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After Eight Long Years of Delays, the Trial of the “Popcorn Murder” Finally Starts and Ends
The details of the so-called “Popcorn Shooter” were bizarre enough without having to wait almost a decade for the defendant’s day in court
No one disputed that retired Tampa Police Captain Curtis Reeves shot and killed fellow movie-goer Chad Oulson on January 13, 2014. However, it was unclear if Reeves did so out of self-defense and fearing for his life. The meandering legal twists and delays of this trial that just concluded in a “not guilty” verdict late February 25, 2022, were so unusual that the trial reached national and international coverage.
Reeves and his wife decided to attend a matinée showing of Lone Survivor at the Cobb Theater in Wesley Chapel, Florida, just north of Tampa. Chad Oulson and his wife Nicole decided to go to the same showing, and fate placed them near each other. Their lives became inextricably intertwined after that day.
A Brief History of the Delays
Reeves, then 71, went with his wife to the theater and took a seat behind the Oulson’s. Before that day, the couples did not know each other. Oulson was out on a date with his wife. A message on the screen advised the audience to turn off their cellphones. Then the movie previews started. Reeves was annoyed by the bright light on Chad…
