Christopher Lee Voth was a 27-year-old White man from Walker, Louisiana, whose life ended after a violent confrontation at a residence on Courtney Road on the night of February 1, 2025. At about 10 p.m., Livingston Parish sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the area after a report of shots fired. When deputies arrived, they found Voth suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a hospital, but his injuries were too severe and he died a short time later.
Investigators quickly focused on Voth’s 17-year-old stepson, Ray Habisreitinger. Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard said detectives determined that Voth and Habisreitinger had become involved in a physical fight before the gunfire. Authorities said Voth was unarmed when he was shot multiple times. Habisreitinger was taken into custody following the shooting and booked into the Livingston Parish Detention Center.
Habisreitinger was initially arrested on a charge of second-degree murder. Early court and news reports placed his bond at $250,000. Authorities publicly identified him despite his age, with contemporaneous reporting noting that Louisiana law treated a 17-year-old as an adult for purposes of the criminal proceeding. The sheriff’s investigation remained active in the days immediately following Voth’s death.
As the prosecution progressed, the charge appearing in official 21st Judicial District Attorney court dockets changed from the second-degree murder charge announced at the time of arrest to manslaughter under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:31. By July 2025, Habisreitinger was appearing in the Livingston Parish felony docket under case number 49905 on one count of manslaughter, with court records showing that he remained incarcerated. The manslaughter charge continued to appear on later 2025 court calendars.
The criminal case remained pending into 2026. A May 12, 2026, court docket again listed Habisreitinger on the manslaughter charge, noted that he was in the Livingston Parish jail, and stated that a trial had been set for August 17, 2026. Available online court information located for the case did not establish a subsequent conviction, acquittal, plea, or sentence, so the ultimate disposition should not be assumed from the earlier trial setting alone.
Outside the circumstances of his death, Voth was remembered by those close to him as a hardworking and caring person. His obituary identified him as a supervisor and heat-treatment technician for a local pipe company. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, cooking, grilling, history, and caring for his pet fish, and his family described helping others as an important part of who he was. He left behind his wife and a large extended family. His mother later described him to local media as a loving, hardworking soul whose loss devastated those closest to him.
