall

1:18

pulling the trigger and still isn't

1:20

sure exactly what happened macgyver

1:23

broke down crying is described realizing

1:25

his wife diane had been shot because

1:27

texan diane macgyver were both patients

1:29

were both hospital he says he asked

1:32

danny joe to drive i'm there and says

1:34

they arrive within ten minutes of the shootings

1:36

in the aftermath of diane's death some

1:39

of texas closest friends are already

1:41

saying there's just no way it could be

1:43

anything other than an accident

1:45

i know that takes

1:47

macabre loved diane been

1:50

, them for about ten years now

1:53

and there's no question in my

1:55

mom but what it was what it accident

1:57

but at the hospital that night

1:59

the hands of possible trouble in the macgyver

2:02

relation

2:02

that so investigators are are

2:04

looking at and trying to figure out in a what

2:07

exactly is the nature of the relationship

2:09

between tax and diane

2:12

as it appears that time

2:14

macgyver didn't want to see tax

2:17

didn't want to be with that the man that

2:19

she married the man that to purportedly

2:21

loved and

2:22

diane was still fighting for realize

2:25

there's something else that would catch

2:27

the attention of hospital staff and

2:30

later investigators

2:50

emery hospital that night

2:52

a quarter

2:52

the hospital staff who would later testify

2:54

was a strange one he ,

2:56

emotionless he is

2:59

now appear

3:01

to be access for

3:04

distraught even surgeons

3:06

who soundtrack

3:07

in a hostile whole way to tell

3:09

him that diane had died founded

3:11

the attorneys behavior odd that

3:13

sired the

3:16

lead and said

3:17

macgyver have a seat in the he

3:19

was pointing to the syria mr macgyver

3:22

and basically before the senate's was able

3:24

to send be finished he

3:26

said don't tell me what to do boy

3:30

which it was

3:31

and not not enough a threatening

3:33

way but an aggressive way aggressive would say

3:35

former prosecutor on court tv lead

3:37

anchor vinnie paula ten has covered

3:40

the text macgyver case extensively over

3:42

the years for my stations eleven alive

3:44

in atlanta he recalls hearing

3:46

about the strange string of events that took

3:48

place inside emery after diane macgyver

3:51

was whisked into sir

3:52

injury once they get there

3:55

and there's video surveillance video of

3:57

of getting diane out of the car

3:59

and in side and and there's questions

4:02

about whether or not ah text

4:05

, acting appropriately and the videos

4:07

to see show enough urgency to the situation

4:10

but once they get into the hope is into into the

4:13

hospital and in the lobby and

4:15

die as being a dealt with there's

4:17

a really strange conversation according

4:20

to danny joe that

4:22

i think he begins to put that

4:25

cloud of suspicion over this entire

4:27

story which is

4:30

he's trying he's telling her

4:32

the not say that she drove there

4:35

the to

4:36

you lie and

4:38

leave out the fact that she was in the car

4:41

with dion was shot and that's

4:43

really worth more things started to take

4:46

a different turn is already tragic the

4:48

giants been been sun kil but now

4:50

macgyver is is in this mode at the

4:53

hospital where now he's kind of in charge

4:56

and is calling his attorney

4:58

your nurse later testified about from

5:00

memory of that night the huddle

5:03

in the hallway

5:04

i had the impression that there was a plan being

5:06

enacted

5:08

they were actually

5:09

the

5:10

of huddling like you would think of a sports team

5:13

literally

5:15

holding onto each other in a small circle the

5:17

first words that ring the i vividly

5:20

remember was the tell them and then it was like a

5:22

softer you know this is what

5:24

you're gonna tell them as i was

5:25

walking past so everything

5:28

that's happening

5:29

at at the hospital this moment

5:32

all of a sudden has a a lot of

5:34

scratching their heads about telling

5:36

people to lie, calling your attorney,

5:39

not looking like there's a level of urgency

5:41

and in some of the a surveillance

5:44

videos, all of this really

5:46

began the suspicions of what

5:48

exactly happened inside

5:51

that ford expedition and more

5:53

importantly, why

5:55

did it happen is

5:57

tower? in downtown atlanta is

5:59

lit up

5:59

the memorial to the companies

6:01

that is diane macgyver as police

6:03

investigate how a gun went off inside

6:06

the vehicle putnam county sheriff

6:08

howard sills is remembering a close

6:10

friend as many years he says

6:12

them a diverse who divided their time between

6:14

bulkhead in eden ten were philanthropy

6:16

there were very involved in the community

6:19

often entertaining and macgyver france

6:41

that's friends and family members grieve

6:43

the loss of a brilliant and inspiring

6:46

force of nature of as diane is

6:48

referred to enroll bitch where it's

6:50

investigation into her death was

6:52

getting underway police interviewing

6:54

kegs danny joe who drove

6:57

the vehicle in hospital staff

6:59

attempting to piece together would have

7:02

been on the route danny joe took

7:04

through atlanta on their way home from

7:06

dinner the route that sydney

7:08

pollack tan would eventually retrace

7:11

along with other eleven alive

7:12

legal experts so we

7:15

retraced the route there

7:17

any joe diane and text

7:20

took that night or from the highway

7:22

down the ramp under it's as

7:24

the overpass in up piedmontese road

7:27

to the hospital and we drove that

7:29

route so edgewood avenue that's what

7:31

does he come up your that's the exit that they take

7:34

he takes out his gun because he doesn't like the neighborhood

7:36

that isn't

7:37

yeah that this very neighborhood it is

7:39

something that made him nervous on

7:41

a night just like

7:42

oh you live in this area right yeah so i left

7:44

for this neighborhood for him

7:46

historically up like district

7:48

a lot of activity down here and

7:50

it has been reason

7:51

that year gentrifying massively

7:54

many things struck me and in in one thing

7:56

that struck me that the

7:59

ravens relatively that it are you

8:01

talking about getting bombs that could accidentally

8:05

have taxes finger

8:07

then trigger the weapon

8:12

they didn't seem to me to be very

8:14

credible based upon retracing

8:16

those steps i think this is about the point

8:19

where they are they wanted to the castle and got the

8:21

gun

8:21

it would have had to fall asleep in

8:23

between this ten minute ride

8:25

from one the gun was given to him out of

8:27

the console to now it's getting

8:30

ready to go off so he was sleeping

8:32

for the last eight minutes as he's driving

8:34

this way he order be getting ready to put

8:36

the gun away has a things are getting better

8:38

and better area

8:40

we start to drive the other part of

8:42

this drive

8:44

that it's a nice part

8:46

of town i mean there's a certain part of town where

8:48

yeah we got off the highway and the

8:50

night we did it there were many homeless

8:52

people that were there and

8:55

very quickly though you exit

8:58

that area of of atlanta

9:00

where you might for whatever reason

9:02

feel like others a safety issue

9:04

need a gun but once you get out of there is very

9:07

quickly earn scared a nice part of town that

9:09

also struck me that a good why would you need a gun here

9:12

why would you continue to have that gun in your

9:14

hand the other parts of

9:17

retracing the drivers

9:19

you take that driver

9:22

you go pass grady so

9:25

you you know the hospital is right there

9:27

and it's not that not that

9:29

past the hospital

9:32

the gun is fired the why

9:34

would you go to a hospital

9:37

those further away rather than

9:39

just

9:40

they quit make a u turn we passed

9:42

grady hospital you know

9:44

the a few minutes ago let's go back there

9:47

then when you retrace the steps is

9:49

it it doesn't necessarily

9:51

make sense unless

9:54

you have no idea

9:56

that great he has his great trauma

9:58

center you you were asleep

10:01

when you drove past grady your

10:03

disoriented or

10:05

maybe you're under the influence in you're just not thinking

10:08

straight

10:08

i don't know macgyver his

10:10

blood alcohol level wasn't tested the night

10:13

of the shooting in county sheriff

10:15

in the macgyver friends howard sills

10:17

talked to tax at the time about how alcohol

10:19

might be factored into the incidents

10:22

ah say that this was an accident

10:26

they they were intoxicated

10:28

yeah

10:30

hello text the mad that i

10:32

don't believe that i

10:35

told him just a couple of days after

10:38

this said

10:40

a texas if if you're

10:42

drawing on giorgio my us laugh at

10:44

again at

10:47

the scene and stuff like that

10:49

when i say the same immediately after

10:52

the answer that as

10:54

, say that are personally say regardless

10:56

of what they say they'd been breaking

10:59

ah that's probably one day

11:01

at day joe was ravaged small would

11:03

it

11:05

story would freeze another question

11:08

on is just go off with guns

11:11

seen how fast with says

11:14

it's certainly reckless serve foot

11:16

a loaded gun been ,

11:19

i get a bag and and of enron

11:21

so far said give me the gun yeah

11:23

firearm and but the point is it as he has

11:25

he did not take the gun out of the bad

11:28

the goes hand in two minutes and the bag

11:30

and the bag and us house and it stayed in the

11:32

back seat in the back and in think the evidence is gonna show

11:34

down was fired or was still in the bath

11:36

defense attorney and eleven alive legal expert

11:39

darryl cohen's the question goes

11:41

beyond the mechanics of the weapon

11:44

i am not a gun export

11:46

i've been around guns as a prosecutor

11:48

at their around guns his best lawyer

11:50

and is a real person and

11:53

i believe that if your fingers

11:55

on the trigger it

11:57

could possibly go off it depends on how

11:59

much pressure you put on it and

12:01

i get i'm not an expert but i

12:04

think clearly it could have been an accident or

12:06

clearly could have been intentional

12:08

but it it was intentional how in the world

12:12

in the world could he know that that one

12:14

bullet that one shot would succeed

12:17

in killing her the scared by that

12:19

i never have been able to if

12:21

i was going to marty

12:25

i wouldn't take a chance to shoot through the

12:27

back of course the

12:31

where the c o for a minute and

12:33

things like that because

12:35

i just like the risk

12:37

of view

12:39

surviving with him ah

12:41

meant to grain science and marty

12:47

the gun checks macgyver was holding the night

12:49

he shot his wife in the back was a smith

12:52

and wesson thirty eight revolver

12:54

essentially there are two ways to fire

12:57

it double action and single

12:59

action either way the

13:01

gun will only fired someone pulls the

13:03

trigger but got election

13:05

requires more force because

13:07

pulling the trigger performs to actions

13:10

it costs a hammer and then fires the

13:13

bullets single action means

13:15

the him or his the been caught so

13:17

pulling the trigger only performs one

13:19

action firing a gun it

13:21

it takes less force in

13:23

other words if the gun is already caught

13:25

it's a lot easier to fire

13:27

it can be complex revolvers are actually

13:30

very complex mechanical devices like

13:34

i said when i was in school it's at twenty six pages

13:36

to describe what

13:38

happens mechanically just when you're triggering

13:41

double action and there's

13:43

a lot going on there

13:45

just smell it has been a gun smith for two

13:47

decades he wasn't involved

13:49

in the text macgyver case in any way

13:51

only heard about it in the news but

13:53

he does know what thing or two about guns

13:56

josh takes a look at a photo of the gun

13:58

texas holding that night

14:00

and then shows me a similar weapon

14:02

i asked him about the difference between

14:04

a single action and double act

14:06

the modes well as single

14:08

action

14:10

means that the hammer the

14:13

car to the rear resting on the

14:15

seer and all

14:17

it takes to drop the hammer soon

14:20

have pounds pressure on that traitor that

14:22

to have pounds

14:24

that's nothing i mean that's a really small

14:27

paul moon and

14:29

are so few current he gets finger on the trigger

14:31

news is that bump think it could happen but

14:34

the same time wise or finger on the trigger wise

14:36

the gunshots

14:37

though

14:39

the action

14:40

eight pounds you actually have to cycle

14:43

that hammer

14:45

the

14:45

the that away different scenario definitely

14:48

so one gun can have both

14:50

no in an admin yes

14:52

what's the advantage of having a gun that can

14:54

do both modes

14:56

safety actually with the

14:58

eighteen pound poll you're not going fired

15:01

by mistake that's going to give you time

15:03

to go okay okay okay okay single

15:06

, a is

15:09

mostly for accuracy because

15:11

of the double action without eighteen pound

15:14

pull your and your hands going to be moving

15:16

a lot you're a lot gonna get the inherent accuracy

15:19

as you would

15:21

something where you just got two pounds of pressure

15:26

it's it's a safety and

15:28

inaccuracy thing

15:29

in this scenario where he

15:32

said he was scared

15:34

they were lost it

15:37

was an unfamiliar area what

15:39

would you advise someone who had

15:41

a gun to do

15:43

in that situation do take the gun

15:45

out do keep it

15:46

well that's

15:49

it now i know people

15:51

carry on their body in their car i know people who carried

15:54

on the seat next to them ah

15:56

yeah there's yeah there's lot of different ways to do it i'm

15:59

most of it's first preference semi there are safety

16:01

issues you know me i'm if you've gotta learn your seat

16:03

next to you and it's talked and you slam on your brakes

16:05

and it is the floor you know and

16:07

ill something gets caught that trigger it's possible but

16:10

unlikely that

16:12

is not carved a millimeter the

16:15

same across the parking lot and it's not gonna excellently

16:17

go off the big things training

16:21

the carrying a gun inside a public's

16:23

bag would not

16:24

his face

16:25

now with his know that

16:27

that the now i mean

16:29

technically with a passive safeties that they

16:31

have now is

16:33

unlikely that you'll have an accidental discharge

16:36

but nothing is just one hundred

16:38

percent impossible you know or

16:40

even with the passive safety if you've got

16:42

a job will see a simply three sixty five

16:44

you're carrying an impersonator it gets

16:46

hung up on your me know whatever

16:49

m as the triggers exposed they can get bolt

16:52

unlikely but still it can happen basically

16:55

if you got the commonsense agog commonsense agog

16:57

the

16:59

you're not going to have an aunt negligent discharge says

17:02

not gonna happen

17:03

the lot of people will use that

17:06

argument though that the gun just went off

17:08

that happens all the time people say this as an accidental

17:11

just the gun just went off mechanically

17:13

impossible

17:14

to see what to be internals of his pistol the

17:17

only way that this pistol can go off the

17:20

by pulling that trigger all the way to the rear

17:24

i'm watching that hammer drop that

17:27

was eighteen pounds that's

17:29

not going to just go off and if you look that

17:31

hammer when it's rest is disengage

17:34

from that firing pin it cannot strike the

17:36

firing pin no matter how hard i push forward

17:39

anything like that it's not going

17:41

to just go off guns do not

17:43

just go off modern

17:46

firearms have passive safety zone so

17:50

begun just went off is no longer

17:52

a valid excuse for that

17:55

was discharge or intentional discharge

17:57

you're someone who obviously things a lot about guns

17:59

the

18:01

they have to

18:02

that does it make any sense you

18:04

to have your finger on the trigger

18:06

in a moving car with a loaded

18:08

weapon

18:09

absolutely not the

18:11

only time you should have your finger on the trigger is when

18:13

you are ready to fire and

18:15

you are serve your turn

18:17

about that a little bit because

18:20

the only

18:21

person in front of him was his wife

18:24

that kind of sums it up then

18:28

as all these questions are to emerge

18:30

about tax macgyver stories why

18:32

holding a gun pointed at his wife's facts

18:35

why they didn't pulls at the nearest hospital

18:37

why you seem to be doing damage control

18:39

in the hospital as his wife lay dying

18:42

sex is setting out to convince the public

18:45

that he's telling the truth so guy

18:47

source of new details and either mysterious

18:49

shooting death of a butthead businesswomen at the

18:51

hands of her

18:51

macgyver tells eleven

18:54

a lot of valerie hoff that he passed a polygraph

18:56

test and his wife diane

18:58

staff was simply a horrible accidents

19:02

a polygraph test taken less

19:04

than two weeks after his wife died

19:06

in noted the request of law enforcement

19:09

but set up by an attorney

19:11

the tested been administered by richard radcliffe

19:13

with the several polygraph associates given

19:16

hundreds of similar tests over three decades

19:19

he spent over three hours with

19:21

tax sure whether all the details a

19:23

bag of you are his background

19:25

the relationship with his wife i'm and then

19:27

the jobs or what have on that particular day during

19:29

the three

19:30

or analysis text sold radcliffe

19:32

yes diane for his gun while driving

19:34

through the streets of atlanta concerned

19:36

about possible

19:37

crime in the area of these are the can bought

19:39

a bunch of up to see where and when he started

19:41

forms of up the gun went off into

19:43

a discover just of the large flashy

19:46

classed flashy gifts assembly the zoo

19:48

or consciously knew anything whether you and the

19:50

closet the park and

19:52

as you normally cause again to discharge

19:55

inside your se the in

19:57

like it i like described all

19:59

those

19:59

the runner

20:01

the in the results according to a scoring

20:03

tool used by the american polygraph association

20:06

look good for tax more

20:08

than ninety nine percent probability

20:10

that is the truth

20:12

it indicates tax macgyver never even

20:14

took his smith and wesson six thirty eight out

20:16

of the grocery bag get it sorted and

20:18

it lists a series of questions was i ever

20:20

answered including did you

20:22

intentionally fired the gun

20:24

that night the report also says macgyver

20:27

is fully cooperate with atlanta police as

20:29

they investigate whether any crime was committed

20:31

in diane macgyver said

20:33

the polygraph results are generally

20:35

not admissible in court in georgia

20:37

and there's a reason

20:40

for that former as b i

20:42

agent stephen foster says in

20:44

part that's because there

20:46

are people who can beat the test

20:49

the polygraph is not going to tell you whether

20:51

the person is truthful or line

20:54

of sight when it does some people are just

20:56

guilt free you know they don't necessarily

20:59

have a conscience or maybe they refocus

21:01

their attention in a different direction

21:03

or they control their emotions

21:06

a little bit in some people are able during

21:08

, polygraph the sense of their muscles and

21:10

change the blood pressure in

21:13

their bodies

21:14

the polygraph would likely not be helpful

21:16

in court if it came to that it's

21:18

a move that defense attorney and legal expert

21:21

darryl cohen told eleven allies could

21:23

still benefit

21:24

that i think it's a brilliant move why

21:26

is it a brilliant move because you

21:28

don't tell people in advance you gonna

21:30

have a polygraph have it quietly

21:33

and secretly if you fail it forces

21:35

inconclusive it's never mentioned to get

21:38

a pass this and as and result of that

21:40

he couldn't shouted i get from

21:42

a high as flagpoles like my client

21:44

passed client passed with flying colors

21:47

no taxes always maintained that this

21:49

was an accident some of the details

21:51

of his story has been difficult to pin

21:53

down

21:54

one key detail being why

21:57

exactly he was so afraid that

21:59

night

21:59

no crane political analyst and family

22:02

friend who offered his services

22:04

as a spokesperson to tax

22:06

told reporters early on that

22:08

takes was nervous about black lives matter

22:11

protesters when they were driving through

22:13

atlanta that night prosecutor

22:15

and eleven alive legal analyst petunia

22:17

homes remember how the statement

22:19

about black lives matter protesters

22:21

resonated at the time why did

22:24

you feel just because of black lives

22:26

matter that you thought

22:28

that something was gonna happen to you

22:32

that racial component was a pretty

22:35

you can i guess i don't

22:37

i the best way to say it was a very much

22:39

the a strong impression

22:43

that wanted to be kind of me the that he

22:45

was afraid but is the question that he was afraid

22:47

because he was as

22:49

long white man who can really go into

22:52

area where it is as it and

22:54

black lives matter and protests is happening

22:56

or it is convenient to be able to

22:58

use as the expression of why you

23:00

thought you need tap the gun for

23:03

purposes of covering up with occurred

23:05

but even if it is a convenient excuse

23:07

a possible reason tax asked for the

23:10

gun in the first place that would

23:12

refute the claims made by his friends

23:15

telling eleven allies it's simply

23:17

wasn't true now macgyver

23:19

also on the phone with me today adamantly

23:22

denied ever mentioning black lives

23:24

matter protests as the reason

23:26

that he had that weapon in his lap instead

23:28

texas he was concerned about crime

23:30

in the area and the safety of his wife

23:32

and friends danny joe as

23:35

weeks passed variations about what

23:37

happens continued to sources which

23:40

version of events would investigators come

23:42

to believe

23:43

i mean the guy's name is tax

23:45

rate and he's got this fascination

23:48

and love of guns any

23:50

ends up with a gun in his hand and a bullet

23:52

in his wife's backs

23:55

next time on intense the

23:57

macgyver case my

23:59

why does there is no reason to keep

24:02

her belongings let's get rid of and

24:04

because i don't wanna i , want

24:06

them around me on a wanna continue to

24:08

remember how she was i mean i think

24:10

again that narrative could have been changed

24:13

but that didn't tell me he murdered or that

24:15

he didn't murdered or that just told me he doesn't

24:17

have the best judgment the world

24:25

intense the text macgyver case is

24:27

a co production of volt studios and

24:29

eleven alive w exciting news in

24:31

atlanta thanks , the support

24:33

from eleven alive news director jennifer rigby

24:36

and my colleague that eleven alive including

24:38

at a heaney what's radha jack scott

24:40

kelly premise jesse nus men

24:42

and tn johnson johnson

24:45

special thanks to court t v lead anchor vinnie

24:47

paul a tan and or legal experts latonia

24:50

heinz and darryl come in will

24:52

johnson and brian weiss or executive producers

24:54

with volt studios read redmond produces

24:57

[unk] researches and edits the podcast

24:59

richard humphreys up to come a media in silver

25:01

spring maryland mixes maryland at its

25:03

the show you can find me on facebook

25:06

at caitlin ross eleven alive or on

25:08

twitter at caitlin