Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
Chris Kyle was a former Navy SEAL whose life was depicted in director Clint Eastwood’s Hollywood blockbuster American Sniper. The Oscar-nominated film, in which Bradley Cooper plays the decorated sniper, is based on Kyle’s 2012 autobiography, reported People Magazine. His book also made it to The New York Times bestsellers list. Kyle was also a husband and father of two children.
Fox 13 reported that Chris Kyle tragically died on February 2, 2013, in a shooting incident that took place at a gun range at Rough Creek Lodge and Resort in Texas. Reportedly, a former Marine named Eddie Ray Routh fatally shot the 38-year-old sniper and Chad Littlefield. The duo was killed while trying to help Routh who allegedly suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
The outlet reported that after killing Kyle and Littlefield, Routh fled the crime scene, but authorities later arrested him. The killer stood trial in 2015 when a jury convicted him of capital murder, per The Guardian. He later received a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole.
An episode of The Real Story of… featured Chris Kyle’s life and death in 2016 in an episode titled “American Sniper.”
Who killed Chris Kyle and Why?
Eddie Ray Routh, a Marine Corp veteran who had served time in Iraq and Haiti, fatally shot Chris Kyle, 38, known to be the deadliest American sniper. Routh also shot Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield, 35. The killings took place at a gun range in Texas where the three had arrived together on February 2, 2013, reported Fox 13. CNN stated that the gun range is located in a remote location at the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort. A resort employee found their bodies but Routh had reportedly fled the scene after the shootings.
According to Fox 13, Kyle’s wife, Taya, later claimed that he and Littlefield spent time with other veterans, helping them after retirement. NBC News stated that Kyle had also battled PTSD after leaving the Navy in 2009. He later told the outlet in an interview in 2012 about his new-found purpose for helping fellow veterans fighting similar battles.
So was the case with Routh, whose family members said he was severely troubled and suffered from PTSD after his time in Iraq and Haiti. He reportedly served in Haiti during the 2010 earthquake. Routh’s mother had asked Chris Kyle for his help with her troubled son.
Per CNN, During Eddie Ray Routh’s infamous trial, Gene Cole, a former Erath County Sheriff’s Deputy, testified that he heard Routh say, “‘I shot them because they wouldn’t talk to me.'” According to Cole’s testimony, the defendant said that he was riding in the “back seat of the truck and nobody would talk to me. They were just taking me to the range so I shot them. I feel bad about it, but they wouldn’t talk to me. I’m sure they’ve forgiven me.”
The outlet stated that after shooting Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield multiple times at the gun range, Routh drove Kyle’s truck to his uncle James Watson’s home. There, he allegedly told his uncle that he was “driving a dead man’s truck,” claimed Watson later. Following his arrest, Routh told a detective, “I don’t know if I’m going insane.” A body camera recorded his statement, which was later presented in court. This video also recorded the veteran talking about other things, such as voodoo, hell, and the apocalypse.
According to The Guardian, Eddie Ray Routh’s defense team argued that he was insane. His lawyer rooted for a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict. They alleged that the defendant was a paranoid schizophrenic who shot Kyle and Littlefield during a psychotic episode.
The outlet stated that the prosecution claimed, “This defendant [Routh] gunned down two men in cold blood – shot them in the back in our county. Find him guilty.” Reuters further stated that prosecutors alleged that he deliberately carried out the two killings. Prosecutor Jane Starnes called Routh’s actions “cold, calculated capital murder” and “not insanity.”
Per Reuters and The Guardian, the prosecution also called a psychiatrist who testified on Routh’s drug use. The psychiatrist said the Iraq war veteran’s drug, alcohol, and marijuana usage worsened his mood disorder. He also claimed that the defendant was pretending to be a schizophrenic and exaggerated his mental illnesses. Prosecutors had also argued about Routh’s suspicious behavior after the shootings. He tried to evade arrest and even confessed to the crime to family members.
However, the defense team’s psychiatrist claimed that Routh was delusional and often spoke of “cannibal” work colleagues and killer pigs. The psychiatrist alleged that the defendant believed Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield “were some type of pig assassins – hybrid pigs sent here to kill people.”
Nonetheless, the jury found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of capital murder for shooting Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield on February 24, 2015. Jurors deliberated for about two and a half hours before delivering the guilty verdict, reported The Guardian. Routh then received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
