‘American Sniper’ murder trial could soon go to Texas jury
By Jon Herskovitz STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas jury could begin deliberations as early as Tuesday in the trial of a former Marine charged with murdering Chris Kyle, the former U.S. Navy SEAL whose autobiography was turned into the blockbuster movie "American Sniper." Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is accused of fatally shooting Kyle and Kyle's friend Chad Littlefield multiple times at a gun range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth in February 2013 and then fleeing in Kyle's pickup truck. Defense attorney are trying to have Routh declared innocent by reason of insanity and called a psychiatrist who testified he is a paranoid schizophrenic and showed signs of psychosis that could not be faked. The trial has focused renewed attention on Kyle, who is credited with the most confirmed kills of an U.S. military sniper, and on the movie "American Sniper." Routh, who served with the Marines in Iraq and Haiti, had been admitted to Veterans Affairs hospitals after his service to treat mental illness.
