Chad Littlefield’s Family Responds To Eddie Ray Routh Murder Conviction In 'American Sniper' Trial

A Stephenville, Texas, jury convicted Eddie Ray Routh of double murder for the death of former Navy SEAL author Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. Littlefield’s family spoke out after the verdict in tweets dictated by Dallas Morning News reporter Tasha Tsiaperas. A 2014 Oscar-nominated movie was based on Kyle's book, "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History."

Littlefield's parents were in the courtroom at the time of sentencing. “Chad had a quiet nature and was a good listener. He cared about people, and he gave you his time because he felt like you needed it,” his father Don said. “Now you will have the rest of your wasted life to remember his name. Let me remind you his name was Chad Littlefield.”

His mother, Judy, said that justice was served: “We waited for two years for God to get justice for us on behalf of our son.”

His half-brother Jerry Richardson called Routh a national disgrace: “You took the lives of two heroes, men that tried to be a friend to you, and you became an American disgrace."

Littlefield and Kyle had taken Routh to a shooting range on a therapeutic outing the day they were murdered. Routh’s defense team tried to argue he had a psychotic breakdown that day, and thought Kyle and Littlefield would shoot him if he did not kill them.

Kyle’s wife, Taya, who attended the 2015 Oscars in Los Angeles Sunday with her husband’s dog tags, did not issue a statement immediately after the verdict.

Routh was sentence to life in prison without parole. The prosecution did not seek the death penalty.

The case sparked the nation’s attention after Chris Kyle’s memoir of the same name was turned into an Oscar-nominated movie. Kyle claimed to be the nation’s deadliest sniper, with 160 confirmed kills in Iraq.

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