Darlie Routier
12 min read
A few months ago, my infusion nurse and I discussed our interest in true crime, as one might do when receiving a needle in the arm. She told me what sparked her interest in true crime was when her friend began dating Drake Routier. When she went into details, my mouth hung open. I immediately started my own research. I discovered this case has a cult following of controversial opinions and speculation. In addition, there is a treasure trove of court documents, police statements, autopsy reports, crime scene photos, and numerous books and tv shows about what happened on June 6, 1996, in Rowlett, TX.
Darlie Routier
Darlie Lynn was born on January 4, 1970, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to parents Larry and Darlie Peck. When she was fifteen, Darlie moved to Lubbock with her mother and stepfather, Robert Kee. Her mother, Darlie, worked at the Western Sizzlin' restaurant, where she met Darin Routier. Darin, seventeen, was the assistant regional manager of the Western Sizzlin'. He was voted most likely to succeed in high school and was described as quiet, hardworking, and mature for his age.
When Darlie Lynn entered the restaurant, it was love at first sight. She was well-developed for her age and had the complete package of blonde hair, curves, and charm. Darin and Darlie had their first date the same night they met and became inseparable. They married in August 1988, a little more than three years after they met.
Darin started a business called Testnec, which tested electronic equipment and became very successful. They bought a new $130,000 home in Rowlett, a quiet suburb outside of Dallas, and had three boys. The first child Devon was born on June 14, 1989. Their second child Damon was born on February 19, 1991, and baby Drake was born on October 18, 1995.
Darin purchased a thirty-foot cabin cruiser to use on nearby Lake Ray Hubbard and a 1982 Jaguar. In 1995 Darin's company brought in about half a million dollars in gross revenues, and he paid himself an annual salary of $125,000. Darlie got size 36 DDD breast implants and wore diamond rings on every finger. Though flashy, the Routier's were liked by everyone. Darlie was known as a cookie-baking housewife who made meals for neighbors going through hard times and once made a mortgage payment for a friend with cancer.
Routier home
In early 1996, Darin's business dipped, and he got behind on bills. The neighbors never saw them argue about this, and they certainly didn't slow down on their spending habits. Darlie was even planning a trip to Cancun with her friends. They owed $10,000 in taxes to the IRS, $12,000 on credit cards, and were behind on their mortgage payment.
On May 3, 1996, Darlie wrote in her diary: "I hope that one day you will forgive me for what I am about to do. My life has been such a hard fight for a long time, and I just cannot find the strength to keep fighting anymore. I love you three more than anything else in this world…I don't want you to see a miserable person every time you look at me. Your dad loves you all very much, and I know in my heart he will take care of my babies. Please do not hate me or think in any way that this is your fault. It's just that I…."
Murders
A few months after the diary entry, on June 6, 1996, at 2:31 am, 911 dispatchers in Rowlett received a call from 5801 Eagle Drive. Darlie Routier hysterically told the operator that an intruder had broken into her home and stabbed her and her children. She told the operator her boys were dead and had picked up a knife on the floor. Darlie frantically explained that her fingerprints would be on the weapon. The call lasted 5 minutes and 44 seconds. Police responded within 3 minutes and found a cut window screen in the garage that indicated a possible intruder. After searching the home and clearing it from harm, the police let the paramedics in.
Darlie told investigators that she had fallen asleep on the living room couch. Her sons, Devon and Damon, wanted to stay up and watch a movie, and she slept downstairs with them because their newborn, Drake, often woke her at night when he stirred in his crib. She woke when she felt pressure on her shoulder; Damon was pressing on her and saying, "Mommy, mommy!" when she opened her eyes, she saw a man standing near her feet. Darlie started towards him and heard glass breaking. She got halfway through the kitchen when she turned around to flip on a light. The man was running towards the utility room when she saw a large white-handled knife lying on the floor.
Lay out of first floor
Realizing blood was all over her, Darlie grabbed the knife, thinking the intruder was in the garage and yelled for Darin. She ran back through the kitchen, discovered blood was everywhere, and saw the boys lying in pools of blood. She cried for Darin again. He came downstairs and ran towards the living room. He saw two gashes in Devon's chest with muscle and blood seeping out. Darin slapped Devon's face to get a response, and when he didn't wake, he started to perform CPR. But, unfortunately, Devon had already passed.
Darlie had 2 wounds to her right forearm, one on her left shoulder, and her throat was slashed. She was placed in an ambulance, and her son Damon died en route to Baylor University Medical Center. The knife stopped 2 millimeters away from the carotid artery, which would have caused her to bleed out within minutes.
The autopsy report of Devon revealed that he was stabbed twice in the chest, once in the left forearm and the left thigh. One chest wound indicated the knife had broken his chest cavity and exited through the back. Damon's autopsy showed that he had been stabbed four times in the back, one incised wound in the left shoulder, and one cut in the left upper back.
Investigation
Dr. Alejandro Santos, a surgeon who operated on Darlie at Baylor on June 6, 1996, said her blood was tested when she was admitted. Darlie tested positive for amphetamines, and it is speculated she was taking diet pills because she was upset she hadn't lost weight after her third child. Dr. Santos described the wounds Darlie received as superficial. Four days later, the police photographed Darlie's injuries. Santos said the bruising shown in the pictures was not evident when she was in the hospital. Based on the severity, he testified that the injuries were 24-48 hours old, implying it couldn't have happened on the night of the murders. Santos said the bruises were caused by blunt force.
After 30 minutes of examining the crime scene, consultant Jim Cron said, "looks to me like there was no intruder here." If someone had broken in, as Darlie said, what would the motive have been? Nothing was missing, and the giant pile of diamond rings Darlie had taken off before bed was still sitting on the kitchen counter. Cron then questioned the murder weapon, an eight-inch butcher knife with a white handle taken from the wooden block in the Routier kitchen. Why would the intruder kill the children before making sure Darlie was dead first?
In the statement Darlie gave to police on June 8, she said she followed the intruder while he ran out towards the garage. However, no blood was found in the garage, the garage window, or the wooden fence surrounding the backyard. In addition, the window sills where the screen had been cut were dusty, and the mulch in the flower beds between the garage and the gate was undisturbed. No blood indicated her neck had been cut on the couch where Darlie said she was attacked. But, a significant amount of Darlie's blood was found in front of the sink, and luminol revealed attempts to wipe away the blood from the countertops and basin.
75 yards from the house, a sock was found near a trash can. Darin said the sock had belonged to him and the family kept a rag pile in the utility room of old socks. DNA tests revealed the sock contained two blood spots from Damon and Devon. In the kitchen, a vacuum was overturned on top of bloody footprints and blood on the handle. The blood on the vacuum handle was tested and confirmed to be Darlie's. In the statement Darlie made to the police, she said she heard glass breaking. The only thing indicating this was true was a broken wine glass on the kitchen floor - near and on top of one of the bloody prints. Suggesting the footprints had been left before the glass broke. Police examined Darlie's feet and took her impressions on June 10. Her footprints were consistent with the prints found on the floor. Things were starting to stack up against Darlie.
A trace evidence analyst found a fiber consistent with the same material as the window screen on one of the bread knives from the knife block. Prompting the theory that whoever had cut the window screen had put the knife back in the wooden block. Another damning piece of evidence was Darlie's white nightshirt. Analysis revealed cast-off blood droplets on her shirt, meaning blood was cast off an object in motion, such as a knife in a stabbing motion. Several cast-off stains of Devon’s blood were found on the front and right shoulder. In addition, Damon’s blood was found on the back of Darlie’s nightshirt, suggesting the knife was swung up to her head and brought back down repeatedly.
Silly String Video
Just eight days after the murders, on what would have been Devon's seventh birthday, Darlie threw a celebration at their gravesite. Newscasters showed Darlie smiling, laughing, and singing as she sprayed Silly String on the graves of her children. This was unusual for a woman who had lost her two sons a week prior. Prosecutor Greg Davis saw the video and argued it was proof that Darlie had no grief over their deaths. However, members of the Routier family said what wasn’t shown by the newscasters was Darlie crying at the quiet prayer service held before the birthday party. Four days later, on June 18, Routier was arrested and charged with capital murder.
Trial
The media depicted Darlie Routier as a materialistic woman who murdered her sons. Her court-appointed attorney, Doug Parks, had requested a change of venue because he felt the news coverage could jeopardize her chance at a fair trial. Judge Mark Tolle granted the request; however, this ended up playing in favor of the prosecution team, Greg Davis, Toby Shook, and Sherri Wallace. In October 1996, Douglas Mulder, a well-known defense attorney, replaced Parks as Darlie's counsel. He filed a motion to return the Routier case to Dallas County; however, Judge Tolle denied it.
Darlie's trial began on January 6, 1997, in Kerrville, TX. Kerrville is 303 miles from Rowlett and is in one of the most conservative counties in Texas. The jury consisted of seven women and five men. They immediately judged Darlie for her breast implants and bleached hair. Prosecutors decided to indict Darlie for the murder of her five-year-old son, Damon. In the event of an acquittal or a successful appeal, they would have the option to try Darlie separately for Devon's death without facing double jeopardy. Because of Damon's age, the killing was a capital offense, punishable by death in Texas. Greg Davis's opening statement to the jury described Darlie as “a self-centered woman, a materialistic woman, and a woman cold enough, in fact, to murder her own two children.”
The prosecution team suggested that Darlie had murdered her sons because of the family's financial problems, cut her neck over the kitchen sink, and staged the crime scene. Davis implied there was a financial motive for the murders since both boys had a life insurance policy. Darlie's defense team countered that this amounted to only $10,000, which wouldn't have been enough to cover funeral expenses. Further, if this was the motive, why did Darlie not kill her husband, Darin? His life insurance policy was $800,000. The defense also pointed out that if Darlie had killed her sons to maintain her luxurious lifestyle, why would she leave her youngest son, Drake, unharmed? Darlie's attorney Douglas Mulder said there was no reason she would have killed her children, and the case didn't have a motive, confession, or any witnesses. Her counsel advised her not to take the stand, but Darlie testified anyways, withering under cross-examination by prosecutor Toby Shook.
The trial endured five weeks, and almost 52 people testified, ranging from police officers to forensic experts, to a local merchant familiar with Darlie. Finally, the case went to the jury on January 31, 1997. After watching the silly string video seven times, jurors deliberated for nine hours before reaching a verdict. On February 1, Darlie Routier was found guilty of the murder of her son Damon. On February 4, she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. She was one of only six women on death row in Texas.
Where are they now?
Darlie Routier has been held in the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville since 1997 and maintains her innocence. After Darlie's conviction, defense attorney Stephen Cooper reviewed the trial transcripts to clearly understand the case. He discovered that court reporter, Sandra Halsey, had made 18,000 errors in the 6,000 pages of the record. Cooper saw this as grounds for a retrial and started working on an appeal. A second reporter was appointed to reconstruct the transcript, and a judge approved the revisions in November 1999. Darlie's team filed the appeal in 2001, but the court rejected her allegations and upheld her conviction. In 2008 her appeal to conduct further DNA testing on crime scene evidence was granted. Since 2018, three rounds of DNA testing have been performed on the following list of items. As of 2022, those test results are still pending.
The pair of blue jeans worn by Applicant's husband, Darin Routier, for testing of blood stains;
Limb hair(s) taken from a tube sock found in the alley behind Applicant's residence;
The tube sock found in the alley behind Applicant's residence for testing of blood stains and possible saliva samples;
The nightshirt worn by Applicant for testing of blood stains;
The butcher knife found in Applicant's kitchen and corresponding blood swabbings for testing of blood stains;
The lifts from an unidentified fingerprint left on Applicant's glass coffee table introduced at trial as State's Exhibit 35(J);
Pubic hair(s) found in the vicinity of Applicant's living room; and
The unidentified facial hair tested by Orchid/Cellmark (formerly known as GeneScreen).
Darin Routier, Darlie's husband, exhausted all his finances to sustain his wife's case. He didn’t believe Darlie was guilty of killing their children and never will. After her arrest in 1996, the court placed their seven-month-old son, Drake, into foster care. However, Darin chose not to take custody of him immediately because he wanted to get his finances and emotional state in order. Shortly afterward, the court granted custody of Drake to his paternal grandparents, and Darin was allowed supervised visits. In 2011, Darin filed for divorce from Darlie; they claimed the decision was mutual and challenging to make. Darin said they decided to divorce to end the limbo they had been in since her conviction. He has since remarried and told media outlets that he still believes Darlie is innocent.
My thoughts
It wasn’t easy to determine, but I believe Darlie Routier is guilty. The details of what happened on June 6 changed nearly every time she retold the story. Darlie had different versions of waking up, fighting the intruder, and standing at the sink. But, ultimately, the blood evidence at the crime scene convicted her.
Darlie told police that she had chased the intruder through the kitchen; however, the shape and consistency of the blood drops found indicated she was walking, not running. Darlie had also said the man dropped the knife on his way out, and she picked it up off the floor. Yet, no blood spatter marks were found on the kitchen, utility room, or garage floor, indicating the knife had been dropped or thrown down. Darlie also couldn’t explain how the intruder could run through the crime scene without leaving a bloody print, but her footprints were found all over the floors.
Blood evidence map
Darlie also claimed she slept downstairs because baby Drake's tossing and turning at night kept her awake. However, her boys are brutally stabbed just a few feet away, and she sleeps through all of it until Damon wakes her? If an intruder broke in, why would they not ensure Darlie was dead first? Neutralizing the threat of an adult. Additionally, why were Darlie's injuries drastically different from her children? It should also be noted that Darlie did not check on the condition of baby Drake, who was sleeping upstairs the night of the murders.
There are enough controversies in the Darlie Routier case to make your head swim. I decided her guilt based on trial transcripts, crime scene photos, and police statements. Unfortunately, numerous shows, websites, podcasts, and books have been created to convince the public that Darlie is innocent. Most of the media's information is based on twisted facts to make the narrative match their beliefs, and holes can be poked in just about every theory when matched to official records.
Sources
https://web.archive.org/web/20160131143312/http://lubbockonline.com/news/010997/doctor.htm
https://darliefacts.com/
https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/maybe-darlie-didnt-do-it/
https://www.darlieroutierfactandfiction.com/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/05/11/did-darlie-routier-kill-her-kids-doubts-remain-two-decades-later/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2016/06/03/darlie-routier-convicted-of-murdering-son-verdict-brings-tears-rage-from-family-members/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/precious-angels/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/part-2-mother-tried-for-murder/
https://thekillerqueenblog.com/did-darlie-routier-murder-her-children/
https://discover.hubpages.com/politics/The-State-of-Texas-v-Darlie-Routier-A-Clear-Cased-of-Guilt
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/new-dna-testing-underway-in-darlie-routier-capital-murder-case/226187/
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/tx-court-of-criminal-appeals/1273764.html
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/06/19/5-controversial-moments-in-the-case-that-sent-darlie-routier-to-death-row-for-her-son-s-murder/
https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1997/april/relationships-why-darin-believes-darlie/