Man who killed real American sniper Chris Kyle explains why he did it in chilling confession tape
Chris Kyle was killed on a shooting range after leaving the Navy
Emily Brown
The man responsible for killing real-life American sniper Chris Kyle explained his actions in a chilling confession tape.
Kyle, who was born and raised in Texas, spent 10 years working as a US Navy SEAL between 1999 and 2009, during which time he became the most successful sniper in American military history.
After surviving four tours in Iraq, Kyle was honourably discharged from the Navy in 2009 to spend more time with his family, but just four years later he was shot dead on a Texas shooting range.
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Kyle's story, which he documented in his book American Sniper, inspired the 2014 film of the same name starring Bradley Cooper.
However, footage of the man who shot Kyle confessing to the crime is anything but fictional.
The man responsible for Kyle's murder was Eddie Ray Routh; a then-25-year-old Marine Corp veteran who Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield had taken to the shooting range after accepting a plea from Routh's mother.
Kyle regularly worked with other veterans after leaving the military, prompting Routh's mother to reach out to him and ask if he could help her son.
Routh had experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, and Kyle believed the visit to Rough Creek Ranch-Lodge-Resort in Erath County would have therapeutic value.
Routh shot both Kyle and Littlefield at the shooting range, and explained his actions in a confession to a Texas ranger.
In the interview, Routh said he shot at Kyle first because he could 'clearly identify him'.
"I imagine they're headhunters, trying to hunt everybody down," he says in the clip, as quoted by CBS.
The audio from the footage was played for a jury in 2015, and heard Routh continue: "If I did not take down his soul, he was going to take down mine."
The ranger who interviewed Routh spoke about their encounter during the trial, telling the court: "He stated that he knew it was wrong to kill them, that he wished he hadn't done it, that if he could apologise to the families, he would."
Four months after the shooting, Routh told former Erath County Sheriff's Deputy Gene Cole: "I was just riding in the back seat of the truck, and nobody would talk to me.
"They were just taking me to the range, so I shot them. I feel bad about it, but they wouldn't talk to me. I'm sure they've forgiven me."
On 24 February 2015, Routh was found guilty of the murders of both men.
Prosecutors decided before the trial not to pursue the death penalty, so the judge sentenced Routh to life in prison without the possibility of parole.