STEPHENVILLE — Eddie Ray Routh had a temper.
Routh, 27, is accused of killing former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and Kyle’s best friend, Chad Littlefield, in February 2013 at an Erath County gun range. He confessed to the slayings but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Routh’s ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Weed, testified Wednesday that Routh would become enraged over minor incidents. She described a time when he dropped his beer and reacted by throwing his shoe across the room.
But despite that behavior, Weed said she remained protective of Routh, even after he was arrested in connection with the killings.
Weed said the pair met online in early 2012. Routh lived with Weed for about a month in September 2012 after he was released from a mental hospital following a fight with his family. But, the pair decided that they moved in too quickly, and Routh moved back to his parents’ home in Lancaster.
The pair reconciled, and Routh would often stay at Weed’s apartment on weekends until an incident on Jan. 19, 2013, in which Routh wouldn’t let Weed or her roommate leave their apartment.
Routh called Weed names and was acting paranoid, as if he believed someone was listening to him. He grabbed a ninja sword and a butcher knife, telling Weed and her roommate that they couldn’t leave the apartment. He claimed he was trying to protect them, Weed testified.
Weed’s roommate called police, and Routh was taken to the VA hospital for mental health treatment. After he was released about a week later, Weed regularly visited him at his Lancaster home, including on Feb. 1, 2013, the night before the slayings.
She said the couple fought because Routh was smoking marijuana. He had previously agreed that he would quit drinking and smoking weed. During their fight, he behaved oddly.
“I asked him if he was seeing things, and he said, yes,” Weed said. “He definitely had paranoia about the government out to get him.”