Chris Kyle Murder Trial Gets Underway
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STEPHENVILLE (CBSDFW.COM) - Two years after Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, were shot and killed at a gun range in Erath County, the man accused of murdering them is standing trial.
Opening statements in the case were made Wednesday morning in a courtroom in Stephenville.
Eddie Routh is accused of shooting and killing Kyle and Littlefield. They were reportedly trying to help Routh cope with posttraumatic stress disorder. However, an investigation by the Warfighter Foundation suggests that Routh did not see any combat in Iraq and did not suffer from PTSD. Marines who served with Routh have also gone on record to say that he was violent and unpredictable.
State filings paint Routh as a heavy drinker and marijuana user who killed small animals and threatened women using a knife and sword -- even on the day of the killings. According to the filings, after his arrest, Routh allegedly threatened police officers and flooded his jail cell.
But the case has put new attention on the mental health struggles of former military members. After the killings, Routh drove Kyle's truck to his sister's house. Authorities said that he admitted to the murders and told his sister that, "people were sucking his soul."
The judge has been very strict about what the public will be able to see and hear. Just one camera is permitted to shoot the trial through a window.
During opening statements, prosecutors told jurors that this is a story about two best friends who were trying to help a veteran. They said that Routh was troubled, but knew that what he allegedly did was wrong. "Mental illness issues are not concerns," said prosecutor Alan Nash, "because we can confirm that, with evidence, that this defendant knew what he was doing was wrong."
After the opening statements, Kyle's wife, Taya, was first on the witness stand, followed by Littlefield's mother, Judy.
It took three days to select a jury of 10 women and two men, and the judge was very concerned on Tuesday with making sure that their faces were not seen. Routh was present in the courtroom during the jury selection process, clean cut and wearing a suit and glasses.
Routh showed no emotion as the trial began on Wednesday morning.
The trial is getting a lot of national attention, and security around the courthouse is extremely tight. Surrounding roads are closed and Erath County is spending about $1 million on increased security. Officials are expecting the case to draw possible protesters.
The trial is expected to last for two weeks. If the jury finds Routh guilty of the murders, he will automatically face life in prison without parole, because prosecutors opted not to seek the death penalty. Routh's lawyers plan to use an insanity defense. If the 27-year-old defendant is found guilty by reason of insanity, he will spend life in a mental health facility.
"He thought, in his mind, at that point in time, that it was either him or them," said defense attorney Tim Moore during opening statements Wednesday morning, "that he had to take their lives because of his psychoses. He was thinking that they were going to take his."
The defense had tried to delay the trial after the release of the "American Sniper" film, which has broken records at the box office and was even nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. The movie stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle, and was directed by Clint Eastwood. It is based on Kyle's book of the same name.
Gov. Greg Abbott also signed a proclamation last week declaring February 2 as 'Chris Kyle Day' across Texas.
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