STEPHENVILLE, Texas — When Texas Ranger Danny Briley arrived at Rough Creek Lodge to investigate a double shooting Feb. 2, 2013, he knew immediately the killings were intentional.
“This was a brutal killing,” Briley told the jury in the “American Sniper” trial on Monday. Eddie Ray Routh is accused of killing former Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle and his best friend, Chad Littlefield. “There was no question that I was dealing with someone very violent.You can’t accidentally shoot someone that many times.”
Kyle, 38, was shot six times with a .45-caliber weapon and Littlefield, 35, seven times with a 9mm handgun. Afterward, prosecutors said, Routh reloaded the 9mm that was used to kill Littlefield and fled with it in Kyle’s black Ford pickup. He was arrested several hours later after leading Lancaster police on a 6-mile chase that ended when Kyle’s pickup died on Interstate 35 in south Dallas.
Defense attorneys Warren St. John, Tim Moore and R. Shay Isham are arguing that Routh is not guilty by reason of insanity. They must prove he was suffering from a severe mental disease or defect at the time of the slayings and did not know his conduct was wrong.
Prosecutors Alan Nash and Jane Starnes don’t dispute that Routh was troubled, but maintain he intentionally killed Kyle and Littlefield and knew his actions were wrong. Prosecutors have shown, through their questioning of witnesses, that Routh had been drinking and using drugs in the hours before the killings.
Erath County Sgt. Kenny Phillips testified Monday that Routh was irritated as he was taken to the Erath County Jail after his arrest in Dallas County in the double murders.
“He wanted a cigarette,” Phillips said. “I told him I didn’t have a cigarette.”
‘Detox situation’
Phillips said that Routh also appeared to be “under the influence.” In fact, Phillips told the jury, Routh was “in a detox situation for a while” after he was booked into jail.
As Routh sat in jail awaiting trial, investigators processed and analyzed evidence, including voicemails and text messages on the slain men’s phones.
Digital forensic expert Jeff Shaffer, a former senior special agent with the U.S. Secret Service who is now an adviser at Price Waterhouse Coopers, testified that in the days before the slaying Routh left Kyle several voice messages.
On the afternoon of Jan. 29 — just days before the killings — Routh left Kyle a message saying he was just calling to talk “about this dreary day we are having.”
“You know it’s kind of a sad day when it rains,” Routh says on the message, which was played for jurors. “You know it’s good, but it’s sad. Rain will come and rain will leave. So I guess that’s what they do. All right talk to you later, bye.”
Four days later, Kyle and Littlefield picked up Routh at his Lancaster home and took him to the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range for what was supposed to be a therapeutic outing.
On the way, Kyle and Littlefield exchanged telling text messages, which were shown on Monday morning to the jury.
“This dude is straight up nuts,” Kyle texts Littlefield.
“Sitting behind me,” Littlefield responds. “Watch my 6” — military slang for “watch my back.”
“Got it,” Kyle writes back.
A short time later, both men were dead.
