Texas man who killed his girlfriend's ex won't face criminal charges

Gun-wielding Texas man who shot dead his partner’s ex-husband during furious child custody row will NOT be charged after shooting is ruled to be in self-defense

• William ‘Kyle’ Carruth opened fire on Chad Read on November 5 
• Pair argued before the shooting about the custody of children of Read and his ex-wife Christina Read, who was dating Carruth
•  Chad Read’s widow, Jennifer, released footage showing husband being shot 
• Read can be heard demanding to see his son, 9, outside of Carruth’s home
• A grand jury had determined Carruth will not face charges because the argument unfolded on his property and he was acting in self-defense 
• Jennifer Read will now pursue the case in civil court, as her $50million wrongful death lawsuit against Carruth can resume following results of the investigation

A Texas man who shot dead his girlfriend’s ex-husband as the men argued over child custody will not face criminal charges because the shooting was in self-defense, the Texas Attorney General has announced. 

William ‘Kyle’ Carruth, 39, opened fire on Chad Read, 54, after the two squared up to each other and wrestled over a gun in Lubbock on November 5. 

A special grand jury found Carruth will not be charges because the argument was on his property and the shooting was in self-defense, Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Thursday. 

Carruth, who is the ex-husband of 72nd District Court Judge Ann-Marie Carruth, was never arrested for the shooting, which his lawyer had argued was a ‘justifiable homicide’. 

Judge Carruth, who lost her bid for re-election in March and will be in office until December, divorced him shortly after the shooting. 

The argument leading up to the shooting centered on a custody dispute over the children of Chad Read and his ex-wife Christina, who was dating Carruth.  

Read’s new wife, Jennifer, filmed the moment her husband was shot and killed by Carruth and released the footage.

The disturbing video shows Read can be heard demanding to see his nine-year-old son outside Carruth’s house before he’s shot dead. 

Pictured: Kyle Carruth (left in a black top and holding a rifle) and Chad Read (right wearing a teal top) are seen in a grab from mobile phone footage squaring off outside a home that reportedly belongs to Carruth

 William ‘Kyle’ Carruth opened fire on Chad Read after the two squared up against each other and wrestled over a gun in Lubbock, Texas, on November 5.

Carruth will not face criminal charges for shooting dead his girlfriend’s ex-husband during a child custody argument because the argument unfolded on his property and was carried out in self-defense, a Texas grand jury found 

Jennifer Read (left), the widow of Chad Read (right) released footage showing the moment her husband was shot and killed by Carruth

Jennifer Read will launch a $50million wrongful death lawsuit in a civil court now the criminal investigation has finished. 

‘Apparently in Texas it’s okay to bring a gun out to a verbal altercation and murder the ex. The ‘special’ grand jury was just for show,’ she wrote on Facebook. 

‘I don’t know of one other person who testified for Chad, besides me and his mom. They didn’t like being inundated with calls and did this to say they did it, but I guarantee they weren’t there for Chad Read.’  

Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office had excused itself from the investigation because of Carruth’s relationship with the judge, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.  

Investigators turned their findings over to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which handled all prosecutions related to the case.   

 ‘The presentation of the case included several eyewitnesses, family of Chad Read, and additional evidence that was not previously released to the public,’ Paxton announced.

‘After several days of thorough inspection of the evidence, the Special Grand Jury concluded their investigation into the matter and deliberated on whether the evidence supported the filing of criminal charges against Kyle Carruth. 

‘The Special Grand Jury voted today to not indict for any criminal charges against Kyle Carruth.’

After the killing, Judge Carruth, made an affidavit in their divorce case saying she been ‘notified that my husband…is under investigation for the shooting and killing of his girlfriend’s children’s father after he attempted to pick up his children.’ 

On Thursday, Attorney General Ken Paxton said that a special grand jury had determined Carruth will not face

Jennifeer Read took to Facebook on Friday to condemn the AG’s office’s response to her husband’s killing

Kyle Carruth is the ex-husband of Ann-Marie Carruth, who After Chad Read’s death, Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office recused from the investigation. The DA did not allow her office to take on the case and cited Judge Carruth, Kyle Carruth’s ex-wife, as her reasoning

A lawyer for Jennifer Read issued a statement after the jury’s finding saying the criminal justice system had ‘utterly failed’ her  

‘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. Chad Read died unarmed, shot and killed while simply trying to determine the whereabouts of his son,’ Jennifer’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee, told Law&Crime. 

‘The civil matter has been on hold awaiting the outcome of the criminal proceedings. We will now aggressively pursue Jennifer Read’s claims in civil court.’ 

Jennifer Read had also been seeking custody of Chad Read’s nine and 14-year-old children.

‘They’re aware that Kyle Carruth shot and killed their father in front of their mother, step-brother, and myself,’ she argued last year in court filings.  

A judge denied her petition for custody in January. Her lawyer said she will not be able to sue again as the prior lawsuit had been filed by Chad Read and dismissed after his death. 

‘Under Texas law, one of the blood-relatives of the children would need to file suit in order to obtain custody of the children, and it pains Mrs. Read that no family member has yet stepped up to protect these children,’ her attorney said.   

Judge Carruth, who lost her bid for re-election in March and will be in office until December, divorced Kyle shortly after the shooting. Pictured above with their children in 2019 

Chad Read (left) was married to Jennifer Read (right) when he was shot dead

Chad’s last moments were captured by Jennifer from a car parked on the street outside Kyle Carruth’s South Lubbock home, showing Chad arguing with his ex-wife and Carruth. 

From the mobile phone video, it appeared that Chad Read and Kyle Carruth were arguing on the porch of the house, with Christina Read standing to the right.

Kyle Carruth was heard telling Read to ‘get off of my property’. Chad Read gesticulated with his arms as Carruth turned around to go inside the house.

Read turned around and continued talking to his ex-wife, telling her that he wanted his son, who he was supposed to have custody of from 3.15pm that day, according to Jennifer in an affidavit filed after the incident.  

‘I get him at 3.15. If you want to see him you can see him up until 3.15. You keep trying to keep my son from me, I’m going to drag you, and Ann-Marie, and everybody else into court,’ he said. 

Carruth then re-emerged from the house holding a gun and shouted ‘leave’ at Read. 

Now face-to-face, Carruth fired one shot into the floor at the pair’s feet, which did not appear to deter Read, who continued to push against Carruth. 

Carruth then jumped back away from the porch, raised the rifle and fired two shots at Chad, who slumped to the floor.  

After the shooting, Jennifer Read accused Christina Read and Kyle Carruth of conspiring to kill her slain husband, claiming that Chad Read had evidence of the couple’s affair and threatened to make it public.  

‘Christina Read and Kyle Carruth have been engaged in an ongoing affair, despite Kyle Carruth being married,’ she stated in an affidavit last year.

The affidavit added: ‘On October 30, 2021, Chad Read informed Christina Read that he had evidence of her affair with Kyle Carruth and that he was going to go public with it.’ 

Jennifer also suggested that Carruth and Christina Read plotted to Chad Read, pointing out moments from the video that she says suggests it was deliberate.  

Citing the Castle Doctrine, a Texas law that allows someone ‘to defend himself, others or his property,’ Carruth’s lawyer said last year that the shooting was justified.

On Thursday, a special grand jury agreed not to indict him with any charges. 

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