A 32-year-old Oklahoma man has been charged with manslaughter after his wife was shot and killed in their Ford F-350 following what investigators described as a drunken, jealous rage.
According to court records, Kyle Shackelford is accused of killing his wife, 25-year-old Rylee Shackelford, on May 26 after confronting her about a phone call from a former boyfriend. Police say he then drove her bleeding body to a Walmart parking lot to meet paramedics.
The former boyfriend told investigators that he returned a video call from Rylee that night but was shocked when Kyle answered instead. “[The former boyfriend] said that he had received two missed calls from Rylee earlier that night, and when [the friend] returned the video call to Rylee, Kyle answered the phone asking who [the friend] was,” the affidavit states.
“[The friend] said he heard Rylee in the background asking for her phone back. When the call disconnected, [the friend] attempted to call back several times with no answer. [The friend] received a Snapchat text that read, ‘Please stop before I get my a— beat, I’m begging you.’ [The friend] answered the text but never heard from Rylee again.”
Police located Kyle Shackelford just before 3 a.m. at the Pauls Valley Walmart, where he sat in the truck with Rylee’s father. Officers found Rylee unconscious in the passenger seat, pale, not breathing, and turning blue, according to the KXII.
Investigators say the couple had spent the evening at a casino where Kyle drank heavily. Surveillance video shows him ordering multiple whiskey and rum drinks before later purchasing canned cocktails at a local store.
The affidavit states the couple argued at home before moving into their truck. “Kyle said that while he and Rylee were seated in his truck … Kyle moved a pistol from where he had placed it on the console,” it alleges. “The gun fired once, striking Rylee in the left side.”
Kyle told police the shooting happened as the couple was “bickering” and that he tried to swipe the pistol away when it went off. He said he then asked Rylee’s father to help drive them to meet an ambulance.
Medical examiners later determined the bullet entered Rylee’s chest, pierced her heart, and lodged in her chest wall. The report noted no damage to her arm, suggesting it may have been pulled back or raised defensively.
Kyle Shackelford was booked into Garvin County Jail on August 26 and released after posting a $100,000 bond. He is scheduled to return to court on September 12.