Spoiler alert:
"Jury selection begins in killing of sniper" Associated Press February 10, 2015
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Jury selection began Monday for the trial of the man accused of killing the former Navy SEAL depicted in the movie ‘‘American Sniper.’’
More than a dozen people were dismissed in a Stephenville, Texas, court where former Marine Eddie Ray Routh is charged with capital murder in the deaths of 38-year-old Chris Kyle and Kyle’s friend, 35-year-old Chad Littlefield.
The trial starts amid widespread attention for ‘‘American Sniper,’’ the film based on Kyle’s 2012 memoir.
Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash said that it was hard for people not to know about the movie but that seeing it would not disqualify a potential juror.
Nash asked potential jurors if they were unable to set aside what they had already heard about their case. No one among about 130 potential jurors raised their hand.
Defense attorneys plan to pursue an insanity defense. Prosecutors will seek a sentence of life in prison without parole if Routh is convicted.
Family members have said Routh, 27, struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the Marines in 2010. The small-arms technician served in Iraq.
Kyle took Routh to the shooting range after Routh’s mother asked if he could help her son.
About two hours after they arrived at the shooting range on Feb. 2, 2013, an employee discovered the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield there.
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"Slain sniper Chris Kyle had called defendant ‘straight-up nuts’" Associated Press February 12, 2015
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Shortly before he was shot to death by a troubled former Marine at a Texas gun range, legendary Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle texted a buddy, ‘‘This dude is straight-up nuts,’’ a defense attorney told jurors Wednesday.
A lawyer for Eddie Ray Routh said in opening statements of the man’s murder trial that Routh’s insanity was so evident that Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield exchanged texts expressing alarm as the three rode together in February 2013 to a Texas shooting range.
‘‘He’s [sitting] right behind me, watch my six,’’ Littlefield texted back, using a military reference for watching one’s back. Littlefield also was killed.
But a prosecutor said that even with a history of mental illness, Routh still knew right from wrong.
The case has drawn intense interest, largely because of Kyle’s memoir and a subsequent film about being a sniper serving four tours in Iraq.
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Related: Kyle Isn’t the Problem. Eastwood Is
"Medication found in home of suspect in ‘American Sniper’ trial" by Jamie Stengle, Associated Press February 14, 2015
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Authorities found marijuana, a nearly empty bottle of whiskey, and antipsychotic medication while searching the home of the former Marine charged with killing ‘‘American Sniper’’ author Chris Kyle and his friend, a Texas Ranger testified Friday.
The testimony was the latest of the evidence presented to jurors this week that has shed light on Eddie Ray Routh’s mental state at the time of the killings two years ago at a rural Texas shooting range.
Texas Ranger David Armstrong said the search of the small wood-framed house in Lancaster turned up drug paraphernalia, alcohol, and medication prescribed to Routh that defense says was used to treat schizophrenia. On the refrigerator was a note with Kyle’s name and phone number.
James Watson, 45, Routh’s uncle, testified later that he smoked marijuana with his nephew at Routh’s suburban Dallas home. Watson said he went there after Routh’s girlfriend told him she was concerned about him after a fight they had.
‘‘We talked at length about what was going on with him,’’ Watson said. Watson said he does not remember drinking whiskey with his nephew that morning, ‘‘but that doesn’t mean I didn’t.’’ He explained that it would not have been unusual for them.
Finally, Routh left to go shooting with Kyle, and Watson said he went home to nap. Routh came back later, awakened Watson, and showed him a 9mm handgun and a black pickup truck he was driving.
‘‘I’m driving a dead man’s truck,’’ Watson recalled Routh telling him. Routh did not explain what he meant by that, Watson said, but Routh had an eccentric way of expressing himself. Watson thought he was referring to himself.
Defense lawyers are mounting an insanity defense for Routh. Prosecutors have described the 27-year-old as a troubled drug user who used marijuana and whiskey the day of the killings, but say he knew right from wrong despite any history of mental illnesses.
If convicted, Routh faces life in prison without parole. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.
The case has drawn intense interest, largely because of the Oscar-nominated film based on Kyle’s memoir that details his four tours in Iraq. The film has grossed nearly $300 million.
On Thursday, prosecutors presented a video in which officers spoke with Routh as he sat in the pickup that authorities said he took from Kyle after fleeing the shooting range where Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield were killed. Routh refused to leave the vehicle and eventually sped off with police in pursuit.
At one point during the chase, the video shows that a police vehicle rammed the pickup. Eventually the truck became disabled along the side of the road.
The video showed officers trying to talk Routh into surrendering as he makes comments such as, ‘‘Anarchy has been killing the world,’’ “I don’t know if I’m going insane,’’ and, ‘‘Is this about hell walking on earth right now?’’
Authorities say Routh had earlier driven to his sister’s house, admitted to the killings and told his sister, ‘‘People were sucking his soul.’’
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Is it possible that Kyle is still alive?
