Travis Cox, the director of a nonprofit Kyle helped found, told The Associated Press on Sunday that Kyle, 38, and Littlefield had taken Routh to the range to try to help him. Littlefield was Kyle’s neighbor and “workout buddy,” Cox said.
“What I know is Chris and a gentleman _ great guy, I knew him well, Chad Littlefield _ took a veteran out shooting who was struggling with PTSD to try to assist him, try to help him, try to, you know, give him a helping hand, and he turned the gun on both of them, killing them,” Cox said.
Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff's Office said Routh had not made any comments that might indicate a motive. “I don’t know that we’ll ever know. He’s the only one that knows that,” Upshaw said.
Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was unemployed and “may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself.”
Bryant didn’t know whether Routh was on any medication or had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Routh was being held on one charge of capital murder and two charges of murder.
Upshaw said Routh used a semi-automatic handgun, which authorities later found at his home. Upshaw said ballistics tests weren’t complete Sunday, but authorities believe it was the gun used in the shootings. Upshaw declined to give any more details about the gun.
The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines, serving in active duty from 2006 to 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current duty status is listed as reserve.
Routh is being held on $3 million bond. Bryant said he believed Routh was in the process of seeking a public defender.
A knock on the door at Routh’s last known address went unanswered Sunday. A for-sale sign was in front of the small, wood-framed home.
Kyle’s best-selling book, “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” detailed his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. Kyle said in his book that Iraqi insurgents had put a bounty on his head. According to promotional information from book publisher William Morrow, Kyle deployed to Iraq four times.
Bryant said Kyle, Littlefield and Routh went to the shooting range around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A hunting guide at Rough Creek Lodge came across the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield around 5 p.m. and called 911.
Upshaw said autopsies were still pending and he could not say how many times the men were shot or where on their bodies they were hit.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/3/iraq-war-vet-charged-in-fatal-shooting-of-ex-seal/#ixzz2JtzT9Zip Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
If he was a corpral after 4 years active duty his service wasn’t that great.