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Defense presents 1st full day of ‘ Sniper’ trial testimony

Jodi Routh, mother of Eddie Ray Routh, looks down after answering a question during Routh's capital murder trial at the Erath County, Donald R. Jones Justice Center in Stephenville, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Prosecutors finished calling witnesses on Tuesday in the murder trial of Routh, who is charged with the 2013 deaths of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range near Glen Rose, Texas. (AP Photo/Mike Stone, Pool) Jodi Routh, mother of Eddie Ray Routh, looks down after answering a question during Routh's capital murder trial at the Erath County, Donald R. Jones Justice Center in Stephenville, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015. Prosecutors finished calling witnesses on Tuesday in the murder trial of Routh, who is charged with the 2013 deaths of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield at a shooting range near Glen Rose, Texas. (AP Photo/Mike Stone, Pool)

By Associated Press February 18, 2015 1 min read

STEPHENVILLE, Texas (AP) – Defense attorneys are set to present their first full day of testimony in the trial of a former Marine accused of killing “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle and another man.

Attorneys for Eddie Ray Routh have the floor before a Texas jury Wednesday. Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday, and defense attorneys called Routh’s mother, Jodi Routh, as their first witness.

She testified that she did not know after asking Kyle to help her troubled son that they would be going to a shooting range.

Routh is charged in the 2013 deaths of Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, at the range.

The trial has drawn intense interest, partly because of an Oscar-nominated film based on Kyle’s memoir.

Eddie Ray Routh has pleaded not guilty, and his attorneys are mounting an insanity defense.