EDDIE RAY ROUTH BIO MOVIE
EDDIE RAY ROUTH BIO TRIAL

Opening statements are scheduled for Feb. Jury selection is expected to last four days, with attorneys screening about 800 potential jurors.

EDDIE RAY ROUTH BIO TRIAL

I've had them in the past, and anything that has significant national attention makes it hard to pick a jury.'Ĭiting Kyle's local celebrity status, Routh's attorneys filed a motion in 2013 to change the location of the trial from Erath County in Texas, but it was denied. 'I think any case with significant publicity has an issue with picking a jury.

EDDIE RAY ROUTH BIO MOVIE

While the movie has garnered some criticism, it has also racked in six Academy Award nominations and $250 million at the domestic box office alone, setting a record for the highest-grossing war film in U.S. Rough's attorney has said that he worries about finding an impartial jury, in part because of the recent critical success of the film starring Bradley Cooper. Kyle's autobiography, which inspired the movie, was already a hit by the time he was killed in February 2012, and the circumstances of his death are not featured in the film adaptation of American Sniper, released late last year. A 2014 study found that veterans suffering from PTSD were seven times more likely than other veterans to engage in acts of 'severe violence.' About 22 veterans kill themselves every day. The effects of PTSD, however, can lead to an increase in violent behavior, depression, and suicide. But it doesn't change your core character,' she said. 'I know people with PTSD, and it's very real and very hard. Kyle's widow, Taya Klye, recently told the Los Angeles Times that 'to try and even find an excuse is disgusting.' Kyle's family, however, doesn't buy the insanity plea. 'I didn't know what else to do,' he said, speaking about why he fled after the killings. I was going to be the next one up there getting my head shot.' In a video taken shortly after his initial admission, Routh said he didn't kill the men because he wanted to, but rather 'it was a need. John did not immediately respond to a request from BuzzFeed News for comment. The question will come down to whether Routh was aware of his actions and knew what he was doing. 'My client will plead not guilty by reason of insanity,' Routh's attorney, J. She then made a frantic 911 call, saying that her brother was saying he committed a murder and she was 'terrified he was going to come back.' Blevins then says that Routh was recently diagnosed with PTSD and had been 'acting strange from that.' 'I asked him if he was kidding and he said no repeatedly,' the affidavit quotes Laura as saying. When Laura asked Routh who he killed, he said Chris Kyle and his friend, according to the affidavit. and told them that he was at a target practice with two other men and 'he couldn't trust them so he killed them before they could kill him.' They say Routh told them that 'he traded his soul for a new truck.' He was arrested, and eventually charged with capital murder.Īccording to the police affidavit, Routh called his sister, Laura, and brother-in-law, Gaines Blevins, shortly after shooting the men, and then drove Kyle's black pickup truck to their house. They were reportedly spending time together at the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort outside of Fort Worth, Texas, because Kyle had volunteered to help the 27-year-old deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder.Īt the shooting range, Routh killed both men, and then stole Kyle's car, which he allegedly admitted to police shortly after. Routh and Kyle hardly knew each other at the time.

history, with 160 confirmed kills - and his friend Chad Littlefield on Feb.

Routh is accused of killing sniper Chris Kyle - who claimed to be the most deadly sniper in U.S.

Eddie ray routh bio