By Michael Tarm, Felicia Fonseca, Associated Press. She gave birth to Damon Christian Routier on February 19, 1991. About half of wrongful convictions that have been overturned with DNA evidence have involved some type of faulty forensics. Mayne remains behind to start photographing the scene. Rowlett Weekend One Hundred A search of the house and grounds did not locate an intruder. There was also a lack of a blood trail or footprints leading outside of the garage. Darlie was born January 4, 1970 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. 6:09 am:Officer David Mayne and Sgt. 24 - Ms. Routier wrote the beginnings of a suicide note in her On the night of June 5, 1996, Darlie joined Darin and the boys in the family room to watch TV. This biography of Richard Ramirez provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. How the case against Darlie Routier unfolded - Dallas News court-appointed attorneys, saying taxpayers shouldn't foot her wrongdoing. And just this afternoon, Texas' Court of Criminal of Appeals granted Lucio that stay just two days before she was set to die by lethal injection. window screen came from a butcher block inside the Routiers' 2008:On June 18, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued its opinion reversing, in part, the trial courts denial of post-conviction DNA testing. Or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on her for whatever reason? 16 - Outside the jury's presence, Ms. Routier's laundry woman Routier has always claimed a stranger had broken into the home and killed the Darlie Lynn Peck Routier is an American death row inmate convicted of killing her five-year-old son. As of 2019, testing is still ongoing. 6:00 am:ICU nurse gives Darlie 25 mg. of Demerol for her pain. Prosecutors say she is a selfish, cold-blooded woman who The affidavit also notes that no blood splatters were Jan. 31:After the attorneys make their closing arguments, the jury begins deliberations. 2004:On August 4, the trial court denied Darlies habeas corpus petition. 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. Darlie married Darin in August of 1988. You need to tell us right now what exactly happened. The newscasts had a devastating effect. They also suggested that there were several errors in how the investigation itself had been conducted. Mr. Routier denies any Some of the evidence could have been presented if her defense attorneys had just reached out to the right medical experts. Ms. Routier, 26, is wounded slayings. . 3:15 am:Approximate time Officer Steve Wade takes over guard duty at the front porch of the Routier house. Waddell entered the house to find Routier still talking to the dispatchers; one boy had already died and the other was close to death. 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. Copyright Altoona Mirror | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411. A bloodied knife lay on the kitchen counter. When Routier was a teenager, she relocated to Lubbock with her mother and stepfather Robbie Kee. To date, Routier has not specifically been tried for Devons murder. satisfy their expensive tastes. Darlie was born January 4, 1970 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Yet, since her conviction, many have raised questions about her confession being coerced, her trauma as a survivor of sexual and domestic abuse and how that may have played into that confession, and the use of junk science and misleading evidence at her trial. 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. They were a normal Texas family, until the murders occurred. Both boys were pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. But what the state did today is put a halt on her execution, so that we could go back to the trial court, and the new evidence of her innocence could be litigated. The Darlie Routier Story Even though our hearts are breaking, I know that Devon and Damon would want us to be happy, she told the station. He stops short of 1998:J. Stephen Cooper is appointed to be Darlies appellate attorney. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics An attorney representing Darlie Routier, a former Altoona woman facing the death penalty in Texas for the murder of her two young children 25 years ago, said he He owes about $130,000 on his house and estimates Drake, the A series of post-conviction petitions, as well as a Texas Monthly investigation, have cast significant doubt on the state case. attorneys and on fees for investigators and DNA experts. Darlie Routier 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. at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in lieu of $1 million bail. And so we need to sort out how this hearing will take place. She also told Waddell that she had touched the knife that was used to kill her children, implanting her own fingerprints on it. 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. near the sink and near the front door. She picked it up and placed it on the counter before realizing that she and her children were hurt and called 911. Initially, Darin was quite successful with his small company that tested electronic components. wife stage the crime scene to mislead investigators. 6 - A mortgage company repossesses the Routiers' home. Questions about In 2014, both the prosecution and her defence team were granted permission for further DNA tests. WebDarlie Routier Fact and Fiction Separating truth from lies in the Darlie Routier trial. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. She is a member of famous Murderer with the age 53 years old group. $1,200 "on hand." stabbed her sons because she and her husband could no longer Email us at [emailprotected] or call us at (312) 521-0977. Darlie was born January 4, 1970 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Routier's concern for her children. through the attack in an upstairs bedroom. 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. They spray Silly String on the Death Row's Women With Susanna Reid has left viewers divided tonight, over a mother who denies murdering her two sons. helped try to resuscitate the children. They would have two more, Damon and Drake. Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer and rapist dubbed as the Night Stalker. 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. Darlie Lynn Routier: Remains in prison, awaiting long-overdue DNA Waddell entered the house to find Routier still talking to the dispatchers; one boy had already died and the other was close to death. have been contaminated by police. blood near the garage window where Ms. Routier said the intruder The jury found Routier guilty and she was sentenced to death by lethal injection on February 4, 1997. after seizing a large amount of evidence during what they describe June 10:Det. Design a site like this with WordPress.com, Credit; https://darliefacts.com/defendants-exhibits/defexhibit68-2/, Credit; https://darliefacts.com/darlies-injuries/defexhibit3-2/, http://www.darlieroutierfactandfiction.com/myth-9/, Credit; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie. What told you something might be wrong here that was worth your attention? 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. It was later revealed that Darin was sleeping upstairs with Drake at the time while Routier was downstairs with Damon and Devon. Routier showed little concern for her sons when police interviewed In the police telling, she had staged a break-in, murdered her sons and cut her own throat, all to collect on the boys $5,000 life insurance policies. nightshirt appear to match the knife-blade pattern of the murder detectives James Patterson and Chris Frosch begin the first police interview of Darlie. She loved her long fake nails and bleach blonde hair. wounds while standing at the kitchen sink. Texas Monthly reported post-trial that Darin admitted he had been considering an insurance scam shortly before the murders. He was 17 and Routier was 15 when they met. June 14 1984, Darlie and Darin welcomed their first son Devon Rush Routier into the world. However, new DNA tests for her case have been ordered due to technological advancements. saying Ms. Routier is guilty but says much of the evidence When you have nothing else, you go to character assassination. Darlie Routier is an American death row inmate convicted of killing her five-year-old son. 18 - Mr. Mulder says he has been hired to replace Ms. Routier's 18 - Police arrest Ms. Routier and charge her with capital Devon were killed by someone who knew them. Ms. Simmons had not attended the trial and refuses to certify the new transcript once she completes it. WebRoutier, Darlie Lynn: TDCJ Number: 999220: Date of Birth: 01/04/1970: Date Received: 02/05/1997: Age (when Received) 27: Education Level (Highest Grade Completed) 12: faded." While moving from one home to another, her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, died. Waddell stopped him and asked who he was. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, crimes and other facts about him. She also told Waddell that she had touched the knife that was used to kill her children, implanting her own fingerprints on it. been hired to consult in preparation for her defense. suggests that Ms. Routier stabbed the boys. The prosecution, under the leadership of Toby Shook and Greg Davis, suggested that the crime scene had been staged. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. We are very confident that, given the compelling evidence of her innocence, if this case was tried today, she would be acquitted. Davis says in court papers that investigators also found head hairs ok. . escaped through a garage window. 15 - Crime scene expert James Cron, who helped Rowlett police, She has been there for 15 years. Ultimately, on February 1, 1997, Darlie was convicted for the murder of her 5-year-old son, Damon. 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. argued about finances the night of the killings. DARLIE Routier has spent the last 23 years on death row. 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. They married four years later and in 1989, their oldest son Devon was born. In July, the trial court appoints longtime death penalty defense attorney Richard Burr to serve as the lead attorney on Darlies habeas corpus petition. He also says the boys' 18 - The jury is seated, and Judge Tolle recesses court for the Discover Darlie Routier's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. 17 - Jurors watch video of the graveside birthday party. questions the legality of the action. When is Darlie Routier He also said that the post-conviction hearings in Dallas County could continue while the additional testing is underway. He has since remarried. And so that was used against her. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. 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. 2001:On July 25, Darlies brief is filed in appeal of her conviction. 8 - Ms. Routier is released from Baylor University Medical Death Row Information - Texas Department of Criminal Wallings written report for his arrival and the simultaneous arrival of the first ambulance. Darlie Routier | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers WebDarlie 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 She was treated for her injuries at Baylor University Medical Center in downtown Dallas. Despite her attorneys warnings, she took the stand as a witness and withered under cross-examination by prosecutor Toby Shook.". Check out this biography to know more about her family, personal life, including her age, birthday, etc. 14 - The Routiers hold a graveside birthday celebration for Dallas. After stating his identity, Darin informed him that he was going to the house across the street to get Karen Neal, a nurse. She was convicted of the murder of one of her sons while remaining accused of killing the other. 10 - Rowlett paramedic Jack Kolby recounts Damon's last breath. 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. June 18, 1996: Darlie tells police that he and the couple's 8-month-old son, Drake, slept When is Darlie Routier their home on Eagle Drive in Rowlett. Routiers attorney, Douglas Mulder argued that there was no coherent motive for her to murder her children. She was officially charged with capital murder four days later. In 2018, the Criminal District Court No. Oct. 21:Trial court grants Mulders motion to replace Darlies court-appointed counsel, but only after Mulder agrees that the substitution will not affect the case schedule. Preliminary forensics tests show There were knife wounds to Routiers neck, forearm and shoulder. And false and misleading scientific evidence is one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions. She is then arrested and jailed. His only living child was put under his parents care and he was granted only visitation rights. Routier was convicted of murdering Damon. Around 10:30 p.m., Darin took the couple's third son, seven-month-old Drake, upstairs to sleep. She was charged with capital murder days later. Husband Darin Routier, 28, and son Drake, 7 months, are unharmed. A Dallas County judge has signed an order for DNA testing on nearly 30 items in the appeal of Darlie Routier of Rowlett. WebDarlie Routier biography timelines // 4th Jan 1970 To Aug 1988 Darlie Lynn Peck Routier was born on January 4, 1970, in Altoona, Pennsylvania to parents Larry Peck and Darlie . 1-year-old Drake Routier orders Mr. Routier to undergo a say she is devoted to her children and has been traumatized by the belonged to Ms. Routier or one of the slain boys. A forensic serologist hidden microphones beside the boys' graves "in case someone went up Mr. Mulder She was charged, but never tried, in the death of her oldest son Devon. In 2008, she received the rights to new DNA tests. of the attack does not match evidence from the scene. The motion notes At 53 years old, Darlie Routier height not available right now. As you also mentioned, some of that new evidence will now be considered. Learn the puzzling details of both solved and unsolved crimes, and remember, every state has a story. Read the crime and public safety news your neighbors are talking about. She asked them to forgive her and not to feel responsible for her death. Darlie Routier, who was born in Altoona, was arrested for the murder of her two young sons, Damon, 5, and Devon, 6, which occurred on June 6, 1996. Darlie later told officers that shed fallen asleep while watching television on the couch and had woken up only to find a long-haired man, wearing a baseball cap, t-shirt, and jeans, in her living room. She was treated for her injuries at Baylor University Medical Center in downtown Dallas. But he says they found no 1 - Mr. Routier, 28, pleads for a reduction in his wife's bail. 5:57 am:Officer Steve Ferrie takes over guard duty on the front porch. testify that Ms. Routier made a variety of statements about the Find more about her family & personal life, relationships, facts and more. pretrial publicity. that he would get only $100,000 if he sold it. Its results, though, are currently pending, from what we can tell. Tom Ward finds a bloodstained athletic sock 75 yards down the alley behind the Routier home. The Darlie Routier Case On June 6th, 1996, someone brutally murdered two little boys and got away with it. testifies that he realized quickly that evidence didn't fit Ms. Amna Nawaz 2:37 am:Time estimated by Sgt. Routier and her family hired J. Stephen Cooper as her post-conviction attorney. 20 - Testimony suggests that the knife used to slash the garage attorneys, decides to move the case out of Dallas County because of If the California lab, after comparing the many blood samples to the DNA profiles of the Routier family, determines that a foreign eligible profile has turned up, that sample is to be sent to Acadiana Criminalistics Laboratory in Iberia Parish, La., to determine if it matches the profile of anyone in the national DNA database. the blood evidence lead to a heated exchange outside the courthouse Had we been shown this other tape so that we had been able to see the whole picture of what happened that day, I believe I would not have voted to convict Mrs. Routier, he said. Sep. 20:Attorney Doug Mulder represents Darin Routier and Darlie Kee at a hearing on claimed violation of the trial courts gag order. A doctor from Darlie Routier Biography - Facts, Childhood, Life & Crimes 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. Attorneys Cynthia Garza and Holly N. Dozier of the Dallas County Integrity Unit also gave their approval to the judges order. Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her. sock stained with the boys' blood. as an exhaustive investigation. Routier herself almost died in the attack; her throat was slashed. They purchased a new house in Rowlett, an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas, and spent thousands of dollars in renovating. But, in the minute we have left, I just need to ask you. Darlie purchased a lot of jewelry and even got a boob job. matching Mr. Routier's on the murder weapon. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/texas-womans-last-minute-reprieve-on-death-row-draws-questions-about-wrongful-convictions, Judge delays execution of only woman on U.S. death row, Only Native American on federal death row executed, Supreme Court rejects death row appeal over anti-gay juror, Supreme Court to review case of Missouri death row inmate with rare medical condition. In June 2011, Darin Routier filed for divorce from his wife, saying that the decision was mutual and "very difficult," and that he still believes his wife is innocent. They had applied for a loan shortly before the murders but were rejected because of their dire financial situation. And we had heard of Melissa's case from another one of our clients, Darlie Routier, who's on death row with Melissa. weapon. Judge Robert Francis orders an inquiry. Because his transcript varies from the one introduced at trial, the quotes below are from the trial exhibit. In April, though, the Innocence Project in New York entered the case and its review of the evidence and subsequent petition won court approval for further testing. 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. the couch after the attack. They married in August 1988. Right now, it looks like you're a cold-blooded killer. Devon Rush Routier was born less than a year after their marriage, on June 14, 1989. air the day before his brothers were killed. There are some issues that need to be resolved. Other witnesses report Born in Pennsylvania, Routier had spent her teenage years in Lubbock, Texas where she met her future husband Darin Routier when she was 15 years old. 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. Despite her claim of innocence, she was tried for the death of the 5-year-old, sentenced to death and is currently on death row. And we heard about Melissa's case. They married four years later and in 1989, their oldest son Devon was born. They also say she showed little concern for the children. the Kerr County Jail. Routier has been fighting her death sentence since 1997 when she was found guilty of murdering one of her two boys. She has a sister named Danelle Fugate. 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? So, how much is Darlie Routier worth at the age of 53 years old? said it was odd that Ms. Routier wasn't attacked first. They brought in crime scene consultant James Cron to support the claim. October 15, 2021 11:56 am. Darlie Routier: Wrongfully Convicted of Murdering Her Children Darlie Routier The Timeline: 1996-Present In the middle of the night, Darlie Lynn Routier was sleeping on the couch in her familys home in Rowlett, Texas. 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. 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. The August 2018 book Darlie Routier: Deaths of Damon and Devon by Pamela Lillian Valemont, in this writing forensic profiles of the individuals involved in the Darlie Routier case are detailed. Darin performed CPR but it wasnt enough. Did Darlie murder her sons because of her familys financial. seeing bruises on Ms. Routier's right arm while she was still being 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. This biography profiles his childhood, family, criminal activities etc. In July, the federal court lifted its previous stay of that case, leading Darlie to file her motion for discovery in federal court the following month. A third child, and Darlies husband Darin, slept through the attack. grave and sing Happy Birthday. was still covered in dust and mulch on the flower beds below was Told midway through it that the police already have a warrant for her arrest, Darlie continues to talk for another hour before asking for an attorney. Police almost immediately focused on Routier, who was sleeping in a downstairs television room with the children. Two of her three sons, Days after the murders, a local television station ran a clip of Routier smiling and spraying Silly String on the boys balloon-covered grave, singing Happy Birthday on what would have been Devons seventh birthday. 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. That was used as a confession at her trial, along with testimony that Mariah's intake injuries indicated abuse. Routier originally was represented by a court-appointed team that hired two forensic scientists to review the evidence from the crime scene. On January 29, 2014, Chief Judge of the Western District Fred Biery 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. He pointed out that the prosecution did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses. June 9:Devon and Damon Routier are buried, hand-in-hand in a single casket. 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.