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| Darlie Lynn Routier |
One of, if not the most, controversial female inmates resides on death row in Texas - Darlie Routier. Convicted of the 1996 murder of her son, 5-year old Damon, she is also believed to be responsible for the death of Devon, her 6-year old son. Although many will say the evidence in this case clearly points to Routier, she is not without her supporters. In fact, there are many who believe Darlie Routier is an innocent woman, a victim of incompetent police work and circumstantial evidence.
On June 6th,1996 at 2.31 am, a frantic 911 call was made from within the Routier residence. The caller was Darlie Routier, reporting that she and her young sons had been attacked by an unknown intruder as they lay sleeping in the downstairs living area. Routier reported that as well as stabbing her, the intruder had stabbed both of her sleeping sons. First responders were shocked by the brutal injuries Devon and Damon had suffered, while Darlie Routier had, what many called, superficial injuries. Despite allegedly sleeping through the entire attack on her and the children, Darlie told police she had given chase to the intruder. All of this had happened as Darlie's husband, Darin Routier, lay sleeping upstairs with the couple's seven month old son, Drake. In fact, the first Darin Routier was aware of a problem, was when he heard his wife screaming to call 911.
In the days following the murder, Darlie Routier's behavior was described as odd, even cold. Many people were already questioning whether Darlie was responsible for the horrific murders, as she did not appear particularly upset at the loss of her young sons. This was evidenced further just eight days after the murders, when Darlie and her family held a 7th birthday party for Devon at the little boys' graves. Video recordings of Darlie laughing, smiling, singing "Happy Birthday" and spraying silly string over the children's graves were broadcast across America. Her actions, which Darlie Routier described as celebrating her sons' lives as they would of wanted, seemed to cement her guilt in the minds of many and she was arrested on capital murder charges four days later.
During the Routier trial, prosecutors argued that the crime scene did not match up with Darlie Routier's version of events that night. Rather than being brutally attacked by an unknown assailant, prosecutors accused Routier of brutally stabbing the two boys and then inflicting less serious injuries on herself. They painted her as a materialistic woman, who lived well beyond her means and who, behind closed doors, was sinking under substantial debts. The worry of no longer being able to live the high life and the possibility of losing the family home drove Routier to murder her two young sons. After all, having two less children to care for would relieve some of the financial burden pressuring the family. Blood spatter experts, physcians, crime scene techs and law enforcement officers all spoke out against Routier at trial. According to these professionals the crime scene was staged and blood spatter on Routier's clothes the night of the murder was, in their opinion, cast off spray from a stabbing motion. Despite Routier's defence strongly arguing her innocence, she was found guilty and sentenced to death on Febuary 1st, 1997.
And now, some 18 years after the murders, Darlie Routier sits on death row - still protesting her innocence. For every professional who speaks up for her guilt, there is another who will speak for her innocence. Routier has a legion of supporters who believe the police concentrated straight away on Darlie Routier being the perpetrator -therefore blinding themselves to the possibility that there may actually be a violent murderer out there somewhere.
So, what do you think? Is Darlie Routier a cold blooded killer who picked off her young sons simply to ensure she was able to continue with her lavish lifestyle. Or, does an innocent grieving mother sit on death row, imprisoned for a crime she didn't commit?
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| Darlie Routier in 1996 |
Darlie Routier is guilty - pure and simple. What sort of individual breaks into a home and murders the two weakest potential witnesses, leaving the adult alive with minor injuries. I don't believe she planned it. I think she did it in a fit of rage after an argument with Darin (the real reason they were sleeping apart). I think she killed the boys to get at him and when she realised what she had done, she panicked, screamed and alerted Darin. Leaving her no time to come up with a more plausible story, she had to think on her feet. This is why the whole thing is sooo unbelievable, she was just making it up as she went along to save herself.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you.
DeleteNO INTRUDER = GUILTY
pure and simple.
There is actually plenty of evidence to question this conviction and no doubt the death sentence was a result of the infamous grave side video.
ReplyDeleteHaving stated that, questioning a conviction is a far cry from "reasonable doubt". The jury heard the evidence and I haven't been asked to review this case by anyone, so I only have a cursory view.
Why aren't they looking at Darin. I investigated this case and discovered he was not in his room at the time of the attack.
DeleteWere you there, Kezzy?
DeleteJust so you know, this person calling herself "wrong con" is actually kezzy, more commonly known as KKK kezzy. KKK kezzy is called this because she has made RACIST attacks Jews and African Americans (she has called the police "dirty Jews" and the doctors "Spic with a dick" and black people "Ape n+ggers" who should all "Go back to Africa"
DeleteThe whole reason she is calling herself "wrong con" is to try and escape her being BANNED from Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram for this type of hate speech.
Darin Routier is INNOCENT of this crime, but KKK kezzy has only a 4th grade education (if you don't believe me, then just ask her. She has admitted it), and is entirely too stupid to understand this case.
I, just like you, was not entirely convinced of Darlie Routier's guilt. I spent time reading through the trial transcripts, reading about the blood evidence and hearing testimonies - many from people who stood to gain nothing from convicting a young mother of capital murder. I now have a VERY different opinion and I am beyond convinced that not only is Darlie Routier guilty but she is in the right place too. Ask yourself, what was this alleged intruder's true motive - it wasn't robbery because there was jewelry in plain sight that was left behind. If it was to sexual assault Darlie, when he realised he wasn't going to be successful why didn't he murder her? he had already savagely stabbed her two boys - she was left with superficial injuries - he left her alive - the ONE person who could potentially put him on death row! But perhaps the most damning evidence is the knife that was used by the 'intruder' came from inside the Routier home. It was found back in the knife block. So how did he manage to cut the screen to get in, without first coming in the house to get the knife. He couldn't of used it when he escaped because, in Darlie's own testimony, she was chasing him.
ReplyDeleteI don't force my opinion, or I hope I don't appear that way, on anyone and I fully appreciate your right to hold a different view. I do urge you to read the trial transcripts at http://darliefacts.files.wordpress.com/ - it is heavy going and it will take time but I assure you it is well worth it. All I ask is,when you have read them, you come back and tell me what you think. Happy New Year.
I totally agree with you. I also initially doubted her guilt - until I read the trial transcripts! The testomonies of not only forensic experts, police officers and an FBI CSI expert, but also friends, neighbours and acquaintances of Darlie that were her supporters,painted a very different picture of Darlie's character than the one she wanted the world to believe with her sob stories. While she apparently was the loving mom as long as the boys were still sweet little toddlers, in the months prior to the murders we find an abusive, uncaring and cold- hearted mother - a total change of character that many testified. The boys were apparently getting to be too much of a burden for her, also financially. That is why we saw pure, undisguised relief and joy at their grave before, during and after the weird "birthday party". She apparently even tried to smother baby Drake just hours before the murders, if the testimony of her part-time house maid is to be believed - as it was by the prosecution. However, already having sufficient evidence to convict her of the brutal murder of Damon, the DA never persued this aspect of the case, but I do wonder what part this attempt played in the overall case. Did she murder the boys as part of her major plan to get rid of all her children, or because she failed to kill the baby due to the house maid's intervention? Would she have said that the baby had died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrom, which was all in the news at that time? We will never know, but can it really be pure coincidence that just hours after the attempt, that an "intruder" breaks into the house, brutally murders her two older sons and attacks her? I for one do not believe in such coincidences. She is definitely guilty, the evidence points to her, and to her only. Darin was the Prime Suspect for the police until he was cleared of all suspicion and an illusive intruder was never found - not even any signs or evidence proving his existence - and everything pointed to Darlie being the killer. Whether we like the thought or not, Darlie Routier literally slaughtered her two little boys that night in June 1996, and regardless of whether we approve of the death penalty or not, she will most probably be executed for her incredibly callous crimes.
DeleteJust to be clear- the 'intruder' apparently used two knives from the Routier's kitchen, one to stab the children that was found at the crime scene and one to cut the screen, which was found by CSI in the Routier's knife block.
ReplyDeleteThere was no intruder. There was only Darin who was not in his room as he claimed. They need to investigate Darin because that was never done.
Deletewrong con, "There was no intruder. There was only Darin who was not in his room". -- So you're saying Darin stabbed the two boys and slashed Darlie's throat? REALLY? Then how do you explain the 911 call, in her own words. "Somebody broke in and stabbed me and my children."
Delete1. It was "somebody", not "my husband".
2. The husband did NOT have to "break in".
Darlie did it. Not a shred of evidence of an intruder. She even wrote letters from jail saying she saw who did it and would tell who it was. 18+ years later............
ReplyDeleteSHE, in my opinion, had accepted her lilttle boys' MURDERS, entirely to quickly & rapidly. There was simply NO stages of norm of logical stages of coming to terms with what happen, to her young children OR her. She was gleeful, happy, snapping on that chewing gum, as if her child was ALIVE, and present at his birthday party. i have two kids, if anything like this happened to them when they were little, i would have to be put away, i would not want to live without them. I’m not sure how i would be able to go on, especially if they had been murdered! I can not wrap my head around why someone would want to come in , use a knife from the house inside, walk past an adult and start stabbing little children?? stabbing them right in the chest where they would surely die, why didn’t they stab her in the chest to ensure, HER death? And HOW, HOW HOW, could she, SLEEP, through the, ENTIRE, attack, including her own, but awakes when her son, taps her on the shoulder, just defies all logic, as we know it to be (she, herself admits, she's knows she couldn't have slept through an attack like that, but she doesn't remember, ANYTHING) and why are there so many times where she is smiling or laughing & seemingly without a care in the world? that is not the logical behavior of mother or woman destroyed by the MURDERS of her two young children & an near “alleged” left for dead, attack on herself. Where is the motive to kill two sleeping babies??? The only time I’ve seen her show any type of crushed emotion, is in her mug shot & in the back of a police car, she’s showing emotion, then. Darlie, exhibited she was ready to move on with her life…go on her scheduled vacations/trips, they had planned, before the murders bc her children were up there having the best biggest party or time of their lives, or Whatever she said at the interview at the gravesite. Darlie, expressed more emotion in her interviews about how she felt, being convicted, than she EVER, did about her children murder or her own "alleged" attacked. To me, Darlie, felt like she wasn't getting the attn SHE needed, on top of not being a self disciplined mother, meaning those boys ran the household & not Darlie. She smells of narcissistic tendancies, BUT didn't want to lose the all American family image, still having Drake, it's only one kid, surely she could manage, ONE, child. Look, if this was a relative of mine, offspring, sibling, or parent, or any realative. I'D question the very same things I question about her. I believe some of her relatives have questioned it too, just not out loud. I AM NOT convinced of her innocence.
ReplyDeleteDna an forensic evidence does not discriminate against anyone it tells the true facts of what happened .. she is gulity an should be executed as she did to her kids .. the people that want to support her are living in la la land not wanting to believe all the evidence against her .. she needs to die for what she did to those 2 little boys ..
ReplyDeleteAgreed James. Don't know how she has so many fooled.
ReplyDeleteShe doesn't need to fool anyone. Darin gave her a glass of wine just before he went to bed. Maybe he drugged her. Why didn't they drug test Darin after they found cocaine in his room?
DeleteHow do you know they didn't? If he did drug her, it must have been amphetamines since that was all that was found in her tox screen. Amphetamines make you edgy and hyper, they don't knock you out.
DeleteDarlie isn't fooling anyone, Darin is. If you really want to know the truth about this case then look at Darin. He wasn't in his room during the stabbing, the 911 call proves it without any doubt. If they kill Darlie, Darin is laughing his way to complete freedom.
ReplyDeleteYou really need to learn this case before any further posting.
DeleteLOL, how does the 911 call prove he was not in his room prior to the call being made. Were you there that night that you can read minds or look through walls. At most, all you can say is Darin can be heard 15 seconds into the call. You have no information prior to that. Anything else is speculation and not fact
Deletehttps://hubpages.com/education/Could-Darin-Routier-have-been-the-killer-of-Damon-and-Devon-Routier
ReplyDeletehttps://hubpages.com/education/Could-Darin-Routier-have-been-the-killer-of-Damon-and-Devon-Routier
ReplyDeletehttps://hubpages.com/politics/Errors-made-by-the-Rowlett-police-department-during-the-Darlie-Routier-investigation
ReplyDeleteI would think the grief even a week after the death, will just be disabling. I would have trouble standing and bearing the thought that my children was buried in the hard cold ground, I wouldn't be able to laugh or smile
ReplyDeleteOne would think that. But Darlie called the press herself. She loves attention more than anything. She also stayed on the phone the whole time. Never lifted a finger to help her sons.
DeleteDarlie is guilty no doubt in my mind. Kezzy aka wrong con will try and convince you with his/her made up murder case that Darin is the killer but Darin was fully investigated and found not to be complicit unlike Darlie. I wouldn't even bother with her Hub pages since she just makes things up from nothing.
ReplyDeleteIn the light of all the evidences presented in the trial, the question "Did Darlie Routier kill her two boys?" is virtually oxymoron.
ReplyDeleteCut the bullshit of "botched investigation, evidence contamination" or whatever. Just show me one shred of (scientifically supported, indisputable) evidence to put an intruder in the Routier house that night, i'd personally swap with your "innocent" Darlie. I shall sit on death row and go to the death chamber for this double murder. So long as you can prove that there was any intruder in that house night night.
Loving mother? Imagine you have to go back to the house and the scene of crime where your two little boys were literally butchered? How would a normal loving parent react when seeing all the blood and gore for the first time since you left it on that horrific morning, on your way to hospital? Well, according to Darlie's best friend Mercedes, who took Darlie to the house to pick up some clothes, Mercedes was worried that Darlie would collapse with grief at seeing the scene of horror, but Darlie's first words were "Look at this fucking mess ! It will cost us a fortune to get this shit cleaned up again!" (!!!). Shocked (as anyone apart from Darlie would be) at this callous reaction, Mercedes took Darlie by her shoulders and told her to look into her eyes and tell her that she had nothing to do with the murders. Darlie just remarked "Well, I suppose we can get new carpets and drapes!" (or words to this effect). Oh, I forgot to mention that this sickening reaction on Darlie's part was made only THREE DAYS AFTER THE MURDERS !!!
ReplyDelete