FORT WORTH, Texas — A Tarrant County jury has found Reid Rothenberg, 37, guilty of capital murder for the fatal shootings of two men during a 2022 home invasion in Arlington. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said Rothenberg kicked in the front door of a home on Ivy Hill Drive on the night of April 10, 2022, and opened fire inside the residence.
George Nitsche, 84, was lying on a couch in the back of the home when Rothenberg shot and killed him. Prosecutors told jurors that Nitsche never saw the attack coming.
Rothenberg then chased Matthew Stuart, 41, and Elizabeth Hearn, 67, into the front yard while continuing to fire his weapon. Stuart was killed in the attack. Hearn, who is Nitsche’s former wife and Stuart’s mother, survived.
“This is not just a killing,” Assistant District Attorney Tad Schmidt told jurors during closing arguments. “This is a brutal homicide by someone who came to kill that night.”
Assistant District Attorney Matt Rivers also urged jurors to hold Rothenberg accountable.
“We have proven to you who the shooter is,” Rivers said. “Find him guilty of capital murder.”
"You tore my life apart," Elizabeth Hearn told Reid Rothenberg after he was sentenced to life in prison. "We will continue to heal, but it will be a struggle."
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Rivers and Schmidt. District Attorney Investigator James Desmarais and Victim Advocate Elizabeth Garcia also assisted with the case.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office thanked the Arlington Police Department for its investigation and work on the case.
