Navy Seal and sniper Chris Kyle’s alleged murderer, Eddie Ray Routh, will use the insanity defense to combat his murder charge in the trail that started Feb. 11, 2015 in Erath County, Texas, said AP. Routh, a former Marine, allegedly murdered Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, Feb. 2, 2013 at a shooting range in Glen Rose, Texas. The trial comes just a week after Texas Governor Greg Abbott named Feb. 2 “Chris Kyle Day” in honor of the late U.S. serviceman. “It was super sad learning of his death,” said Nate Rhoades, sophomore business major from Modesto, Calif. “He lived an incredible life and it’s just sad how it ended.”Kyle and Littlefield took Routh to a shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge as part of the FITCO Cares Heroes Project. Kyle frequently took veterans struggling to reacclimate to citizen life to shooting ranges as a mode of psychological therapy. While there, Routh allegedly shot and killed both Kyle and Littlefield before stealing Kyle’s truck and fleeing the scene.Kyle and Littlefield’s bodies were found later by Justin Nabours, who arrived to introduce a client’s son to Kyle. Routh had returned home and planned to flee to Oklahoma but was arrested and brought into custody after leading police on a chase. The trial has received international and national attention due to the recent release of the movie “American Sniper.” The movie, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on Kyle’s book, which describes his four tours of service in Iraq. In those four tours, Kyle became the most lethal sniper in American history, with 160 confirmed kills. The book was on The New York Times bestseller list for 37 weeks. The movie came out in January 2015 and has earned around $300 million in ticket sales. “He is an amazing symbol of American patriotism and he demonstrated the respect that all men and women of the military should be treated with,” said Leena Kilpelainen, a social studies education major from Nipomo, Calif.The trial began with opening statements from the defense and a testimony by Kyle’s wife, Taya. Taya reportedly fought through tears as she explained the events that transpired the morning of her husband’s murder, according to AP. “We just said we loved each other and gave each other a hug and kiss, like we always did,” said Taya in her testimony.Routh and the defense will plead not guilty by reason of insanity. As defense attorney Tim Moore put it, Routh was “in the grip of a psychosis.” Routh has had a history of psychiatric problems, including PTSD, and received psychiatric treatment twice before the shooting. Chris Kyle is survived by his widow, Taya, and two children: an 8-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter.Uploaded Feb. 19, 2015.
Writer: Matthew Roberts
