STEPHENVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - The former Navy SEAL whose best-selling autobiography was turned into the hit movie "American Sniper" was found dead at a rural Texas shooting range, the only loaded weapon within reach a 1911-style semiautomatic pistol, a Texas Ranger told a court on Thursday.
Former U.S. Marine Eddie Ray Routh, 27, is on trial for murdering Chris Kyle and friend and neighbor, Chad Littlefield, in February 2013 at a shooting range about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Fort Worth.
Kyle and Littlefield had been shot multiple times, with two guns. They were found at a shooting platform at the lodge that housed the range surrounded by a variety of weapons.
"The only weapons on the scene that were loaded were two 1911-style handguns," Texas Ranger Michael Adcock told the court in rural Erath County. The guns were on Kyle and Littlefield, with their safeties on. The guns were semi-automatic and popular with gun enthusiasts, Adcock said.
Prosecutors told the jury in opening arguments Wednesday that Routh shot dead both men on Feb. 2, 2013, stole Kyle's pickup truck and fled, later admitting to his sister on the same day that he killed the two.
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Routh's lawyers told jurors their client had been diagnosed with paranoid psychosis from overseas tours of duty in Iraq and Haiti. They are seeking a verdict of innocence by reason of insanity, arguing that he did not know what he was doing was wrong.
They have not disputed charges made by the prosecution that Routh shot the two men.
Routh was driven to the range by Kyle, who had been helping fellow veterans heal the mental scars associated with combat.
As the three men sped over Texas country roads, Kyle, who was credited with the most kills of any U.S. sniper, sent a text to Littlefield that read: "This dude is straight up nuts," defense attorney Tim Moore told jurors.
Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence.
Kyle, a ranch hand turned military man, has been lionized in his home state of Texas where many people see him as a model of dedication to country and servicemen. His story has gained renewed attention thanks to the Oscar-nominated movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Bradley Cooper.
Critics contend, however, that the film glorifies war and sanitizes Kyle, who called Muslims "savages" in his memoir. Some also take issue with Eastwood's interpretation of the history leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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Reporting by Jon Herskovitz.
