Parents Of Man Who Killed The 'American Sniper' Speak To Dr. Phil
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Navy SEAL Chris Kyle wrote an autobiography that was then turned into a blockbuster movie starring Bradley Cooper. Shortly after, he and his close friend were shot by a troubled veteran they were trying to help. Now, in an exclusive interview on WJZ, Dr. Phil spoke to the parents of the man convicted in their murders.
Jessica Kartalija has more.
Chris Kyle did four tours of duty in Iraq but was killed in 2013 in a shooting range in his hometown. On February 25, a jury convicted Eddie Ray Routh of capital murder.
Known as the deadliest sniper in American history, Chris Kyle and his close friend, Chad Littlefield, were shot multiple times by Eddie Ray Routh, a troubled veteran they were trying to help.
Routh's attorney said he was battling PTSD and psychophrenia. His parents told Dr. Phil he was having severe mental issues.
"Something snapped in him," said Raymond Routh, Sr. "Something snapped in my son. This wasn't my son who did this. It was his body that did this but it wasn't him in his right mind."
But the jury didn't buy the insanity plea, sentencing Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
"He asked me, `Mom, take me to the hospital. I am not good,'" said his mother, Jodi Routh.
Routh's parents believe his deployment on humanitarian assignment to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010 changed him forever.
"He saw a lot of dead bodies and that was one of the things he said. `They didn't train me to pick up bodies off the beach and dump them in a dump truck,'" Jodi said.
Shortly after, Routh started having panic attacks. His parents were told he had post-traumatic stress disorder. His mother went to Kyle, who volunteered helping veterans.
"I said to Chris, `Would you be willing to help my son who is a former Marine and he has PTSD and he really needs some help and we are not getting what we need," Jodi said. "I would have never asked if I had an idea that this could happen."
PTSD is generally non-violent, but if you pour drugs and alcohol into the mix, the incidence of violence ramps up dramatically.
"When anyone says awful things about your child, it cuts you in two. It breaks your heart again and again. I wasn't about to give up on my son then and I'm not about to give up on him now," Jodi said.
Routh was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He grew up in the Dallas suburb of Lancaster, about 20 miles east of Kyle's hometown.