AP Photo/LM Otero,Pool, AP Photo/The Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Paul MoseleyChris Kyle's family will never have the ending that they wanted, but they do have justice tonight.
Eddie Ray Routh, the ex-Marine who fatally shot the Navy Seal and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range in February 2013, was found guilty of murder Tuesday and immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, NBC News reports. Prosecutors had not been seeking the death penalty.
The jury was out for less than three hours before returning with a verdict.
Kyle, who was credited with 160 kills in the line of duty while serving in Iraq, had been asked by Routh's mother to spend time with the troubled veteran, who had also served in Iraq and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia since leaving the Marine Corps. Routh had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, his attorneys arguing that he had been in the grip of psychosis when he killed Kyle and Littlefield at the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort's shooting range in Texas. He shot the other men with two different guns, both of which belonged to Kyle.
Kyle's wife, Taya, was carrying her late husband's dog tags when she attended the Academy Awards on Sunday, where American Sniper was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Pictures, and won one, for sound editing. Both Bradley Cooper, who packed on 40 pounds of muscle to play Kyle, and Sienna Miller, who played Taya, were nominated for acting.
Taya flew right back to Texas for the conclusion of the trial after the Oscars.
The film's screenplay was adapted by Jason Hall from Kyle's memoir American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History.
Upon its wide release in January, the Clint Eastwood-directed film became the immediate target of controversy, with some critics saying the movie didn't delve enough into the problems with the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the political quagmire it has since become, while still others criticized the depiction of Iraqis onscreen. Supporters insisted that it was an accurate portrayal of Kyle's values and mindset and was in no way an endorsement of the war in Iraq. Ultimately, the film's inherent power and its strong performances won over the Academy—and the box office.
American Sniper has grossed more than $430 million worldwide and was the top-earning film among this year's Best Picture nominees. Kyle's death isn't show onscreen, but rather ends with Cooper's character meeting up with Routh to go shooting, followed by actual footage of Kyle's funeral procession.
Cooper had been attached to the film before Kyle's death, and a week after Kyle was killed he told NPR that he was hoping to fast-track the project, saying, "His story, first of all, needs to be told. And it's also relevant on two fronts. One, gun control, and two, the needs to address this—the many soldiers that are coming back with posttraumatic stress disorder."
Routh's nine-day trial took place in Erath County District Court in Stephenville, Texas, about 90 miles southwest of Dallas.
"We're so thrilled that we have the verdict that we have tonight," Littlefield's mother told reporters outside the courthouse Tuesday night.