In the parking lot, Jodi held her son's hand. Routh had become concerned about the state of his soul, and when he and his mother arrived at the cabinet shop on the morning of February 1, 2013, he asked if they could pray together. Because that's what he wanted." Late at night, he would often climb into bed with her. I was so afraid he was going to kill himself. "When I'd start back to the house," Jodi recalls, "I'd be like, Please don't let me find him dead. Because Jodi worked later, Routh was alone for a few hours each afternoon. 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.Jodi would drop off her son in the morning on her way to work, and the shop's owner would bring him home. Family members say Routh suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder from serving in Iraq and in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.Ī forensic psychologist testified for prosecutors that Routh was not legally insane and suggested he may have gotten some of his ideas from television. 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. 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.Ĭriminal 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. The prosecution painted Routh as a troubled drug user who knew right from wrong, despite any mental illnesses. Prosecutors and defense attorneys did not immediately comment. Kyle’s widow, Taya Kyle, had left the courtroom earlier in the day and had not returned when the verdict was read. “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 showed no reaction in court, even when family members of Littlefield addressed him. Since prosecutors didn’t seek the death penalty in the capital murder case, the 27-year-old receives an automatic life sentence without parole in the deaths of Kyle and Kyle’s friend, Chad Littlefield. The trial of Eddie Ray Routh has drawn intense interest, in part because of the blockbuster film based on former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s memoir about his four tours in Iraq. STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) - A former Marine was convicted Tuesday in the deaths of the “American Sniper” author and another man at a shooting range two years ago, as jurors rejected defense arguments that he was insane and suffered from psychosis.
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