The Darlie Routier Case

Although most people with an opinion feel Darlie Lynn Routier is unequivocally guilty of the murders of her two young sons, some oppositely feel she’s an innocent woman sitting on death row simply because over-eager prosecutors wanted to close their case. Do you agree with the majority in thinking Routier is guilty?

Two Children Stabbed to Death

During the early morning hours of June 6, 1996, Darlie Routier called 911 in Rowlett, Texas, requesting help. The wife and mother reported that an intruder broke into their house and had attacked her and two of her young sons with a knife. All three had been asleep in the family room on the first floor of their home. Darlie’s husband, Darin, and their eight-month-old son, Drake, slept in an upstairs bedroom.

Police found 6-year-old Devon and 5-year-old Damon wounded but alive. They died en route to the hospital. Darlie sustained wounds, though all were superficial.

Speaking to investigators, Darlie stated that she fought off an intruder wearing dark pants, a black shirt, and a baseball cap. First, Darlie claimed, she chased the man through the kitchen, then out the garage.

Police thoroughly searched the home but found no evidence of a stranger entering or exiting the home and nothing in the neighborhood suggested foul play. As time went on, investigators focused their attention on Darlie and her husband as the potential “intruder” who killed the children.

Mounds of Evidence Against Routier

When forensic evidence showed evidence inconsistent with Darlie’s statements, she became their main suspect. The analysis showed that blood spatter scattered across the crime scene did not match Routier’s version of events. The forensic analysis also concluded that blood drops found in the kitchen came from someone standing still, not an intruder running out of the home. Large amounts of Routier’s blood was found around the kitchen sink, suggesting she cut her own arm and throat and further explaining why the wounds were labeled “superficial” by medical staff at a local hospital where Routier was treated.

Blood spatter on the back shoulder of Darlie’s nightshirt was consistent with that of someone who had been moving their arm in a swimming motion, such as during a stabbing. The puncture wounds on the shirt were inconsistent with the wounds on her body, suggesting that the shirt was purposefully stabbed to provide a story to give to police.

Police also noted other inconsistencies with the crime, including the murder weapon which had come from Darlie’s own kitchen and a lack of motive for the crime. The Routier couple lived in an upscale home in a wealthy neighborhood. Valuables left out in plain sight were untouched, leaving police to believe that it was not a robbery.

Additionally, fiberglass rods found on a knife in the kitchen matched those from a window screen that had been cut in the garage. Police initially suspected the cut screen was the “intruder’s” entry point into the home.

Police even felt the 911 call Darlie made was suspicious. She seemed calm and did not abide by the operator’s orders to apply pressure to Damon’s wounds. She also told the operator she had touched the knife and said “We could have gotten fingerprints, maybe.”

Routier never followed paramedics to the children when they arrived nor did she ask about the hospital. Nurses also noted her behavior to be strange and unexpected from a mother who had just experienced a robbery and lost two children.

Even more damning, a video recorded by local news crews after Routier invited them to her home to celebrate what would have been Devon’s 7th birthday showed her laughing, singing, and spraying silly string on the boy’s grave. Again, the behavior you don't expect from a mother grieving over an incident a week earlier.

Routier was charged with murder four days later.

Prosecutors alleged that Routier wanted the boys gone because caring for them was too much responsibility for her. She was materialistic and wanted to live a different type of lifestyle than motherhood allowed. Her defense team argued that she had no reason to kill the kids because she had an amazing and loving life and family. They also argued that the injury on her neck was inconsistent with a self-inflicted injury.

Routier Discussed Video

As Routier herself later said about the video,

“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?”

Routier Found Guilty; Sentenced to Death

Prosecutors ultimately convinced a jury of Darlie’s guilt. They found her guilty of the first-degree murder of Damon on February 4, 1997. She was sentenced to death. Darlie was never tried for Devon’s murder.

Darlie Routier maintains her innocence to this very day. She still sits on Texas Death Row awaiting execution.