By KCBD Staff
Published: Nov. 24, 2021 at 3:15 PM CST|Updated: Nov. 24, 2021 at 6:30 PM CST
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - The attorney for Chad Read’s widow released a statement and video of the shooting that killed 54-year-old Chad Read on Nov. 5. Along with the video, the attorney supplied a petition filed on Wednesday showing Jennifer Read, Chad’s widow, is seeking custody of her late husband’s children from their mother.
The news release states, “Jennifer Read, the widow of Chad Read, has filed a Petition today seeking to take custody of Chad Read’s children from their mother, Christina Read. Because the new Lubbock Public Access System makes this information available to the public, and the likelihood of the information contained in her Petition and Affidavit being obtained by the media, she has decided that it is best to simply release the information directly instead of waiting for it to be discovered.”
Jennifer Read and her attorney stated they released the video of “Kyle Carruth’s shooting of her husband” and the affidavit to “speak for themselves.”
On Friday, November 5, Lubbock Police found Chad Read, 54, dead at a home in the 2100 block of 90th street. Police say through the initial course of the investigation, it appears there was a fight between Read and another man related to a domestic incident, and shots were fired.
The mobile phone video, from a vehicle parked in front of the home, shows Chad Read and who appears to be Kyle Carruth arguing outside of the home on 90th Street. Carruth is holding a long-barreled gun. The argument escalates and Carruth fires a shot in the ground towards Read. Read gets more agitated and tries to take the gun. After physical contact with each other, wrestling with the gun, Carruth steps back and fires two shots. Before the shots were fired, the camera moves and video of the shooting is not caught on camera; however shots are audible. When the video pans back towards Read, he is lying motionless on the porch.
KCBD has chosen to edit the video to not show Chad Read’s body after he was shot. The curse words have also been bleeped from the video.
KCBD spoke to Kyle Carruth’s attorney, David Guinn, who says the video “confirms the Lubbock Police’s thorough work reflects this as a justified homicide.”
“When a trespassing Chad Read advanced on Mr. Carruth, who was standing within feet of the front door of his home and office, employees there, Mr. Read said I’ll take your gun and effing kill you with it and then tried to. It was then and only then did that gun get pointed at Mr. Read at the fatal moment,” Carruth’s attorney said. “Mr. Read had every opportunity to leave, to try to escalate the situation. He was threatening to others. Police had been called and he knew that, Mr. Carruth came out the door, the gun pointed in the air and told him to leave. Most people would have.”
“Mr. Read then chose to advance on Mr. Carruth, they were face to face,” Guinn continued. “Mr. Read said he’d take the gun and kill him with it. The gun went off into the patio, that still did not deter Mr. Read, who then grabbed the gun and tried to kill Kyle.”
Guinn says Carruth holds a valid defense under the Castle Doctrine, “to defend himself, others or his property,” and they are looking forward to the Attorney General’s Office investigating and presenting the case to a Lubbock grand jury. Guinn says a grand jury could still indict Carruth, but his hope is “upon careful review of the law, they will not,” but it doesn’t mean he can’t be arrested and charged or convicted later.
“Everyone wishes there could have been an alternative solution and it never would have happened. It’s affecting him too,” Guinn stated. “You know, we’re thinking about that poor 11 year old stepson. And he’s just a kid stuck in the backseat of Chad Read’s truck and Chad chose to drive out to the seven and a half acre property. You know, it’s still playing through Kyle’s mind. And that is not an easy memory for anyone, even if, just because it’s legally right, doesn’t mean it’s not without psychological and practical consequence.”
There have not been any charges filed or arrests made in this case.
Jennifer Read, Chad’s widow, said the following in the affidavit:
“The present circ*mstances of the children will significantly impair the children’s physical health or emotional development.
“I am the stepmother of the children the subject of this suit. The mother of the children, Christina Read, has endangered the physical health and emotional well-being of the children by permitting them to be in the presence of the man that murdered their father, Chad Read. Chad Read was assaulted by Kyle Carruth, and then murdered by Kyle Carruth, which Chad Read was attempting to pick one of the children from Christina Read for his court ordered period of possession.
“Christina Read and Kyle Carruth have been engaged in an ongoing affair, despite Kyle Carruth being married. 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. On November 5, 2021, after 4:00 p.m., myself and my minor son were physically present when Chad Read met with Christina Read at Kyle Carruth’s residence at 2100 90th St, Lubbock, Texas. We were there to pick up Chad’s youngest son. Chad was supposed to have custody of the child beginning at 3:15pm, but Christina stated that, she “wanted to see him” as her excuse to why she had not produced the child as ordered by the court at the time required.
“I believe that Christina Read and Kyle Carruth engaged in a conspiracy to assault and/or murder Chad that day.
“The entire interaction took place outside of the residence. While Chad was inquiring about the location of the youngest son, Kyle Carruth went inside the residence. At the moment Kyle Carruth turned to go inside, Christina Read took several steps back away from the door and immediately began recording what I believe to be video with her phone.
“As Chad was declaring that he was preparing to issue subpoenas to bring everyone into Court and expose the affair, Kyle Carruth emerged from the residence. When he emerged from the residence, he had a new sense of self-confidence brandishing a black rifle in a menacing manner and screaming. Chad had not threatened any force, or used any force, against Kyle or Christina that would justify Kyle pulling a firearm on Chad. During this entire interaction, Chad Read was completely unarmed.
“Kyle Carruth then pointed the firearm at Chad’s feet as Chad was slowly walking over to where Kyle was and while they exchanged words. Kyle Carruth then put the firearm to Chad’s side but with the muzzle beyond Chad’s back. The barrel of Kyle Carruth’s firearm was wildly pointing in multiple directions, including at me and at Christina Read while he was bumping chests with Chad and while he was pushing Chad with his chest.
“Kyle Carruth then took a step backwards and fired a single shot at Chad’s feet. Kyle didn’t maintain the barrel at Chad, but instead stood back defiantly with the firearm pointed at the ground off to the side. After being fired upon by Kyle Carruth, Chad attempted to defend himself by keeping the barrel of the firearm from being pointed at him. Kyle Carruth then ran away several steps from Chad, spun around, raised the rifle, and fired two shots into Chad Read.
“Immediately after shooting Chad, Kyle Carruth stood over Chad Read’s dying body and wagged his finger at me and said, “I told all of y’all to leave.” He didn’t say that Chad posed a threat to Christina or any other person. He didn’t attempt to render any aid to Chad, he didn’t maintain the barrel at Chad as though he thought Chad was a threat to him.
“I recorded the shooting on my cell phone. During this entire incident, I didn’t realize that Kyle Carruth was holding and brandishing an actual firearm. At that time, I thought that it was some type of stun-gun or paintball gun. Even when Kyle Carruth fired the shots, the sound was very muffled and not as loud as I now firearms to be. It wasn’t until I got to Chad on the ground that I realized that he had in fact been shot and that the weapon held by Kyle Carruth was a firearm.
“During the assault and murder, Christina Read was calm and didn’t act surprised. She acted as though she knew what the plan was all along. She took no steps to stop Kyle Carruth from murdering Chad. following the assault and murder, Christina Read continued to remain calm, she didn’t react, and she continued to record Chad as he laid there dying. Christina read did not take any steps to render aid to Chad.
“On Monday following the murder, Judge Ann-Marie Carruth the then wife of Kyle Carruth filed an affidavit in their divorce proceedings stating that, “[her] husband, William Kyle Carruth, is under investigation for the shooting and killing of his girlfriend’s children’s father after he attempted to pick up his children...” She also stated in that affidavit that she was, “very concerned about [Kyle Carruth’s] mental state.” I learned this information from an article posted in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on November 19, 2021.
“Despite Kyle Carruth’s murder of Chad Read, and his mental state, Christina Read has continued to permit Kyle Carruth to be a part of these children’s lives. Christina Read continues to maintain a relationship with Kyle Carruth. Christina Read has continued to permit Kyle Carruth to have unsupervised possession of the youngest child from Lubbock County without supervision, and they are presently in DeLeon, Texas over 3.5 hours away.
“The children are aware that Kyle Carruth shot and killed their father in front of their mother, step-brother, and myself. 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.
“It is my belief that Kyle Carruth and Christina Read intend to get married as soon as possible, and will likely move in together. I observed the divorce hearing between Kyle Carruth and Judge Anne-Marie Carruth. During that hearing, Kyle Carruth’s concern over the “waiting period” for remarriage when instructed by the Judge. Kyle Carruth’s concern over the ability to remarry quickly causes me to fear that he will have unfettered access to the children of the man he murdered.
“It is in the best interest of the children to be removed from Christina Read, and that her contact with the children be denied or at least restricted. [A child involved] is over the age of 12, and will confer in chambers with the Court to express his desire to reside with me.
“Chad Read and I lived together since November 2020. During that time, the children resided with us off and on over the year, which was greater than six months. While the children were with us, I had actual care, control, and possession of the children. Even prior to us moving in together, I had substantial contact with the children as Chad and I had been dating since April 2020.”
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