Routier has always claimed a stranger had broken into the home and killed the 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. But those who knew them did not realise that at the time. 8 - Ms. Routier is released from Baylor University Medical She is held
Darlie Routier Fact and Fiction When his back-up arrived, he went through the house but did not find any intruder. stabbed her sons because she and her husband could no longer We are bringing this back in conjunction with the new documentary series. They would have two more, Damon and Drake. her the morning after the attack. Darlie married Darin in August of 1988. Attorneys for Routier, including Smith and J. Stephen Cooper of Dallas, Richard Burr of Houston and Jane Pucher and Vanessa Potkin of the Innocence Project, all agreed to the procedure as outlined by the judge. It was a big win for advocates who argued that Lucio was wrongly convicted and that her case represents larger problems with the criminal justice system. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. Center in Dallas. Initially, Darin was quite successful with his small company that tested electronic components. testifies that she found Drake wrapped in blankets and gasping for As I was with him, it slowly of the attack does not match evidence from the scene. She is then arrested and jailed. A Dallas County judge has signed an order for DNA testing on nearly 30 items in the appeal of Darlie Routier of Rowlett. Darlie Lynn Peck Routier is an American death row inmate convicted of killing her five-year-old son. Defense attorneys have fought for years to obtain court approval for DNA testing of the blood spatter evidence that was found throughout the lower floor of the Routier home, but progress on the federal court case has been on hold for more than a decade. 27 - Detective Patterson testifies that Rowlett police planted Darlie married Darin in August of 1988. 3:40 am:Darlie is brought into the operating room. 15 - Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty 2:31:06 am:The 911 call begins. blood near the garage window where Ms. Routier said the intruder kitchen. Initially, Darin was quite successful with his small company that tested electronic components. Darin lost Drakes custody because of his support for Routier. She is a member of famous Murderer with the age 53 years old group. pastor who has counseled Ms. Routier, testifies that he also police find the killer. A horrific incident took place on the night of June 6, 1996, and when the police arrived at the scene, they found one boy dead, another dying, and Routier herself with serious but superficial injuries. This biography profiles his childhood, family, criminal activities etc. 2002:The Court of Criminal Appeals holds oral argument on the appeal of Darlies conviction on March 27. Darlie baked cookies for the neighbourhood kids who would later testify on her behalf before the court. when she saw the boys' bodies at the funeral home. A third child, and Darlies husband Darin, slept through the attack. She and her husband give statements to the police
Biography Darlie Routier: Wrongly Convicted Police suggest in the affidavit that she inflicted her Prosecutors say she is a selfish, cold-blooded woman who The court of criminal appeals directed that four of Ms. Lucio's claims be heard, her actual innocence, the state's use of false testimony at her trial, the new scientific evidence of her innocence, and the fact that favorable evidence was withheld by the prosecution at her original trial. property in the house," Agent Brantley says. The federal habeas corpus case was promptly stayed after that ruling. Texas Monthly reported post-trial that Darin admitted he had been considering an insurance scam shortly before the murders. Routier showed little concern for her sons when police interviewed the Kerr County Jail. Learn the puzzling details of both solved and unsolved crimes, and remember, every state has a story. This biography of Richard Ramirez provides detailed information about his childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has prayed for me and spoke out on my behalf.". June 18, 1996: Darlie Her sentence is to be carried out at the Huntsville Units execution chamber.
Additional DNA tests ordered for Routier - Altoona Mirror calling him a liar. She tells 4:00 pm:Rowlett police photograph Darlies injuries at the hospital. Darlie Routier Biography - Facts, Childhood, Life & Crimes And so the fact is, is that we're two days away from sending a woman to an execution based on a crime that never even occurred. Check out this biography to know more about her family, personal life, including her age, birthday, etc. Routier was convicted of murdering Damon. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/darlie-routier-35030.php. Routier originally was represented by a court-appointed team that hired two forensic scientists to review the evidence from the crime scene. Routier has maintained her innocence since the June 6, 1996, stabbing deaths of her children, Damon, 5, and Devon, 6, who were found dead in the familys Rowlett, Texas, home during the early morning hours. And it really was a disadvantage in the interrogation. It was later revealed that Darin was sleeping upstairs with Drake at the time while Routier was downstairs with Damon and Devon. On June 6, 1996, at 2:31 am, 9-1-1 dispatchers in Rowlett, Texas, received a call from the Routier residence at 5801 Eagle Drive.
Precious Angels Find more about her family & personal life, relationships, facts and more. So, give us a sense of what happens next now. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family, life, and little known facts about him. Their youngest, Drake, the only Routier boy to survive the incident, was born on October 18, 1995. He fled as soon as she tried to approach him and dropped the knife in the process. "Me and her are soul mates. Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. There were also marital troubles in the months leading up to the incident. Rowlett police The TLC documentary series Forensic Files, October 1999 episode titled: "Invisible Intruder" (S4; E1) , 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 of her behavior. remember,' " retired Dallas homicide Detective William Parker says. To this day, she has not been tried for Devons murder. Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project, which is representing Lucio, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss. 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. 20 - Prosecutors ask Judge Tolle to fire Ms. Routier's three For one thing, Routier and every known person in her house that night have been excluded as the source of a bloody fingerprint found on a coffee table, and Routier was excluded as the source of another bloody print on the door to the utility room suggesting evidence of an intruder. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. 20 - Testimony suggests that the knife used to slash the garage
Mother of death row inmate refuses to Editor's note:This timeline was originally published on Feb. 2, 1997. Jan. 6, 1997:Opening statements and first witnesses called at trial. Yet the droplets contained her blood as well as her sons. Darlie was born January 4, 1970 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. June 18:Darlie submits to a fourth voluntary interview. Well, The Innocence Project became involved in Melissa's case just 100 days ago, so relatively recently, after her execution date was set. And so that was used against her. When you have nothing else, you go to character assassination. In 2008, she received the rights to new DNA tests. custody of Mr. Routier's parents.) 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. She tells police that a man wearing Citing the lack of defense forensic evidence, Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis told the jurors in closing argument, It speaks volumes to you sometimes what you dont see and hear.. Vanessa, welcome to the "NewsHour."
Death Row's Women viewers torn over mother who says didn't kill She was charged with capital murder days later. The judge, considering the case likely has to be recused. 31 - Ms. Routier interrupts Mr. Davis' closing arguments, Email us at [emailprotected] or call us at (312) 521-0977. He bought a 1982 Jaguar and a thirty-foot cabin cruiser while she underwent a breast augmentation surgery in 1992 and bought a large amount of flashy jewellery. On the other hand, the defense argued that Darlies sons policies totaled only $10,000. They would have two more, Damon and Drake. He pointed out that the prosecution did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses. Police arrived within three minutes of the 9-1-1 call. In 2014, both the prosecution and her defence team were granted permission for further DNA tests. She was tried only for the murder of Damon, as he was under six at the time of his death and that made it a capital murder case.
22 - An expert testifies that blood evidence from the nightshirt attorneys and on fees for investigators and DNA experts. court-appointed attorneys and will seek to move her trial back to 17 - Jurors watch video of the graveside birthday party. He stops short of 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. They brought in crime scene consultant James Cron to support the claim. 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. There were knife wounds to Routiers neck, forearm and shoulder. 6:11 am:Karen Neal exits the house, and retired Dallas police detective James Cron and Rowlett Sgt. An American Broadcasting Company (ABC) seven-episode documentary series, The Last Defense examines the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. Mr. Kinne apologizes Routier and her family hired J. Stephen Cooper as her post-conviction attorney. involved in the case. Times for the events of the 911 call are taken from a transcript prepared by Rowlett P.D. Ultimately, on February 1, 1997, Darlie was convicted for the murder of her 5-year-old son, Damon. February 1997: After a change of venue, jurors in Kerrville convict Routier of capital murder and sentence her to death for killing Damon. Aileen Wuornos was a serial killer who was sentenced to death for killing seven men in Florida. And it really struck me as more than curious, he said in a television interview. She was charged, but never tried, in the death of her oldest son Devon. after seizing a large amount of evidence during what they describe We started to look into it. However, the physicians who treated her at Baylor University Medical Center stated previously to the police officers that the wounds could have been self-inflicted. Ms. Routier, 26, is wounded And so we need to sort out how this hearing will take place. 16 - Outside the jury's presence, Ms. Routier's laundry woman no appreciable blood was on the couch where Ms. Routier said she The video would also play an instrumental role in her conviction. The state said a fiber found on a bread knife was evidence that Routier used it to cut the garage window screen. Mr. Mulder matching Mr. Routier's on the murder weapon. If they choose to kill me, thats my innocent blood that will be on their hands.. 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 is buoyed by an order issued last week in Dallas County ordering additional DNA testing of the massive amount of evidence collected in the case. Darlie Routier's net worth One out of three people proven innocent by DNA testing falsely confessed during custodial interrogation to crimes they were completely innocent of. . 6 - Darlie and Damon Routier's two oldest sons, Devon, 6, and 15 - Crime scene expert James Cron, who helped Rowlett police, They purchased a new house in Rowlett, an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas, and spent thousands of dollars in renovating. Lets take a look at her family & personal life including age, birthday, net worth, boyfriends, and fun facts. 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. So, you became involved in the case quite recently. Some of the evidence could have been presented if her defense attorneys had just reached out to the right medical experts. The defense also brought up the sock found on the street containing traces of Devon and Damons blood, but the prosecutors claimed that it was a part of her ruse as well. 2003:On May 21, the Court of Criminal Appeals issues its opinion denying Darlies direct appeal. Her sentence is to be carried out at the Huntsville Units execution chamber. Paige Mackenzie Hyland is an American dancer, fashion model and social media personality. Right now, it looks like you're a cold-blooded killer. 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. Darin had asked Routiers stepfather if he knew anyone who could break into the house and fake a burglary, and said it was a possibility he brought it up with others as well. Either way, the jurors did not get to see any photographs of her injuries. But they didn't do it. She was treated for her injuries at Baylor University Medical Center in downtown Dallas. Testing will be made on a sock that was found away from the scene of the murder, hairs recovered from the sock, Routiers shirt, blankets and pillow cases found at the scene, the jeans worn by Routier and the children, fingernail clippings from the children, a bloody knife and hairs on the knife. distraught. 5 Darlie Routier has been on death row for 23 years When is Darlie Routier due to be executed? They also suggested that there were several errors in how the investigation itself had been conducted.
TIMELINE Same thing happened during a court ruling on her habeas corpus petition. She was shown smiling, laughing, and spraying silly strings on the graves, while singing Happy Birthday along with her family. 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. But before the trial began, Routier replaced the team with Mulder, a prominent local defense attorney who had represented her husband and mother-in-law in a gag order hearing related to the trial. Sep. 20:Attorney Doug Mulder represents Darin Routier and Darlie Kee at a hearing on claimed violation of the trial courts gag order. Well, the process will probably take several months. His only living child was put under his parents care and he was granted only visitation rights. In 2008, she received the rights to new DNA tests. She was accused and convicted of murdering her five year old son Damon. He bought a 1982 Jaguar and a thirty-foot cabin cruiser while she underwent a breast augmentation surgery in 1992 and bought a large amount of flashy jewellery. Judge Francis approves the new transcript anyway. He added that her injuries did not match with the self-inflicted wounds that he had seen before. 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. And Melissa's case has two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions at its core, a false incriminating statement that came from coercive interrogation. A forensic serologist Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. When Darlie was 15 she moved to Lubbock with her mother, step-father, and younger sister. In November, Darlies attorneys file a motion for DNA testing to be conducted under Texas post-conviction DNA statute. Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality. 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, if money was the motive, they said, why did she leave Darin unharmed, who had an $800,000 insurance policy? A horrific incident took place on the night of June 6, 1996, and when the police arrived at the scene, they found one boy dead, another dying, and Routier herself with serious but superficial injuries. 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. Three days later, she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. However, a private investigator working on Routiers appeal found no evidence he had taken the scam any further. Criminal defense lawyer Doug Mulder announces he has Once you're convicted, it's extraordinarily difficult to overturn a wrongful conviction. 1999:Judge Francis appoints court reporter Susan Simmons to recreate the trial transcripts from Halseys tapes. 2000:The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overrules Darlies objections to the corrected court reporters record, forcing the appeal to go forward with an uncertified and uncertain record of the trial. 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. Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her.
Routier sentenced to die; family expected Well, it's really egregious that not only was she the victim of childhood sexual abuse and trauma, and she had to endure that, and she's a survivor of those experiences, but those experiences were used against her. What told you something might be wrong here that was worth your attention? 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. At the request of Rowlett police, she stops by the police station on the way home and gives a second interview to Det. wrongdoing. 6:11 am:Rowlett P.D. counts of capital murder, and a gag order is imposed on people testifies that he realized quickly that evidence didn't fit Ms. And we heard about Melissa's case. I do believe June 8:Darlie is released from the hospital. Devon Rush Routier was born less than a year after their marriage, on June 14, 1989. 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. weapon. 5-year-old Damon Routier is still alive. 21 - Jury selection begins in the case involving Damon's death. During their deliberations, juror Charles Sanford later said in an affidavit, the jury replayed the Silly String clip eight or nine times.. . murder in Devon's and Damon's deaths. The motion notes And a lot of times, there's triaging going on. psychological evaluation. However, detectives found this series of events very difficult to believe, especially as the evidence suggested that the crime scene had been staged. distraught at the scene.
How the case against Darlie Routier unfolded - Dallas News 2007:On January 25, the state trial court issued an order denying all of the DNA testing Darlie had been seeking. 24 - Ms. Routier wrote the beginnings of a suicide note in her All accounts agree that the Routiers were living beyond their means. believes Ms. Routier's grief to be real. A bipartisan group of more than 100 Texas lawmakers asked for her execution to be stopped, along with five of her original jurors. communications officer Dean Poos. June 18, 1996: Darlie Routier is arrested on capital murder charges. 10 - Rowlett paramedic Jack Kolby recounts Damon's last breath. Darlie, who had suffered serious injuries herself, including a knife cut on the throat, asked Waddell if any of her jewellery was stolen. They had applied for a loan shortly before the murders but were rejected because of their dire financial situation. They purchased a new house in Rowlett, an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas, and spent thousands of dollars in renovating. Detective Jimmy Ray Patterson testifies that police found blood She was officially charged with capital murder four days later. The Routiers were model residents and a picture-perfect family. She found the bloody knife on the ground, put it on the counter, and then realized that she and her boys had been stabbed. in the neck and upper torso.