Darlie Routier, Woman On Death Row : Crime Documentary

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• published: 30 Mar 2016
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Darlie Lynn Routier (born January 4, 1970) is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted of murdering her young son Damon, and is currently on death row awaiting execution by lethal injection. Two of her three children, Damon and Devon, were stabbed to death in the family's home on June 6, 1996. Routier was accused of killing both children but was only prosecuted for the murder of Damon, the younger of the two murdered boys. The prosecution's contention was that Darlie Routier murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties. She was a full-time homemaker but her husband Darin, a small business owner, earned a relatively high income. This was later referred to as "living large" by her husband Darin Routier in an interview a few days after the deaths with Joe Munoz of KXAS Channel 5 in Dallas-Fort Worth. The family lived in a two-story home in a middle-class neighborhood, drove a mid-sized SUV, owned a used Jaguar automobile and a used boat. Prosecutors described Routier as a pampered and materialistic woman with substantial debt, plummeting credit ratings, and little money in the bank who feared that her middle class lifestyle was about to end. Darlie Routier testified that an intruder killed her children but police found inconsistencies between her report and the crime scene evidence. During the 911 call, Routier can be heard saying that she'd found a knife on the floor. The 911 operator, thinking that Routier was speaking to her, told her not to touch anything, to which Routier responded that she had already touched it and picked it up and later said, "We could have gotten the prints, maybe." Although Dr. Alejandro Santos and Dr. Patrick Dillawn referred to Routier's wounds as superficial, her neck wound came within two millimeters of her carotid artery. Blood spatter expert 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. Routier's bloody footprints were found underneath a vacuum cleaner and broken glass, indicating those items had been placed there after she went through the kitchen instead of before, as she'd claimed. In spite of broken glass being in the path of her bloody footprints, Routier had no corresponding injuries to her feet. Newscasts appeared of Darlie Routier and other family members holding a birthday party at the children's grave to celebrate posthumously Devon's 7th birthday, just eight days after the murders. Routier, smiling and laughing, appeared jovial as she sprayed Silly String on the graves in celebration of Devon's birthday. Four days later, Routier was charged with capital murder. Routier was ultimately convicted of murdering the younger of her two sons, and was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Prosecutors did not try Routier for the death of her older son, holding his murder in reserve in the event she was acquitted in the first murder trial or her conviction was overturned on appeal, as there is no statute of limitations on any murder charge in Texas. Routier's defense attorney, Douglas Mulder, was the prosecutor responsible for the wrongful conviction and subsequent death penalty (both since overturned) of Randall Adams in 1977. The Adams case is profiled in the documentary The Thin Blue Line. In June 2011 Darin Routier filed for divorce, having remained married to Routier after the murder of their sons. Darin Routier stated that the decision to divorce was mutual and "very difficult," and that he still believes his wife is innocent. He went on to say that they decided on the divorce to move on from the "limbo" they've been in since her arrest and conviction. Routier's family maintains a website which proclaims her innocence and a new site has been created by Routier's supporters to present their views and claims of her innocence. Defense attorneys allege that errors were made during her trial and the investigation of the murders, especially at the crime scene. They also claim that there is significant exculpatory evidence which was improperly excluded, while questionable prosecution evidence was improperly allowed into evidence. Despite these claims, Routier's appeals have continually failed. Routier's appeals have been remanded to the state level for improved DNA testing. Once all state-level testing has been completed, the testing ordered by the federal courts will begin. Routier remains incarcerated on death row located in Gatesville, Texas at the Mountain View Unit of the Texas Department Of Criminal Justice. She is assigned Department of Criminal Justice Identification Number 00999220.