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[h=4]Lawyers begin insanity defense in 'Sniper' trial[/h]Eds: Updates with prosecution resting, details from recorded phone call played in court. With AP Photos. STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) — Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday in the trial of a former Marine charged
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The state has rested its case against Eddie Routh, the former Marine accused of killing "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. News 8's Jim Douglas has more.
Eddie Ray Routh enters the courtroom before the start of the his capital murder trial at the Erath County Donald R. Jones Justice Center in Stephenville, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015.(Photo: Mike Stone, AP)
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Lawyers for accused "American Sniper" killer Eddie Ray Routh have begun trying to build a successful insanity defense for their client.
The state rested its capital murder case Tuesday after playing more recordings of Routh — one from the night he admittedly shot to death famed former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield and another from a jail phone interview months later.
The trial has drawn intense interest, partly because of an Oscar-nominated film based on Kyle's memoir. Kyle served four tours in Iraq and made more than 300 kills as a sniper for SEAL Team 3, according to his own count. He earned two Silver Stars for valor. After leaving the military, he volunteered with veterans facing mental health problems, often taking them shooting.
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Jurors see killer's confession in 'American Sniper' trial
Routh has pleaded not guilty to the February 2013 deaths of Kyle and Littlefield. Family members have said the former Marine was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Prosecutors say Routh was a troubled drug user but he knew right from wrong.
Prosecutors play the video of a police interview with former Marine Cpl. Eddie Ray Routh at his capital murder trial Monday, Feb. 16, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Rodger Mallison, AP)
On Feb. 2, 2013, Kyle and Littlefield drove Routh to Rough Creek Lodge and Resort, where the three planned to do some target practice at the facility's 1,000-yard shooting range. A resort employee discovered the bullet-riddled bodies of Kyle and Littlefield on the ground around 5 p.m. that evening. About 45 minutes later, authorities say Routh pulled up to his sister Karen Blevins' Midlothian home in Kyle's truck and told her he had killed Kyle and Littlefield.
USA TODAY
More details emerge during 'American Sniper' trial
In one of the videos shown Tuesday, Routh is seen squirming in the back of a police car after being arrested following a car chase that ensued when officers went to arrest Routh.
"I've been so paranoid and schizophrenic today, I don't even know what to think of the world," Routh is heard on the recording. "I don't know if I'm insane."
Chad Littlefield<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Courtesy Littlefield family)
Nearly four months later, from jail, Routh told a reporter for The New Yorker magazine about the day of the murders. "There was a smell in the air that morning, you know? ... Like sweet cologne," he was quoted as saying. He didn't like it.
The reporter asked what triggered the shooting.
"What started it? What started it?" a frustrated Routh replied, his voice rising.
The defendant said he was upset with Littlefield. "What the [blank] are you doing here, man? ... Are you gonna shoot? This ain't a spectator sport."
Routh said Kyle had just emptied his gun when he shot him. "I had to take care of business. I took care of business. Got in the truck and left," Routh said in the recording.
He said he stopped to buy a Dr Pepper, but got frustrated by the line and walked out.
After the state rested its case, the defendant's mother, Jodi Routh, took the stand.
Routh testified that her son was admitted to a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital psychiatric unit three times, and doctors sent him home with nine prescriptions, which she described as anti-psychotics, sleeping pills and mood elevators.
Jodi Routh, the mother of murder defendant Eddie Ray Routh, testified at his trial on February 17, 2015.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: WFAA)
She said she begged VA hospital staff not to release her son the last time on Jan. 25, 2013. One week later, Kyle and Littlefield were dead.
Routh's mother said she initially approached Kyle to help her troubled son, and Kyle immediately jumped at the opportunity. She said Kyle told her "he would love to do anything and everything in his power to help her son."
Routh testified under cross-examination by prosecutors she didn't know Kyle's plan to take her son to a gun range, which he did to help other veterans by providing support and camaraderie.
Chris Kyle, a former Navy SEAL and author, holds his book, "American Sniper," on April 6, 2012.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Paul Moseley, AP)
Asked if she regrets not telling Kyle of threats Routh had made to kill himself and his family, she said, "I was just looking for help for my son." She testified she told Kyle that her son had been hospitalized several times but wasn't getting the treatment he needed. "He assured me he knew what Eddie was going through," she said.
Jurors have three options: find Eddie Ray Routh guilty of capital murder, find him not guilty or find him not guilty by reason of insanity. If convicted, Routh faces life in prison without parole. Prosecutors aren't seeking the death penalty. Even if he's acquitted, Routh could remain in custody. The Texas criminal code stipulates that in cases involving violent crimes where defendants are found not guilty by reason of insanity, the court can initiate civil proceedings to have them committed.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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