Gun-wielding Texas real estate developer who shot dead his girlfriend’s ex-husband during furious child custody row will NOT be charged after shooting is ruled to be in self-defense, to the conseternation of the victim’s widow

Chad Read, 54, showed up to Carruth’s home on Nov. 5, as pre-arranged, to pick up his son from his estranged wife who was was involved with Carruth

An argument ensued on the porch between Read and his ex Christine Read, when the child was not handed over

He accused Christine of ‘playing games’ with the the schedule, since he was supposed to pick up his son at 3.15pm and he arrived on time only to be told the child was not there

In the video, Carruth appears and tells Read that his son isn’t at the home and orders him to leave the property, before going inside, emerging with a shotgun

Armed, Carruth is heard telling Read to leave, and the men square up – Read appears to grab for the gun, but Carruth dodges and backs off the porch

From a few yards out, he raises the gun and fires twice at Read who falls face down on the porch

Texas AG on Thursday announced that a grand jury had determined Carruth will not face charges because the argument unfolded on his property and he was ‘acting in self-defense’ 

Late Read’s widow, Jennifer Read, who was present and recorded the tragic event, had released footage showing her husband being shot and disputes the findings

She feels betrayed by the justice system in Texas, maintaining that Carruth is guilty of introducing deadly force into a non physical argument 

Jennifer Read will now pursue the case in civil court, as her $50million wrongful death lawsuit against Carruth, previously on hold, can resume following results of the investigation

Carruth has requested that Jennifer Read’s lawsuit and another suit filed by the dead man’s mother and his three children be combined and moved out of Lubbock

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, to the consternation of the victim’s family. 
Real estate developer Kyle Carruth opened fire on Chad Read after the two squared up to each other and wrestled over a gun in Lubbock on November 5. 
Preceding the shooting, father-of-three Chad Read, 54, was locked in a contentious child custody battle with his estranged wife Christine Read. However Christine is now dating her employer, real estate developer William ‘Kyle’ Carruth, 39. On the website of his company, Vitruvian Development, she’s listed as his Executive Assistant.
After reviewing the fatal shooting, a special grand jury found Carruth will not be charged because the argument was on his property and the shooting was in self-defense, Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Thursday.
Kyle Carruth, who at the time was married to 72nd District Court Judge Ann-Marie Carruth, was never arrested for the shooting, which his lawyer had argued was a ‘justifiable homicide’. The couple are recently divorced after Judge Carruth filed for divorce within a week of the shooting. In a November 8 affidavit Ann-Marie Carruth stated that her husband “is under investigation for the shooting and killing of his girlfriend’s children’s father after he attempted to pick up his children.”
However, while she is still on the Texas bench, Judge Carruth lost her bid for re-election in March and will be in office until December.

Heated exchange before Kyle Carruth shot and killed Chad Read in Lubbock, Texas on Nov. 5. The fight was on Carruth’s property, but Read who was unarmed had come over to see his son. He was in a child custody fight with his ex-wife who was now dating Carruth

On November 5, the argument leading up to the shooting centered on a custody dispute over the children of Chad Read 54, and his ex-wife Christina, who was dating Carruth.  
Also present was Read’s current wife, Jennifer Read, who captured 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. 

Completely dissatisfied with the decision announced by the Texas AG, Jennifer Read will pursue a $50million wrongful death lawsuit against Carruth in a civil court now the criminal investigation has finished. That suit was filed in December, but that case has been on hold pending the outcome of Paxton’s investigation.
‘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 William 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.’  

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

‘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.’ 
In the lawsuit she filed on Monday, Nov. 29, against Kyle Carruth and his company Vitruvian Development LLC. She is seeking $50 million, which states that she and Chad Read went to his ex-wife’s place of business trying to find Chad’s youngest son. She also claims Carruth failed to de-escalate the confrontation and used a gun even though no physical threat to life or property existed.
Carruth has asked that Jennifer Read’s lawsuit, along with a lawsuit brought by Chad’s mother, Jinx Read and his three children, be moved and consolidated and transferred out of Lubbock.

The announcement from the AG Paxton’s office marked another courtroom defeat for Jennifer, whose petition for custody of Chad and Christina’s children was dismissed in January.
After Chad’s death, Jennifer Read tried to intervene in the divorce and custody case between the warring ex-spouses. She had also been seeking custody of couple’s two children, aged nine and 14.
‘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.  
When a judge dismissed that case in January, Jennifer’s petition was dismissed along with it.
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.   

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.

Cad 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.
Shedding more light on the affair, 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 Read also suggested that Carruth and Christina Read plotted to move Chad Read out of the picture, highlighting moments from the video that she says suggests it was deliberate.  
The grand jury decision cited the Castle Doctrine, a Texas law that allows someone ‘to defend himself, others or his property.’ Carruth’s attorney, H. Grady Terrill, last year stated that the shooting was justified. His client had no choice but to use deadly force to “defend himself, his property and others, which caused the death of Chad Read,” Terrill said.
On Thursday, a special grand jury agreed not to indict him with any charges.