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A 37-year-old man was automatically sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a 2022 Arlington double homicide, officials said.
A jury found Reid Rothenberg guilty of capital murder for killing two men during a home invasion, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
“This is not just a killing,” Assistant District Attorney Tad Schmidt said in the release. “This is a brutal homicide by someone who came to kill that night.”
Deadly Arlington home invasion
In April 2022, Rothenberg “kicked in the front door” of a home in the 5300 block of Ivy Hill Drive and began firing at the family inside, killing 84-year-old George Nitsche, who was lying on a couch in the back of the house, according to the release.
Rothenberg then chased Elizabeth Hearn, 67, and her son Matthew Stuart, 41, into the front yard and fired repeatedly.
Arlington police responded to the home and found Stuart and Hearn with multiple gunshot wounds. The two were taken to a hospital, where Stuart later died, police have said.
According to a previous Star-Telegram article, Nitsche was Hearn’s ex-husband, and was living at the home. Stuart was her son from another relationship.
According to police, Rothenberg knew at least one of the shooting victims.
“You tore my life apart. We will continue to heal, but it will be a struggle,” Hearn told Rothenberg during the sentencing, according to the DA’s office.
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Shambhavi covers crime, law enforcement and other breaking news in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. She graduated from the University of North Texas and previously covered a variety of general assignment topics in West Texas. She grew up in Nepal.