Taya Kyle, Chris Kyle’s Widow, Testifies In Murder Trial

Taya Kyle, Chris Kyle’s widow, testified in court Wednesday in the murder trial against Eddie Ray Routh, who stands accused of killing her husband and her husband’s friend Chad Littlefield.

Taya Kyle’s Testimony

Kyle was the first prosecution witness called to the stand Wednesday in the courtroom in Stephenville, Tex. Trying to fight back tears, Kyle told the prosecutor, “I’m sorry. I’m not nervous. I’m just emotional.”

Up on the witness stand, Kyle recounted the last day she was to spend with her husband – Feb. 2, 2013. She revealed that they had gone to one of their children’s basketball games in the morning. Upon returning home, she was getting ready to take their daughter to build a teddy bear, while he was loading up his truck with his arsenal for his trip to the gun range with Littlefield and troubled veteran Routh, whom he was trying to help cope with PTSD.

“We were at the house and we were trying to hurry and get where we were supposed to go,” she told the jury. “We said we love each other and he picked up and hugged his kids like he always did. And when I left he was still in the driveway trying to get more stuff in there.”

Around mid-afternoon, Kyle testified that she phoned her husband about some plans for the evening. She found it odd that he’d answered with a terse “hello,” instead of the usual “hello, babe,” and asked if he was okay. In response, he simply said, “Yep.” Kyle explained, “It was short, like: ‘I wish I could say more.'”

The surviving wife of the Navy SEAL sniper, who served as the inspiration for Clint Eastwood‘s American Sniper, also testified that her husband was a stickler about gun safety, even making their children apply safe handling rules when playing with Nerf guns.

Routh’s defense attorneys are seeking an insanity defense for their client’s murder of Kyle and Littlefield at the Rough Creek Lodge and Resort gun range. If convicted, Routh faces life in prison.