Atlanta attorney Claud “Tex” McIver left his wife Diane's ashes for more than a month at the Conyers funeral home that cremated her—until one of his wife's friends anonymously paid the bill.

And when McIver, who fatally shot his wife in what he said was an accident on Sept. 25, 2016, stopped by Phoenix Funeral Services to get copies of his wife's death certificate, the former Fisher & Phillips partner didn't pay the bill, funeral director Wanda Eidson testified Friday at McIver's murder trial.

McIver hadn't made the arrangements for his wife's cremation, either, Eidson testified. Instead, she said Rachel Styles, Diane McIver's longtime bookkeeper, contacted her about transporting her body from the county medical examiner's office to the funeral home. The supporting documentation containing Tex McIver's signature was sent to Eidson later, and Diane McIver's body was cremated on Sept. 28, 2016, she said.

Friday ended the trial's third week as Fulton County prosecutors have sought to build a murder case against McIver, who also faces charges of influencing witnesses after his wife's death. Prosecutors claim McIver had a financial motive to kill his wife.

Eidson said that, when McIver picked up 30 certified copies of his wife's death certificate, McIver said he wanted to delay paying the crematory bill until he opened a bank account for his wife's estate. “He said he didn't want to commingle his money and Mrs. McIver's money,” Eidson said.

Diane McIver's will named her husband as her executor. But McIver needed a certified death certificate before he could probate the will and receive letters from the court that would give him power of attorney over her estate. Those death certificates were also required before he could gain access to her bank accounts and other assets under Georgia law.

Eidson said she was perplexed by McIver's request. “I guess it wasn't what I was expecting to hear,” she said.

McIver also left his wife's ashes behind when he left the funeral home that day, Eidson said. He could have taken them with him, she explained, adding “I do not hold cremains hostage. They are not mine. … You are free to take them home, even if you can't pay that day.”

McIver may have had a reason to leave his wife's ashes behind. He had asked that some be placed in 10 small “keepsake” urns. And he asked Eidson for a special urn for the remainder of the ashes that was “classy” and had “a Western theme,” she recalled.

The keepsake urns were ready by Oct. 10, 2016. She said she notified McIver, but he still didn't retrieve his wife's remains. Eidson said she sent photos to McIver of special urns for his wife's ashes. He rejected all of her suggestions.

On Oct. 22, 2016, Eidson said that Catherine Johansen and her sister, Christine Patrick, anonymously paid the crematory bill. Eidson had handled their father's funeral services, and Johansen had been Diane's close friend for years, although the two were estranged at the time of her death.

Eidson said she received a letter from McIver containing a check drawn on his wife's estate at the end of October. He apologized for the delay, claiming the bank “has taken forever to open this account,” according to the letter, which was introduced as evidence.

He signed the note: Tex McIver, executor.

Eidson said she sent McIver a reply that the bill had been paid in full but that she still had his wife's cremains. McIver picked them up on Nov. 8, 2016, she said. He also wanted to know who paid the bill.

“He wanted to know if it was male or female,” Eidson said. “He went down a list of names.”

He asked specifically whether Diane McIver's boss, friend and longtime mentor Billy Corey, chairman of U.S. Enterprises where she was the company's president, paid the bill.

“I cannot tell you,” Eidson said. “Accept it as a gift.”

Jurors, whom Fulton County Chief Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is allowing to ask questions of witnesses that are approved by him, wanted to know if Eidson had told McIver she could take his wife's ashes with him, although he wasn't going to pay the bill that day. She answered that she did.

They also wanted to know if she played any role in planning a funeral, memorial service or celebration of Diane McIver's life. No, Eidson replied.

Johansen also testified on Friday. She said that she and her sister decided to pay for Diane McIver's cremation after their own father had died, and she realized that weeks had passed without Diane's ashes being claimed. She said she and her sister “anonymously paid for her. It was a gift. It was private. No one needed to know. … I was angry that anybody learned that we paid. I didn't want anybody to know. I just wanted her out of there.”