Man sentenced in teen’s accidental death at shooting range

A man was sentenced on Friday to two to seven years in prison for the July death of his girlfriend’s 15-year-old son at a shooting range near Laughlin.

Kiley Seydlitz, 42, was originally charged with murder in Xabier Etchart’s death. He pleaded guilty in November to involuntary manslaughter and ownership or possession of a gun by a prohibited person, court records show.

“Reading the facts of the case, it’s without a doubt it was an accident, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re missing your son,” District Judge Cristina Silva told Xabier’s mother on Friday.

Seydlitz was accused of recklessly handling a rifle on July 19 while at a shooting range near Needles Highway and Bruce Woodbury Drive. Witnesses told police that a group of people, including Seydlitz and the teenager, had been shooting in the desert for about 45 minutes when Seydlitz put his finger on the trigger of a rifle in the back of a truck, according to his arrest report.

When someone moved off the truck, the rifle fell. Witnesses said that’s when Xabier was shot.

The teenager died eight days later at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center from a gunshot wound to the head, the Clark County coroner’s office has said.

According to his arrest report, Seydlitz had prior felony convictions from Missouri and was on probation at the time of the shooting.

Seydlitz did not speak during his sentencing hearing.

Xabier’s mother, Debra Etchart, said Friday that while her son’s death was an accident, “it should have never happened.”

“There’s not a minute that I don’t think of my son,” Etchart said.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.