Darlie Lynn Peck Routier (born January 4, 1970) is an American woman from
Rowlett, Texas
Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall Counties in Texas, United States, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in development in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, loc ...
, who was convicted and
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon in 1996. She has also been charged with
capital murder
Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Irela ...
in the death of her six-year-old son, Devon, who was murdered at the same time as Damon. To date, Routier has not been tried for Devon's murder.
Damon and Devon were stabbed to death with a large
kitchen knife
A kitchen knife is any knife that is intended to be used in food preparation. While much of this work can be accomplished with a few general-purpose knives — notably a large chef's knife and a smaller serrated blade utility knife — there ...
in Routier's home, while Routier sustained
knife wounds to her throat and arm. Routier told authorities that the crime was perpetrated by an unidentified intruder. During the trial, the
prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
argued that Routier's injuries were self-inflicted, that the crime scene had been staged, and that she murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties; the defense argued that there was no reason Routier would have killed her children, and that the case did not have a motive, a
confession
A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...
, or any witnesses. In February 1997, the jury found Routier guilty of the murder of Damon, and sentenced her to death by
lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
.
Two
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
s filed by Routier, based on allegations of irregularities during the trial, were denied. Since at least 2018,
DNA tests
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
have been ordered multiple times after technology has advanced. As of 2024, the results of these tests are still pending.
Routier's case has been the subject of multiple
book
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
s and
television show
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...
s. Routier's ex-husband believes that she is innocent.
Murders
On June 6, 1996, at 2:31 a.m.,
9-1-1
911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...
dispatchers in
Rowlett, Texas
Rowlett (, traditionally ) is a city in Dallas and Rockwall Counties in Texas, United States, and an eastern suburb of Dallas. It is a growing, upscale community with nearly $1.5 billion in development in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, loc ...
, received a call from the Routier residence at 5801 Eagle Drive.
Routier told the operator that her home had been broken into and that an intruder had stabbed her children, six-year-old Devon and five-year-old Damon, and cut her throat. Police arrived within three minutes of the 9-1-1 call.
They discovered a window screen in the garage had been cut, which indicated a possible entry point for an intruder. A search of the house and grounds did not locate an intruder. Having thus secured the site, police permitted paramedics to attend to the victims.
Routier told the police that she had fallen asleep on the couch while watching television with her two sons, waking up later and discovering an unknown man in her house. She stated that as she approached him, the man fled, dropping the knife in a utility room as he ran.
After picking up the knife and chasing him away, Routier said she realized that she and her children had been wounded and called 9-1-1. Police found it highly suspicious that Routier claimed she had only awoken after the attack that severely wounded her and her sons.
Routier told police that the assailant escaped through the garage.
Investigators said that the garage contained no blood drops, and added that indications were that no one had run through there at all.
The window sills in the garage had untouched layers of dust, including the window that had been cut, implying that no one had actually climbed through it, and the mulch in the flower beds between the garage and the backyard gate was undisturbed. However, a fingerprint was found on the windowsill which was determined in 2002 not to belong to anyone in the family.
Fingerprint expert Pat Wertheim would later testify before an appeals court that he could not rule out Darlie Routier's right ring finger as the source of the print. A bloody sock was discovered 75yards () away from the house.
Lab tests revealed it had blood from both of Routier's sons on it.
It also matched other socks from the Routier house which belonged to her husband Darin.
Both Damon and Devon sustained fatal injuries.
Her wounds, described as superficial, came within two millimeters of her
carotid artery Carotid artery may refer to:
* Common carotid artery, often "carotids" or "carotid", an artery on each side of the neck which divides into the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery
* External carotid artery, an artery on each side of ...
.
Routier was treated at a hospital and released two days later.
Her youngest son, 7-month-old Drake, was asleep upstairs with her husband Darin at the time of the murders; both escaped harm. Newscasts showed Routier and other family members holding a birthday party at the boys' grave to posthumously celebrate Devon's seventh birthday eight days after the murders.
She was shown smiling and laughing as she sprayed
Silly String
Silly String (generically known as aerosol string) is a toy of flexible, sometimes brightly colored, plastic String (structure), string propelled as a stream of liquid from an aerosol can. The solvent in the string quickly evaporates in mid-air, ...
on the graves in celebration, singing "
Happy Birthday".
Family members point out that the newscasts did not show an earlier video that depicted a solemn ceremony honoring the children.
[ Four days later, on June 18, Routier was arrested and charged with ]capital murder
Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Irela ...
. Routier later commented on the video, saying, "He wanted to be seven. I did the only thing I knew to do to honor him and give him all his wishes because he wasn't here anymore. But how do you know what you're going to do when you lose two children? How do you know how you're going to act?"
Trial
Routier's trial began on January 6, 1997, in Kerrville, Texas
Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-fo ...
. The prosecution
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
suggested that Routier murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties and described Routier as "...a self-centered woman, a materialistic woman, and a woman cold enough, in fact, to murder her own two children.” Jurors also saw the Silly String video. Crime scene consultant James Cron testified that evidence suggested the scene inside the Routier residence had been staged.
The prosecution also suggested there was a financial motive for the murders since both boys had a life insurance policy on them. The defense contended that this amounted to only $10,000, not enough to cover their funeral expenses. Furthermore, they asked why, if she was willing to murder for money, she did not kill her husband instead as he had an $800,000 life insurance policy. The defense also questioned why, if she killed her sons to preserve her lavish lifestyle, she left her youngest son, seven-month-old Drake, alive and unharmed.
Routier was represented at trial by lawyer Douglas Mulder. Defense attorney
A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...
s said that there was no reason why she would have killed her children and that the case did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses. They asserted that it was unrealistic to accuse Routier of staging a crime scene. Her attorneys advised her not to appear on the witness stand, but she testified anyway and "withered under cross-examination
In law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination (known as examination-in-chief in Law of the Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Law of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, Austra ...
by prosecutor Toby Shook."[
]San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
chief medical examiner Vincent DiMaio testified that the wound to Routier's neck came within two millimeters of her carotid artery and that it was not consistent with the self-inflicted wounds he had seen in the past. That differed from the assertions of her treating physicians, who had told police officials that the wounds might have been self-inflicted.[ Tom Bevel testified that cast-off blood found on the back of Routier's nightshirt indicated that she had raised the knife over her head as she withdrew it from each boy to stab again.]
One crucial aspect of the defense case was the bloody sock found outside the house. While the police contended that this was merely a ruse designed to falsely implicate an intruder had fled the scene, the defense contended that it proved Routier could not have committed the crime. Damon was alive when the paramedics arrived on the scene and the medical examiner testified that the boy could only have survived approximately eight minutes after receiving his injuries. Routier was on the phone with 9-1-1 for almost six minutes. The defense argued that this did not leave enough time for Routier to cut herself, stage the crime scene, plant the sock outside the house, and then return before the paramedics arrived. They also stated that, despite her injuries, Routier's blood was not found in the garage or anywhere outside the home. The prosecution countered that Routier could have planted the sock before self-inflicting her own injuries, and the medical examiner's stated survival time for Damon after he was stabbed was only an estimation. On February 1, Routier was convicted of murdering Damon. On February 4, she was sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
by lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...
. Women sentenced to death under Texas law are housed in the Patrick O'Daniel Unit (formerly Mountain View Unit) in Gatesville, Texas
Gatesville is a city in and the county seat of Coryell County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,135 at the 2020 census. The city has five of the nine prisons and state jails for women operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice ...
.
Post-trial claims and appeals
Defense attorneys allege numerous errors were made during Routier's trial and in the official transcript of it, as well as the investigation of the murders, especially at the crime scene. An appeals court dismissed these claims, as did a court ruling on her ''habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...
'' petition. In June 2008, Routier was granted the right to new DNA test
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
s. Her appeals were remanded to the state level for improved DNA testing. On January 29, 2014, then-Chief Judge of the Samuel Frederick Biery Jr. granted a request from prosecution and defense for her case for further DNA tests vital to the defense to be performed on a bloody fingerprint found in the house, a bloody sock and her nightshirt. In 2018, the Criminal District Court No. 3 ordered a third round of DNA testing with the backing of both prosecution and defense.
Divorce
In June 2011, Darin Routier filed for divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
from his wife, saying that the decision was mutual and "very difficult," and that he still believes his wife is innocent. He said that they decided to divorce to end the "limbo" that they had been in since her arrest and conviction. The Routiers' youngest son Drake still visits his mother in jail. He has been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the lymphoid line of blood cells characterized by the development of large numbers of immature lymphocytes. Symptoms may include feeling tired, pale skin color, fever, easy bleeding or brui ...
. Like his father, Drake continues to believe in his mother's innocence.
In media
Books
The 1999 book ''Precious Angels: A True Story of Two Slain Children and a Mother Convicted of Murder'' by Barbara Davis accounted for Routier's guilt. The author has since changed her mind and now supports Routier by donating all the income from the book to her family.
In the 2015 book ''Dateline Purgatory: Examining the Case that Sentenced Darlie Routier to Death'' journalist Kathy Cruz engages legal experts for their assessments on Routier's trial transgressions and highlighting the controversies of the death penalty conviction. Throughout the book Cruz collaborates with a former FBI special agent on her examination of the case.
Television
An October 1999 episode of the TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
documentary series ''Forensic Files
''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was origin ...
'' titled "Invisible Intruder" , reports on how detectives discovered who the killer was by analyzing the crime scene's blood spatter, Darlie's 911 call and the offender profiling
Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is an investigative strategy used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects and has been used by Detective, investigators to link cases that may have been committed by the same ...
of her behavior.
An episode of the CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
series '' 48 Hours'' titled ''Precious Angels'' is derived from the true-crime book of the same title, authored by Barbara Davis, which first aired August 10, 2001. CBS correspondent Bill Lagattuta interviewed Darin Routier, the incarcerated Darlie Routier and Davis about the slayings; associated public officials and defense attorneys were also interviewed.
The Investigation Discovery
Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...
network aired an episode of Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...
's series ''On Death Row'' titled "Darlie Routier" that covered the case in Season 2, Episode 2, broadcast on September 10, 2013.
The case features in the documentary ‘’Death Row Stories’’, Season 2 Episode 5 ‘Mother V. Texas’, available on Amazon on August 9, 2015. The documentary series are executive produced by Alex Gibney and Robert Redford, and narrated by Susan Sarandon..
An American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
(ABC) seven-episode documentary series, '' The Last Defense'' examines the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. The series premiered on June 12, 2018, profiling Routier's case in a four-part episode:
:* "Series Premiere – Darlie Routier: The Crime",
:* "Darlie Routier: The Trial",
:* "Darlie Routier: The Woman",
:* "Darlie Routier: The Fight",
Jones's sentence has since been commuted to life without parole, while Routier remains on death row.
In 2019, ABC also aired a two-part documentary about Routier's case as part of its ''20/20'' newsmagazine.
In 2020, ITV broadcast the documentary ''Death Row's Women with Susanna Reid'' in which the British journalist Susanna Reid
Susanna Victoria Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of '' BBC Breakfast'' from 2001 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. She also presented '' Sunday Morning ...
travelled to Texas to interview Routier face to face over the course of an hour.Death rows women
Unsolved Mysteries aired a "Final Appeal" episode, with Robert Stack and re-aired under Dennis Farina.
See also
* Susan Smith
* List of women on death row in the United States
This is a list of women on death row in the United States. The number of death row inmates fluctuates daily with new convictions, appellate decisions overturning conviction or sentence alone, commutations, or deaths (through execution or otherwis ...
* List of women executed in the United States since 1976
Since 1976, when the Supreme Court of the United States lifted the moratorium on capital punishment in ''Gregg v. Georgia'', 18 women have been executed in the United States. Women represent about 1.10 percent of the 1,630 executions performed i ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Darlie Facts
defense attorney's website
Routier's profile on Texas Death Row
The Darlie Routier Case
{{DEFAULTSORT:Routier, Darlie
1970 births
1996 in Texas
1996 murders in the United States
20th-century American criminals
American female murderers
American murderers of children
American people convicted of murder
American prisoners sentenced to death
Criminals from Texas
Filicides in Texas
Living people
People convicted of murder by Texas
People from Altoona, Pennsylvania
People from Rowlett, Texas
Prisoners sentenced to death by Texas
Women sentenced to death
Child murder in Texas