FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The Iraq War
veteran charged with killing a former Navy SEAL sniper and his friend on
a Texas shooting
range had been taken to a mental hospital twice in the past five
months and told authorities he was suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder, police records show.
Eddie Ray Routh, 25, also told his sister
and brother-in-law after the shootings that he "traded his soul for a
new truck,"
according to an Erath County arrest warrant affidavit obtained by
WFAA-TV. Police said Routh was driving the truck of victim
and ex-Navy SEAL Chris Kyle at the time of his arrest.
Routh is charged with one count of capital
murder and two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Kyle, author
of the best-selling
book "American Sniper," and his friend Chad Littlefield at a
shooting range Saturday in Glen Rose. He is on suicide watch
in the Erath County Jail, where he's being held on $3 million
bail, Sheriff Tommy Bryant said.
Routh, a member of the Marines Corps
Reserve, was first taken to a mental hospital Sept. 2 after he
threatened to kill his
family and himself, according to police records in Lancaster,
where Routh lives. Authorities found Routh walking nearby with
no shirt and no shoes, and smelling of alcohol. Routh told
authorities he was a Marine veteran who was suffering from
post-traumatic
stress disorder.
"Eddie stated he was hurting and that his family does not understand what he has been through," the report says.
Routh's mother told police her son had been drinking and became upset when his father said he was going to sell his gun. She
said Routh began arguing with them and said he was going to "blow his brains out."
Police took Routh to Green Oaks Hospital for psychiatric care.
Dallas police records show Routh was taken back to the same mental hospital in mid-January after a woman called police and
said she feared for Routh's safety.
Green Oaks will not release patient information, citing privacy laws. Most people brought by police to the hospital are required
to stay at least 48 hours.
In another brush with authorities, Lancaster police in May responded to a burglary reported by Routh's mother that included
nine pill bottles. Police say Routh was involved but no other details were available.
Authorities say Routh, Kyle and Littlefield
arrived at the sprawling Rough Creek Lodge about 3:15 p.m. Saturday, and
a hunting
guide called 911 about two hours later after discovering the
bodies. Kyle and Littlefield were shot multiple times, and numerous
guns were at the scene, according to the affidavit.
Routh drove to his sister's house, and told her he had killed two people and that he planned to drive to Oklahoma to evade
Texas authorities, the affidavit said. Routh's sister then called police, and he was arrested after a short police pursuit
in Lancaster.
Jailers used a stun gun on Routh on Sunday
night after he appeared ready to assault them when they entered his cell
after
he refused to return his food tray, the sheriff said. Then they
put Routh in a chair that restrains his arms and legs in his
solitary confinement cell, Bryant said.
Bryant said Routh has an attorney but hasn't met with him at the jail in Stephenville, about 75 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Routh's mother and sister were unsuccessful Monday.
Sundae Hughes, an aunt of Routh's, said she watched him grow up but hasn't seen him since his high school graduation in 2006.
Hughes was in disbelief that her nephew could be involved in such an incident.
"He has a kind heart (and was) someone willing to jump in and help, no matter what it was," she said.
Routh joined the Marines in 2006 and rose to
the rank of corporal in 2010. His military specialty was small-arms
technician,
commonly known as an armorer. He had been stationed at Camp
Lejeune, N.C., and served in Iraq from 2007-08 and in the Haiti
disaster relief mission in 2010.
He is now in the individual ready reserve. He could be called to duty, but it's uncommon unless he volunteers, 1st Lt. Dominic
Pitrone of the Marine Forces Services public affairs office said.
Travis Cox, director of FITCO Cares — the
nonprofit that Kyle set up to give in-home fitness equipment to
physically and emotionally
wounded veterans — said he believes that Kyle and Littlefield were
helping Routh work through PTSD.
Cox didn't know how Routh and Kyle knew each other. He said the shooting range event was not a FITCO session.
Kyle, 38, left the Navy in 2009 after four
tours of duty in Iraq, where he earned a reputation as one of the
military's most
lethal snipers. "American Sniper" was the No. 3 seller of
paperbacks and hardcovers on Amazon as of Monday, and the hardcover
was out of stock.
Littlefield, 35, was Kyle's friend, neighbor and "workout buddy," and also volunteered his time to work with veterans, Cox
said.