Erath prosecutors won’t seek death penalty in SEAL sniper slaying

Erath County prosecutors will not ask for the death penalty for an Iraq war veteran accused of fatally shooting retired Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and a friend at a gun range in February 2013.

Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash filed paperwork Thursday saying that his office will seek a sentence of life without parole for Eddie Routh of Lancaster.

Routh’s capital murder trial has been set for Feb. 9 in 266th state District Court in Stephenville.

Defense attorneys have said that they will use an insanity defense for Routh, 27.

State District Judge Jason Cashon imposed a gag order in the case that prohibits prosecutors and defense attorneys from commenting.

Routh is accused of shooting Chris Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, both of Midlothian, on Feb. 2, 2013, at the shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge, an upscale resort outside Glen Rose in Erath County. The lodge is about 77 miles southwest of Fort Worth.

Area police reports documented Routh’s mental problems well before the killings at the gun range.

As her son’s condition worsened, Jodi Leigh Routh contacted Kyle and asked him to help. Kyle is considered one of the deadliest snipers in U.S. military history. He co-wrote the bestselling memoir American Sniper.

Kyle and Littlefield invited Routh to the gun range as a form of therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

A resort employee found Kyle and Littlefield shot, and attempted cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, according to an arrest warrant. Several weapons, including semiautomatic rifles, semiautomatic handguns and revolvers, were found near the bodies.

Routh drove away from the range in Kyle’s truck and arrived at the home of his sister and brother-in-law in Midlothian and told them that he had killed two people, authorities have said.

When questioned about the truck, Routh told his relatives that he had “traded his soul for a new truck,” according to an arrest warrant. Routh told them that he wanted to go to Oklahoma to avoid Texas authorities, the warrant stated.

He then drove to his home in Lancaster. There, authorities talked to him, but he managed to get into a vehicle and drive away. Officers pursued him until his vehicle was disabled and he was arrested.

Hours after he was placed in an Erath County Jail cell, jailers used a stun gun to subdue him when he became combative, officials said. At times, he’s been on suicide watch. In June 2013, Routh shattered his television and flooded his cell.

Routh remained in the jail Friday with bail set at $3 million.

This contains information from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published October 31, 2014 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Erath prosecutors won’t seek death penalty in SEAL sniper slaying."