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What we know about fatal shooting of Chad Read and suspect Kyle Carruth

Chad Read, a 54-year-old Lubbock father, was fatally shot in South Lubbock outside his ex-wife's house after a confrontation between the former couple and the woman's boyfriend on Nov. 5.

Court records identified William Kyle Carruth as the man suspected of shooting Read. The affidavit was signed by Judge Anne-Marie Carruth, who filed the document in a counter suit in her divorce from Kyle Carruth.

Less than six months after the shooting, no charges were filed against Carruth. Here's what we know about the case and those involved:

Christina Read and Chad Read argument tied child custody

Video released by Jennifer Read, the current wife of Chad Read, showed Chad arguing with his ex-wife, Christina Read, over not having one of the former couple's sons available at a court ordered time.

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During the argument, Christina could be heard saying the child was not home and that she was going to fetch him. She also said that she didn't abide by the court ordered deadline because she wanted to see their son.

"I don't care if you wanted to see him or not," Chad Read said. "I get him at 3:15 p.m. If you want to see him, you see him up until 3:15. You keep trying to keep my son from me."

Chad Read threatened to subpoena multiple people in response, including Kyle Carruth's ex wife, Judge Anne-Marie Carruth. At that point, Kyle, who previously told Chad to leave the property, emerged from the home with a rifle.

Chad Read and Kyle Carruth argued, struggled over gun

The two can be seen bumping chests as they argue. Chad Read challenged Kyle Carruth to use the weapon.

"Do it," Read can be heard saying. "You better ******* use it ************."

The two continue arguing. Jennifer Read, who is filming the altercation from a vehicle, tells someone off camera to call the police. Carruth is seen firing a shot on the ground at Read's feet.

Read places his hand on the gun, propelling Carruth away from him. Carruth then spins around and fires twice at Read, who could be heard saying, "think I'm ******* scared?"

Video of the Nov. 5 shooting death of Chad Read was released Wednesday by Jennifer Read, who is now seeking custody of her husband's children.
Video of the Nov. 5 shooting death of Chad Read was released Wednesday by Jennifer Read, who is now seeking custody of her husband's children.

The camera pans at Read who has dropped on the ground as Jennifer Read calls again for someone to call 911.

Jennifer tells Kyle she has the incident on video.

"You did it, not him," Jennifer Read says.

Kyle responds, telling her "I told all of y'all to leave."

"None of you all should be here. I asked you to leave. I did everything ... I did not want to do any of this."

Responding officers arrived to find Chad dead at the scene.

Chad Read's obituary reveals recent marriage to Jennifer Read

An obituary for Chad Read indicated that he "married the love his life" Jennifer Read on Sept. 4, 2021.

Chad Read was a Lubbock native who graduated from lewisville High School in 1985. The obituary says he was "a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word" and that he returned to Lubbock to raise a family in 2000. The obituary made no mention of his ex-wife Christina Read but indicated he had three children.

A funeral for Read took place on Nov. 12.

Anne-Marie Carruth married Kyle Carruth in 2008, divorced him in 2021

Court filings show that the couple married in September 2009. They separated in July 2021 and Kyle Carruth filed for divorce in September. Their divorce was finalized two weeks after the shooting.

The affidavit, filed on Nov. 8, was filed as part of Anne-Marie Carruth's counter suit in the couple's divorce. According to the counter petition, Anne-Marie, a district court judge, was asking the court to exclude her ex-husband from their 9th Street home.

Ann-Marie Carruth
Ann-Marie Carruth

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Anne-Marie Carruth judge of the 72nd Judicial District Court in Crosby and Lubbock Counties in January 2021 to take over the seat for a term set to expire at the end of 2022.

She stated in the affidavit that she hadn't spoken to Kyle about the shooting but said she was "very concerned about his mental state."

Lubbock County District Attorney Sunshine Stanek filed a motion with the AG's office recusing her office from the case, stating the "suspect is related to a Lubbock County elected official, who is also a potential witness."

Jennifer Read files petition for children and $50 million wrongful death lawsuit

Through her attorney Anthony Buzbee, Jennifer Read filed a petition alleging that Christina Read has endangered the well-being of two children by allowing them to be in the presence of Kyle Carruth.

"The children are aware that Kyle Carruth shot and killed their father in front of their mother, step-brother, and myself," Read's affidavit states. "Christina's decision to allow either of these children to be in Kyle Carruth's presence has caused, and continues to cause, significant impairment of their emotional well-being. The oldest child has expressed to me that he blames his mother for the shooting, and that he will run away from home if he sees Kyle there again."

Jennifer Read also filed a wrongful death suit against Kyle Carruth on Nov. 29 in District Court. She alleges negligence, civil assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress and is seeking $50 million in damages.

The document alleges her husband was unarmed at the time, had no history of violence, and that he and his wife Christina "were simply arguing, like they had done many times before" but that "this time was different" due to Kyle Carruth's actions.

The suit alleges an extramarital affair between Christina Read and Kyle Carruth "that resulted in ill will towards Chad Read", and says that Kyle "needlessly escalated the situation" on Nov. 5.

“Every Texan has the right to defend themselves and their property—no one, however, has the right to interject themselves into someone else’s conversation, return and bring a gun to an otherwise nonviolent argument, escalate the argument to violence, creating a violent situation, and then shoot and kill an unarmed man.”

Read her full lawsuit at the bottom of this story.

Kyle Carruth's lawyers say shooting was 'self defense'

Carruth’s attorney, David M. Guinn with Hurley, Guinn & Singh, has argued that the shooting was self-defense.

“All Texans may lawfully brandish a firearm to protect themselves, their property and their business.” Guinn said.

Guinn told EverythingLubbock.com that Read threatened to take the gun from Carruth. He also said the manner in which Carruth advanced towards him poised "an immediate threat" to his client.

“This is a justifiable homicide," Guinn contended.

Grand jury voted not to charge Kyle Carruth but Chad Read family lawsuits to be pursued in civil court

In a press release from the Office of the Attorney General, a grand jury who investigated the shooting declined to indict Carruth on criminal charges. His attorney, David M. Guinn, expressed gratitude for the decision but also sympathies to the Read family.

"The loss of life is painful," he said. "(Carruth's) deepest sympathies go out to them."

But Tony Buzbee, who is representing Jennifer Read, said in a statement that his client was failed by the justice system.

"We believe there was no legitimate reason for Kyle Carruth to bring a deadly weapon to an argument that he wasn’t even a part of," the statement reads. "Chad Read died unarmed, shot and killed while simply trying to determine the whereabouts of his son."

While no criminal charges will be filed, two wrongful death lawsuits were filed against Carruth by Read's surviving family members.

"We will now aggressively pursue Jennifer Read’s claims in civil court," Buzbee's statement reads.

Read Jennifer Read's lawsuit against Kyle Carruth

Plaintiff's First Amended Petition by Anonymous EHPq5k on Scribd

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Chad Read Lubbock shooting and Kyle Carruth: What we know