Chris Kyle's widow breaks down in tears on the stand as court hears how ‘insane’ PTSD Marine shot him five times in the back and once in the head
Called as the first witness in the trial of her husband's killer, Eddie Ray Routh, it all proved too much for Taya Kyle, 40, when prosecutor Jane Starnes asked her to tell the jury who she was married to.
Wiping away tears, Taya, managed to say, 'Chris Kyle' and then collected herself and told the court she was 'not nervous, just emotional' as she answered questions about her husband's military career and their family life.
Taya's testimony came after a prosecutor told jurors on Wednesday that the Marine who killed American Sniper Chris Kyle 'may have been mentally ill - but he still knew right from wrong' as he fired five bullets into the war hero's back and one into the side of the head.
Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash argued to the Texas court that Eddie Ray Routh, 27, has no excuse for his actions and was aware what he was doing when he killed Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield on February 3, 2013.
In a forthright opening statement, Nash said that the Iraq veteran was drunk and high on marijuana the morning he killed Kyle and also shot Littlefield four times in the back, once in the hand, once in the face and once on the top of his head at a Texas gun range.
The brutal details opened the trial of Routh, whose defense team claim that he was suffering psychosis brought on PTSD and could not account for his actions that day because he was insane
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Indeed, the contrasting opening statements outlined the stark choice the jury will have as they struggle to make their decision under intense scrutiny and hype.
'The evidence will show that mental illnesses, even the ones that this defense may or may not have, don't deprive people from the ability to be good citizens to know right from wrong, to obey the law,' Nash said. 'And at the very least not murder people.'
Nash said that after the killings Routh stopped for a burrito at Taco Bell and then bragged to his sister that he had 'murdered two people'.
'He used this 'wet' marijuana that morning and he drank whisky with it,' Nash said. 'But he admits later to his sister that he murdered these two men, that he used drugs and alcohol that morning and he knew what he was doing was wrong.'
In his opening statements, Routh's defense attorney, Tim Moore said that his client was clearly not in his right mind when he killed the two men that morning.
'When he took their lives, he was in the grip of a psychosis, a psychosis so severe that he did not know what he was doing was wrong,' Moore said, adding that Routh thought 'that he had to take their lives because, in his psychosis, he thought they were going to take his.'
'He was seeing things, he was hearing things,' Moore said, 'that he was telling her not to talk out loud to write things down on paper because people were listening.'
Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is charged with murdering Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield in 2013 at a shooting range about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth. A jury of 10 women and two men will hear the case.
After opening arguments, Kyle's widow Taya is expected to be one of the first witnesses to take the stand.
Legal experts have said it is a tough task to obtain a verdict of innocence by reason of insanity in Texas
If prosecutors win a conviction, they said they will seek a life sentence, while the defense will argue that he was innocent due to severe post traumatic stress disorder caused by Routh's overseas tours of duty with the U.S. Marines.
Routh's relatives have said he was hospitalized for treatment of mental illness in the months leading up to the Feb. 2, 2013 shooting.
He was taken to the range by Kyle, who had been helping fellow veterans heal the mental scars coming from combat.
The case will be heard at a court in rural Erath County.
Routh's lawyers tried unsuccessfully to have the trial delayed, saying that having the movie in theaters nationwide and basking in the award season's glare makes it difficult for Routh to get a fair hearing.
Indeed, in Kyle's hometown of Stephenville, a rodeo store has temporarily run out of baseball caps honoring Chris Kyle.
A road side sign outside of Grumps Burgers next door proclaims support for the families of Kyle and friend Chad Littlefield, who were slain two years ago at a gun range.
'It's been a big deal around here,' said Cory Flores, 25, who didn't know Kyle but said he hoped to get a seat to witness the trial. He was among the dozens of people, including members of the media, waiting early Wednesday outside the Donald R. Jones Justice Center in Stephenville, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
A jury of 10 women and two men was seated Monday from an initial pool of 800 people, despite concerns from defense lawyers about finding an impartial jury because of pretrial publicity. The film based on Kyle's memoir as a sniper serving four tours in Iraq has grossed nearly $300 million.
In asking for a change of venue, defense attorneys said the case had generated 'considerable discussion' in the area, adding that they believe there was so much prejudice that Routh couldn't get a fair trial.
But District Judge Jason Cashon denied the change of venue, noting that the jury was seated with no more than two dozen people dismissed because of pretrial publicity.
And when potential jurors were asked Monday to raise their hands if they would have a problem setting aside what they'd heard and only factoring in what was said at trial, no hands went up.
The intense attention on the case has also brought renewed focus to the mental struggles former military members face.
Routh was a small arms technician who served in Iraq and was deployed to earthquake-ravaged Haiti before leaving the Marines in 2010. Authorities say that after the February 2013 shooting of Kyle and Littlefield, Routh drove to his sister's house in Kyle's truck, admitted to the killings and told his sister 'people were sucking his soul.'
Routh has been in court since the jury screenings began last week, listening to the proceedings.
Another of the first witnesses prosecutors plan to call is Littlefield's mother, Judy. Cashon ruled that she and Taya Kyle can stay in court to watch after testifying.
The state's filings say Routh smoked marijuana, drank excessively and had a history of killing small animals. They also say on Jan. 19, 2013, he threatened his girlfriend and her roommate with a kitchen knife and sword. He was taken to a mental hospital.
On the day of the killings, Routh had been drinking and smoking marijuana and again threatened his girlfriend with a knife, according to a legal filing. After his arrest, he allegedly threatened officers and caused problems while jailed, including flooding his cell.
Kyle, credited with the most kills of any U.S. sniper, has been lionized in his home state of Texas, where he is buried at the Texas State Cemetery alongside some of the state's acclaimed figures.
He is seen by many as a symbol of dedication to country and fellow servicemen.
'American Sniper,' directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper, has grossed more than $282 million since opening in mid-January and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture.