Arrest records indicate that Routh had been twice taken to a mental hospital in recent months, and had told police he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Police in Texas have charged Eddie Ray Routh, a 25-year-old U.S. Military History, was killed at a gun range near Glen Rose, Texas, on Feb. Routh later took off and led authorities on a chase before the truck became disabled and he was arrested.Chris Kyle, a retired Navy SEAL and best-selling author of American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. “He told us he’d taken a couple of souls and he had more souls to take,” Lancaster police Lt. A police video shown by prosecutors showed officers trying to coax him from the truck while he makes comments including: “I don’t know if I’m going insane” and “Is this about hell walking on earth right now?” She called police, who later located Routh sitting in front of his home in the truck. About 45 minutes later, authorities say Routh pulled up to his sister’s home in Kyle’s truck and told her he had killed two people. I took care of business, and then I got in the truck and left,” Routh said in the phone call.Īsked by the magazine reporter if he thought about the day he shot the men, Routh replied, “It tore my (expletive) heart out when I did it,” later adding, “I guess you live and you learn, you know.”Ī resort employee discovered the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield about 5 p.m. “That’s what got me all riled up.”ĭefense attorneys said Routh, who had been prescribed anti-psychotic medication often used for schizophrenia, believed the men planned to kill him. You shoot,” Routh said in the phone call. “Are you gonna shoot? Are you gonna shoot? It’s a shooting sport. Randall Price said Routh had a paranoid disorder made worse by his use of alcohol and marijuana, calling his condition “cannabis-induced psychosis.”ĭefense attorneys noted that Kyle had described Routh as “straight-up nuts” in a text message to Littlefield as they drove to the luxury resort.Īmong evidence entered by prosecutors was a recorded phone call between Routh and a reporter from The New Yorker magazine in which Routh said he was annoyed Littlefield wasn’t shooting, but instead seemed to be watching him. “He was trying to help you,” he told Routh.Ī forensic psychologist testified for prosecutors that Routh was not legally insane and suggested he may have gotten some of his ideas from television. However, Richardson told Routh that Routh’s PTSD claims “have been an insult to every veteran who served with honor.”ĭon Littlefield, Chad Littlefield’s father, told Routh that even though his son never served in the military, he was honored to help those who did serve. Family members say Routh suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in Iraq and in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake. 2, 2013, after Routh’s mother asked Kyle to help her troubled son. Kyle and Littlefield had taken Routh to the shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge and Resort on Feb. If found not guilty by reason of insanity, the court could have initiated proceedings to have him committed to a state mental hospital. Jurors had three options: find Routh guilty of capital murder, find him not guilty, or find him not guilty by reason of insanity. Eddie Ray RouthĬriminal law experts said the verdict hinged on whether the defense could prove Routh was insane and did not know the killings were wrong at the time they were committed. While trial testimony and evidence often included Routh making odd statements and referring to insanity, he also confessed several times, apologized for the crimes and tried to evade police. The prosecution painted Routh as a troubled drug user who knew right from wrong, despite any mental illnesses. Chris Kyle’s brother and parents were among a group hugging and crying inside the courtroom after the verdict was read. Kyle’s widow, Taya Kyle, had left the courtroom earlier in the day and had not returned when the verdict was read. The Littlefield family had waited “two years for God to get justice for us,” she said. “We’re so thrilled that we have the verdict that we have tonight,” Littlefield’s mother, Judy Littlefield, said at a news conference outside the courthouse. Routh “took the lives of two heroes, men who tried to be a friend to you, and you became an American disgrace,” Jerry Richardson, Littlefield’s half-brother, told Routh in court. His defense team said they would appeal the conviction. Routh showed no reaction in court, even when family members of Littlefield addressed him.
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