Weather delays ‘Sniper’ trial
Published: 24 Feb. 2015, 20:22
STEPHENVILLE, Texas - Inclement weather has delayed the murder trial of the ex-Marine charged with killing famed Navy SEAL and “American Sniper’’ author Chris Kyle.
Prosecutors were to continue Monday their rebuttal against the defense of Eddie Ray Routh, but icy conditions forced a postponement. The trial is now scheduled to resume Tuesday, weather permitting.
The 27-year-old stands charged with capital murder in the Feb. 2, 2013, slayings of the former Navy SEAL and his friend, Chad Littlefield. Kyle, who by his own count made more than 300 kills, volunteered to help veterans facing mental health problems. Kyle and Littlefield took Routh to a shooting range after his mother asked Kyle to help her son cope with post-traumatic stress disorder and other personal demons.
Routh’s attorney, Tim Moore, said that when Routh killed Kyle and Littlefield “he was in the grip of a psychosis’’ so severe he didn’t know it was wrong and thought “it was either him or them.’’
Prosecutors then called two mental health experts who argued that while Routh used alcohol and marijuana, he was legally responsible.
The jury could receive the case later this week.
Routh faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the killings, which have received extra attention due to the popular film based on Kyle’s memoir. AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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