Defense rests case in American Sniper trial

The defense for Eddie Ray Routh rested on Thursday evening without Routh taking the stand to testify.

The move came at the end of the day, one where Routh's mother admitted she didn't tell Navy SEAL Chris Kyle that her son had been in a mental hospital.

Defense attorneys called Jodi Routh to the stand Thursday.

Her son, an Iraq War veteran, is accused of killing Kyle and his friend Chad Littlefield. They were at a gun range trying to help Routh recover from his post-traumatic stress disorder.

During cross examination, prosecutors suggested information about Routh's hospitalization may have saved Kyle's life. His mother said it never occurred to her to mention it.

Defense attorneys are trying to convince jurors that Routh was legally insane at the time of the shootings, but the first expert witness of the day was disqualified.

Another forensic psychiatrist talked about Routh being repeatedly diagnosed with PTSD and a psychotic disorder.

Dr. Mitchell Dunn from the Terrell State Hospital said Routh was delusional and paranoid. Doctors at the VA hospital did not believe he was faking the psychosis or that it was caused by intoxication.

Routh had significant symptoms of psychosis in the weeks before killings, he testified.

Kyle's widow was at the courthouse in Stephenville Thursday morning just as she has been for the past seven days of testimony.