Reid Rothenberg, 37, was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison for a fatal 2022 Arlington shooting.
ARLINGTON, Texas — A Tarrant County jury has found Reid Rothenberg, 37, guilty of capital murder for the fatal shootings of two men at an Arlington home in 2022. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said the attack happened the night of April 10, 2022, when Rothenberg kicked in the front door of a home in the 5300 block of Ivy Hill Drive in Arlington and opened fire.
Inside the house, 84-year-old George Nitsche was lying on a couch in the back of the home when he was shot and killed.
“That’s his final resting place,” Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Matt Rivers told jurors during the trial. “He never saw it coming.”
Prosecutors said Rothenberg then chased two other people, 41-year-old Matthew Stuart and 67-year-old Elizabeth Hearn, into the front yard while firing repeatedly.
Stuart was killed in the shooting. Hearn, who is Nitsche’s ex-wife and Stuart’s mother, survived the attack.
“This is not just a killing,” Assistant District Attorney Tad Schmidt told the jury. “This is a brutal homicide by someone who came to kill that night.”
Police initially said someone forced their way into the home and began shooting the residents. Investigators later connected Rothenberg to the crime and said they believed he knew at least one of the victims.
During closing arguments, Rivers urged jurors to hold Rothenberg accountable.
“We have proven to you who the shooter is,” Rivers said. “Find him guilty of capital murder.”
Rothenberg is currently being held in the Tarrant County Jail and will be moved to a state prison facility to serve his time.