The jury for the Chris Kyle murder trial has reached a unanimous verdict tonight after just a few hours of deliberation:
An Erath County jury has found former Marine Eddie Ray Routh guilty in the murders of “American Sniper” author and former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield.
With the state not seeking the death penalty, a guilty verdict gives Routh an automatic life sentence.
Routh was silent for the reading of the verdict.
The jury left the courtroom at 6:36 p.m. CT Tuesday but did not begin deliberations immediately, they first had dinner.
State District Judge Jason Cashon turned the case over to the Erath County jury Tuesday evening after about three hours of closing arguments.
There was no indication how long jurors would be asked to deliberate Tuesday evening.
In her closing argument, prosecutor Jane Starnes urged the jury to hold Routh accountable for the deaths of Kyle and Littlefield. She cited testimony that suggested marijuana and alcohol abuse fueled Routh’s paranoia, leaving him to blame for any distorted reality he experienced.
The bottom line, she said, was Routh “knew what he was doing was wrong.”
Here’s some discussion from CNN on the verdict: