She has also been charged with capital murder in the death of her six-year-old son, Devon, who was murdered at the same time as Damon. The judge, considering the case likely has to be recused. Aileen Wuornos was a serial killer who was sentenced to death for killing seven men in Florida. During their deliberations, juror Charles Sanford later said in an affidavit, the jury replayed the Silly String clip eight or nine times.. testify that Ms. Routier made a variety of statements about the He owes about $130,000 on his house and estimates June 18:Darlie submits to a fourth voluntary interview. Police suggest in the affidavit that she inflicted her contradicts her account. air the day before his brothers were killed. And a lot of times, there's triaging going on. knife wounds were superficial. Darlie Lynn Peck Routier (born January 4, 1970) is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon in 1996. On February 4, 1997, she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. The story of Darlie Routier has been debated over and over again by criminal justice professionals and amateur sleuths alike. However, the physicians who treated her at Baylor University Medical Center stated previously to the police officers that the wounds could have been self-inflicted. The subsequent trial went on for less than a year before the judge pronounced her sentence. slayings. They also say she showed little concern for the children. Twelve days after the murders, Darlie and Darin Routier returned to the police department voluntarily for another round of questioning. Vanessa Potkin, I want to ask you about how you came to be involved in this case, because I wonder, early on, when you first heard about it, what specifically jumped out to you? after seizing a large amount of evidence during what they describe Did Darlie murder her sons because of her familys financial. Routier suffered a near-fatal stab wound to her neck, which just missed the carotid artery. Darlie Routier - Murderers, Birthday, Family - Darlie Routier Biography As previously discussed, Darlie Routier is on death row in Texas. So, give us a sense of what happens next now. She tells police that a man wearing He and others in the defence team have claimed that a number of errors had been made both during the trial and in the official transcription of it. This is your chance to set it straight, because, right now, it looks like capital murder. When Darlie was 15 she moved to Lubbock with her mother, step-father, and younger sister. Given the pathologists estimate that Damon could have survived his wounds for only nine minutes, that the 911 call lasted six minutes, and that police arrived within a minute after the end of the call, that left barely over two minutes for Routier to stab her sons, head for the garage, step through the slit in the window screen, jump a back fence or go through a back gate, run barefoot for 75 yards down an alley, drop a bloody sock, run 75 yards back, stab herself, clean up the blood around the sink, and stage whatever crime scene there was left to be staged, as Texas Monthly put it. They would have two more, Damon and Drake. Darlie, who had suffered serious injuries herself, including a knife cut on the throat, asked Waddell if any of her jewellery was stolen. That was used as a confession at her trial, along with testimony that Mariah's intake injuries indicated abuse. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. According to the testimony of San Antonio chief medical examiner Vincent DiMaio, the wound inflicted on Routiers neck was only two millimetres away from severing her carotid artery. 16 - Outside the jury's presence, Ms. Routier's laundry woman When Routier was a teenager, she relocated to Lubbock with her mother and stepfather Robbie Kee. she/they. (Drake had been placed in temporary in the neck and upper torso. When Darlie Routiers trial began on January 6, 1997, the prosecutors said that her main goal for staging a break-in, killing her sons, and slashing her own throat was to collect the money from her boys life insurance policies and deal with the familys financial difficulties. And it really was a disadvantage in the interrogation. Her family, who has stood by her throughout all these years, had called attention to the fact that there was a solemn ceremony honouring the children held earlier that the newscasts failed to show. Two officers testify that Ms. Routier gave conflicting accounts of There also were questions about the states contention that Routier had stabbed her children, then herself: There were bloodstains on the back of her nightshirt that prosecution witnesses suggested had been caused by knife splatter as she performed an overhead stabbing of her sons. Mr. Kinne apologizes Or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on her for whatever reason? They married in August 1988. Questions about Darlie married Darin in August of 1988. In the 14 years in conviction, Lucio has always maintained her innocence. They were a normal Texas family, until the murders occurred. Melissa Brim is the ex-girlfriend of former professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. Judge Audra Riley of Dallas County signed on order on Sept. 30 instructing multiple agencies including the Dallas County District Clerk, the Rowlett Police Department, the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification to collect their evidence from the Routier case and send it to the Forensic Analytical Crime Laboratory in Hayward, Calif. At trial, the prosecution presented a timeline showing that Routier stabbed Devon and Damon before staging the scene by breaking a wine glass, cutting the screen in the garage, planting a bloody sock down an alley 75 yards away, and finally stabbing herself in the arms and throat. It all changed when their business started to operate at a loss. making the $1,300 monthly payments after his sons were killed. After recovery, she was charged with murder. One out of three people proven innocent by DNA testing falsely confessed during custodial interrogation to crimes they were completely innocent of. She is then arrested and jailed. Responding to Darlie Lynn Routiers frantic 911 call from her Dallas County home in 1996, police found her two sons, Devon Routier, 6, and Damon Routier, 5, dying of stab wounds. Darlie Routier: Wrongfully Convicted of Murdering Her Children Because his transcript varies from the one introduced at trial, the quotes below are from the trial exhibit. Eight days after the incident, Routier was shown in newscasts across the country at her sons graves posthumously celebrating Devons birthday, who would have been seven that year. . The 911 dispatcher immediately says Theres a knife . When is Darlie Routier (On Sept. 27, he orders the trial moved to 18 - The jury is seated, and Judge Tolle recesses court for the communications officer Dean Poos. They blamed it all on Darlies post-partum depression. 5 - In an interview, Mr. Routier says his love for his wife has They even assisted a cancer patient with a mortgage payment. So, you became involved in the case quite recently. She said her screams awakened her husband, Darin, who was upstairs with their infant; he rushed down and tried without success to revive one of the two sons. have been contaminated by police. Tom Bevel informed the court that the cast-off blood on the back of her nightshirt suggested that she had drawn her hand back every time before stabbing the children repeatedly. , money, salary, income, and assets. "He gasped a gasp for air, and that was the final time that he June 10:Det. They were behind on their own mortgage and owed $10,000 in back taxes and $12,000 on credit cards. All accounts agree that the Routiers were living beyond their means. We will update Darlie Routier's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. In addition, the state based its case on presenting as evidence details that went to the kind of mother Routier was: Prosecutors Toby Shook played a 15-second clip of Routier happily spraying Silly String on Devons grave, and told the jurors the scene gives you a lot of insight into this woman. Ms. Darin and Routier finally divorced in September 2011, citing a mutual need to get out of the limbo they had been in since her arrest and conviction. In 2018, the Criminal District Court No. court-appointed attorneys and will seek to move her trial back to Mr. Mulder says the diary also contains numerous entries that show Ms. This biography of Richard Ramirez provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. On June 6, 1996, at 2:31 am, the 911 dispatchers at Rowlett got an emergency call from Routier from their home at 5801 Eagle Drive. Routiers attorney, Douglas Mulder argued that there was no coherent motive for her to murder her children. He bought a 1982 Jaguar and a thirty-foot cabin cruiser while she underwent a breast augmentation surgery in 1992 and bought a large amount of flashy jewellery. 3 ordered a third round of DNA testing with the backing of both prosecution and defense. June 18, 1996: Darlie 2009:In February, Darlie applied to the federal court for funding of the forensic discovery that court had granted. Mr. Routier denies any We now know that trauma and a history of abuse is a vulnerability for false confession when these type of coercive interrogation techniques are used. Later, Sanford saw the full video, which showed that the birthday party followed a solemn prayer service and was done as a way to mourn for the children. through the attack in an upstairs bedroom. Her family, who has stood by her throughout all these years, had called attention to the fact that there was a solemn ceremony honouring the children held earlier that the newscasts failed to show. Why did it take so long for so many of these details to come out and get the attention they're now getting? Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her. Husband Darin Routier, 28, and son Drake, 7 months, are unharmed. Two appeals filed by Routier, who maintains her innocence, based on allegations of irregularities during the trial were denied, but new DNA tests were ordered multiple times after technology had advanced. Maybe Darlie Didn't Do It Texas Monthly On January 19, 2014, both the prosecution and defence teams were permitted to perform further DNA tests on a smudged fingerprint found in the house, a bloody sock found outside, and her nightshirt. He also said that the post-conviction hearings in Dallas County could continue while the additional testing is underway. when she saw the boys' bodies at the funeral home. When Routier was a teenager, she relocated to Lubbock with her mother and stepfather Robbie Kee. Darlie Routier is an American death row inmate convicted of killing her five-year-old son. 1998:J. Stephen Cooper is appointed to be Darlies appellate attorney. They purchased a new house in Rowlett, an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas, and spent thousands of dollars in renovating. Her sentence is to be carried out at the Huntsville Units execution chamber. A total of twelve days later, though, four days after what would have been Devons seventh birthday, Darlie was charged and arrested on two counts of capital murder. After the Texas state courts affirmed the conviction on direct appeal, the courts granted in 2008 on a limited basis renewed DNA testing touching off a process that has not yet been completed as of summer 2019. Times for the events of the 911 call are taken from a transcript prepared by Rowlett P.D. Darlie was born January 4, 1970 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Copyright Altoona Mirror | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411. Darlie Routier On the other hand, the defense argued that Darlies sons policies totaled only $10,000. Prosecutors say she is a selfish, cold-blooded woman who The defense also brought up the sock found on the street containing traces of Devon and Damons blood, but the prosecutors claimed that it was a part of her ruse as well. What told you something might be wrong here that was worth your attention? . Three days later, she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. undisturbed. At 53 years old, Darlie Routier height not available right now. They brought in crime scene consultant James Cron to support the claim. However, detectives found this series of events very difficult to believe, especially as the evidence suggested that the crime scene had been staged. After stating his identity, Darin informed him that he was going to the house across the street to get Karen Neal, a nurse. suggests that Ms. Routier stabbed the boys. A series of post-conviction petitions, as well as a Texas Monthly investigation, have cast significant doubt on the state case. We started to look into it. The clip sickened Dallas County District Attorney Greg Davis, because it had only been a week since these boys deaths and yet weve got a full-blown birthday party out there at the gravesite. There was also a lack of a blood trail or footprints leading outside of the garage. She tells A local television news crew films the service, which ends with Darlie and her sister spraying silly string over the balloons and flowers at the gravesite. kitchen. less than a month before the killings. Darlie Routier was a 26-year-old mother of three boys at the time of the killings. The second police officer on the scene, Sgt. They married four years later and in 1989, their oldest son Devon was born. It soon becomes clear that there are a huge number of errors in the trial transcripts, but court reporter Sandra Halsey refuses to discuss the transcript. for his "trailer trash" remarks. She was treated for her injuries at Baylor University Medical Center in downtown Dallas. Darin and Routier finally divorced in September 2011, citing a mutual need to get out of the limbo they had been in since her arrest and conviction. Devon, who would have turned 7. WebDarlie is on the phone the entire time. Check out this biography to know about her childhood, family, personal life, crimes, etc. Two of her three sons, WebBiography. After recovery, she was charged with murder. holidays. where she was attacked and about whether she was asleep at the wife stage the crime scene to mislead investigators. Their youngest son Drake Routier was born October 18, 1995. You're trying to stop an execution. So, if money was the motive, they said, why did she leave Darin unharmed, who had an $800,000 insurance policy? Criminal defense lawyer Doug Mulder announces he has grave and sing Happy Birthday. When Darin returned, Waddell told him to save the child that was still alive. He also says she did not seem Apart from marking her as greedy and uncaring, they also highlighted that she could not give a clear description of the intruder, and nothing was stolen from her home, raising the question of if he really existed. Darlie was born January 4, 1970 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. was still covered in dust and mulch on the flower beds below was But the entire scene indicated to me there had not been an intruder, crime scene consultant James Cron testified. Assistant District Attorney Greg 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. An police affidavit is 4:30 am:Approximate time that Sgt. She picked it up and placed it on the counter before realizing that she and her children were hurt and called 911. Two out of the six have credible innocence claims. The jurors were shown the Silly String video. Drake, the Thank you. It was later revealed that Darin was sleeping upstairs with Drake at the time while Routier was downstairs with Damon and Devon. Portraying Routier as a spoilt, materialistic woman who couldnt cope with mounting debt and loss of her affluent lifestyle, the prosecution built the case on the premise that she murdered her children because of the familys financial difficulties. 23 - FBI Special Agent Alan Brantley testifies that Damon and 28 - State District Judge Mark Tolle rescinds Ms. Routier's bail. Zoe LaVerne is an American musical.ly star. She studied at Monterey High School in Lubbock, graduating in 1988. the medical examiner's office testifies that Ms. Routier's wounds Damon is still alive, and remained breathing until paramedics arrived sometime after the 911 call. no appreciable blood was on the couch where Ms. Routier said she Darlie Routier