EATONTON, Ga. — Nearly everything ever owned by Claud “Tex” McIver and his wife, the late Diane McIver, was sold at a public auction held at their once-shared Putnam County ranch last weekend where the affluent couple held lavish parties for friends and prominent politicians.

The 75-year-old Tex McIver is serving a life sentence in a Georgia state prison after he was convicted of murder by a Fulton County jury earlier this year in the shooting death of his wife. His conviction is being appealed by defense attorneys.

McIver has always contended that the shooting was an accident and not murder as Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Clint Rucker argued before jurors returned a verdict of guilty in the highly-publicized murder trial in Atlanta.

The McIvers lived at the ranch part-time when they weren’t living in their Buckhead condominium in Fulton County. 

The biggest sale of all last weekend was the ranch itself, which was sold for $1 million to an Iranian family of six brothers — all businessmen from Stone Mountain.

Less than 10 minutes after the real estate portion of the auction began at high-noon Saturday, the McIver home, as well as an additional smaller structure used for entertainment purposes, was sold to Joe Bakhitari, the auction’s highest bidder. 

“I’m very happy about buying this ranch,” Bakhitari told The Union-Recorder shortly after the auction, which was conducted by Dempsey Auction Company, of Rome. “We are a family of six brothers and we are very interested in the farm. When we saw it, we fell in love with it and went for it.”

Bakhitari was one of only three people to make a bid on the ranch during the auction, which was spearheaded by Lou Dempsey, who explained a number of particulars of the sell of home and the other structure, as well as nearly 85 acres of farmland. The structures and land were auctioned off separately from hundreds of personal items once owned by the McIver couple.

Dempsey and his father were the first two people to congratulate Joe Bakhitari on the purchase of the ranch.

“Let us be the first ones to congratulate you, sir,” exclaimed Lou Dempsey, president of Dempsey Auction Company.

Earlier during the bidding on the homes and land, Dempsey told the large crowd — many of whom were seated in chairs under a large tent and others seated near the tent on a hot August afternoon in Putnam County, said the structures and land would be auctioned off in one tract.

“We’re going to sell it by the dollar,” Dempsey said. “It won’t take long for us to sell it. It’s taken a long time to get here and it will take us a long time to get it closed, but it’s not going to take long to sell it.”

Dempsey pointed out that there would be a 10 percent buyer fee added to the bid price.

“So whatever your bid is, you add 10 percent to it and that will be your purchase price,” Dempsey said, noting that closing would take place 45 days after the purchase of the ranch.

Bakhitari, who was accompanied by one of his five brothers at the auction, Majid, said he and his brothers have large families and they plan to make the ranch their vacation home.

He described the purchase price as “a bargain.”

Bakhitari said he and his brothers are involved in various business ventures.

“We are involved in a lot of businesses — real estate, landscaping, and pharmaceuticals, and that’s about it,” Bakhitari said.

He and several members of his family moved to the Stone Mountain area in 1976 to begin their business ventures.

Mary Margaret Oliver, the court-appointed administrator of Diane McIver’s estate, also congratulated Bakhitari on the purchase of the ranch.

Oliver, meanwhile, talked about the sale of the McIver ranch.

“It means a great deal for me to be able to carry out my duty to Diane McIver’s will,” Oliver said. “She had a will that was not contested in court, and ultimately she had many gifts and requests to make in her will and ultimately she had planned for charitable contributions. So my job as administrator as appointed by the court is to honor her will and to maximize the benefits of her assets, and her wealth, carry out her wishes.”

Tammy Johnson also attended Saturday’s auction and issued a public statement on behalf of the McIver family.

“The McIver family is heartbroken today as a dream is coming to an end,” Johnson said. “Our dear sister-in-law has passed and our brother is in prison for a horrible accident. This ranch was their happy place — a place where they were married and a place where they shared happy moments throughout their lives together. These memories cannot be taken away by selling a piece of the property, as their families will hold to those happy times while they mourn the passing of Diane and the justice served to Tex. We pray for the truth to come out. We further hope this special place brings as much happiness to its new owners as it did for Diane and Tex. God bless.”

Johnson said the statement was written by Tex McIver’s younger sister, Dixie, who resides in Southlake, Texas.