The killer of "American Sniper" Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield was found guilty of capital murder Tuesday night (Feb. 24) by a jury of 12 persons in Erath County, Texas.
Eddie Ray Routh, 27, a former Marine beset by post-traumatic stress disorder since returning from the Iraq War, was found guilty by a jury that deliberated for just over two hours
Routh stared impassively as Judge Jason Cashon read the unanimous verdict. The jury of 10 women and two men convicted Routh of the murder of Kyle, 38, and Littlefield, 35, at shooting range near Fort Worth on Feb. 2, 2013.
Cashon condemned Routh to life in prison in Texas without possibility for parole. Routh's lawyers will probably appeal the verdict.
The verdict ended a tense and emotionally charged nine-day trial heavily covered by media and followed by the public because of Kyle's status as a war hero and a hit movie, American Sniper, about his exploits in Iraq.
Routh confessed to police after his arrest the same day as the shooting that he'd shot Kyle and Littlefield. Police said Routh shot both men while they had their backs to him. Routh apparently first shot Kyle twice in the back before gunning down Littlefield and shooting him in the head. In all, Kyle was shot six times and Littlefield, seven times, according to Fox News.
Jurors only had to decide if Routh "intentionally and willingly" killed the pair and whether he knew what he did was wrong. The jury decided he had.
On the night of his death, Kyle was trying to help Routh recover from recurring bouts of PTSD. Kyle did so at the request of Routh's mother. Littlefield was there because he wanted to back-up Kyle, his close friend.
Unanswered were the exact reasons why Routh murdered both men that were trying to help him.
Routh's lawyers painted a picture of the ex-Marine as suffering from psychosis and as such shouldn't have been held responsible for his actions. They said Routh fought on against his psychosis after his service with the Marines.
While Routh was never in combat, he served as a prison guard in Iraq and recovered dead bodies killed by an intense earthquake in Haiti. They said Routh was hospitalized in mental institutions four times in the seven months leading to the killings.
At the hospitals, Routh received anti-psychotic drugs, anti-depressants and mood stabilizers to help ease his growing paranoia and delusions, his lawyers said.
On the other hand, the prosecution contended that Routh was not legally insane when he murdered both men. They said Routh fled from police after the shootings and ordered two Taco Bell burritos after the killings, signs he knew what he did was wrong.
"This defendant gunned down two men, shooting them in the back, in cold blood," said Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash, said a story in USA Today.