A jury in Texas has convicted a man in the shooting death of a former U.S. Navy SEAL whose life story was turned into the current hit movie “American Sniper.”
Eddie Ray Routh was found guilty Tuesday night of murder in the deaths of Chris Kyle and Kyle's friend, Chad Littlefield, at a shooting range and resort in February 2013. Jurors deliberated for less than three hours.
Since prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in the case, the 27-year-old Routh received an automatic life sentence without parole.
Kyle and Littlefield had taken the former Marine to the shooting range as a means of helping Routh, who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq and in Haiti during the humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake. His attorneys said Routh was suffering from mental illness at the time of the shootings, and believed Kyle and Littlefield were going to kill him during the outing.
Chris Kyle was credited with over 100 confirmed kills during his four deployments during the U.S.-led Iraq war. The movie based on his autobiography was nominated for this year's Academy Award for Best Picture, and has earned more than $300 million in box office receipts.