Matthew Livelsberger recently sought treatment for depression before the decorated Special Forces soldier killed himself in a shocking Las Vegas Cybertruck bombing this week — as an ex-girlfriend revealed he had suffered “some concussions” in combat and knew he needed “more help.”
Despite being proud of his nearly two decades in the military, the 37-year-old was haunted by guilt over his tours of duty and had trouble sleeping, focusing and maintaining relationships, Army nurse Alicia Arritt, 39, told The Washington Post Friday of the ex she dated on and off from 2018 to 2021.
“I think it was even harder for him, being on active duty — the shame and the stigma,” she explained. “He wanted to get more help.”
Livelsberger “likely” suffered from PTSD and “family issues,” the FBI said Friday — and a note found in his charred cellphone that was recovered from the Tesla Cybertruck revealed he “needed to cleanse my mind of the brothers I’ve lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took.”
The Green Beret sat for three mental health counseling sessions between August and December, USA Today reported, citing a federal official who was briefed on the New Year’s Day incident at the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas but was not authorized to speak publicly.
It is not clear if Livelsberger had been deemed a risk for suicide or violence, officials said.
Arritt, who had treated vets with brain injuries at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, told the Washington Post she met Livelsberger on Tinder in 2018, and they soon began texting about his military career.
When she asked if he’d been hurt, he replied, “Just some concussions,” she told the outlet. She added that he’d had back surgery due to the pain he suffered from jumping out of planes as a Special Forces soldier.
Livelsberger left his Colorado home on Dec. 26 after his wife, with whom he shared a baby daughter, left him over cheating allegations, two sources previously told The Post.
He used the Turo app to rent the Tesla Cybertruck before driving to Las Vegas, where the electric vehicle — packed with explosives and fireworks — blew up just after he shot himself in the head.
Several people in the hotel’s valet area sustained injuries from the blast.
Las Vegas police also released footage on Friday of Livelsberger charging the Cybertruck in Sin City.
In the video footage, seemingly shot by the rented Cybertruck’s many cameras, Livelsberger can be seen at the Tesla Charging Station wearing a headlamp.
The soldier, on leave from his German base, appeared to calmly move about the vehicle — even clearing dirt off the bumper — mere hours before the explosion.
In the footage, Livelsberger is wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo for Black Cat, a fireworks manufacturer.
As he made his way from Colorado to Las Vegas, Livelsberger reached out to Arritt to brag about his futuristic rental, saying he “felt like Batman.”
Arritt also said the two had “bonded” over a Tesla she rescued from a junkyard in 2019.
In an email read on “The Shawn Ryan Podcast” Friday, Livelsberger claimed federal officials were working with China to develop and deploy the mysterious drones that caused hysteria across the New York metro region last month.
He said the devices were “the most dangerous threat to national security,” Ryan, a retired US Navy SEAL, revealed on his show.
Officials are still working to determine the origin and legitimacy of the email.
Federal authorities ruled there was no connection between the Cybertruck bombing and New Orleans ISIS terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who, like Livelsberger, received training at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and served in Afghanistan.
Jabbar mowed down 14 people and injured dozens of others as they celebrated the New Year on Bourbon Street in the Big Easy.
Jabbar, 42, also a former soldier, was shot dead by police after he crashed the truck — which was also rented on Turo.
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