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. Detective Patterson also says Ms. 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. A series of post-conviction petitions, as well as a Texas Monthly investigation, have cast significant doubt on the state case. Preliminary forensics tests show 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. In November, Darlies attorneys file a motion for DNA testing to be conducted under Texas post-conviction DNA statute. She was treated for her injuries at Baylor University Medical Center in downtown Dallas. 5-year-old Damon Routier is still alive. that the county had spent more than $59,000 on Ms. Routier's satisfy their expensive tastes. Darin performed CPR but it wasnt enough. She also told Waddell that she had touched the knife that was used to kill her children, implanting her own fingerprints on it. They brought in crime scene consultant James Cron to support the claim. A Dallas County judge has signed an order for DNA testing on nearly 30 items in the appeal of Darlie Routier of Rowlett. fled and none outside the house. 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. Judge Tolle refuses to move the case back to Dallas. On cross-examination, paramedics say Ms. Routier was An American Broadcasting Company (ABC) seven-episode documentary series, The Last Defense examines the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. Once you're convicted, it's extraordinarily difficult to overturn a wrongful conviction. 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. They brought in crime scene consultant James Cron to support the claim. Devon, Damon, and Darlie have all been stabbed by this time, and the prosecution argued that Darlie had already staged the entire crime scene to make it look like an unidentified intruder had committed the attack. Routier and her family hired J. Stephen Cooper as her post-conviction attorney. 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. They married in August 1988. disputing much of the prosecution testimony and saying his wife Well, the process will probably take several months. 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. testifies that blood evidence on Ms. Routier's nightshirt could the couch after the attack. On December 1, the Court of Criminal Appeals likewise denied habeas corpus. 2009:In February, Darlie applied to the federal court for funding of the forensic discovery that court had granted. Routier told police that she had fallen asleep on a downstairs couch watching television, and was awakened by Damon touching her and calling her name, when she noticed an intruder in their house. Her sentence is to be carried out at the Huntsville Units execution chamber. This story is the fifth in a series, Unrequited Innocence, that looks at cases where people were sentenced to die and have not been exonerated despite significant evidence of innocence. 21 - Jury selection begins in the case involving Damon's death. 28 - A Dallas County grand jury indicts Ms. Routier on two 22 - An expert testifies that blood evidence from the nightshirt 2:45 am:Approximate time Officer Waddell assumes guard duty at the front porch of the Routier home. Tom Bevel informed the court that the cast-off blood on the back of her nightshirt suggested that she had drawn her hand back every time before stabbing the children repeatedly. A broken wine glass lay on the ground, and there was a torn window screen in the garage. The subsequent trial went on for less than a year before the judge pronounced her sentence. When the testing is complete, the Dallas County District Attorneys Office plans to review the findings, after which Routiers petition to overturn the verdict first filed in 2005 will finally move forward. But those who knew them did not realise that at the time. in which First Assistant District Attorney Norman Kinne refers to 2004:On August 4, the trial court denied Darlies habeas corpus petition. June 10:Det. Their youngest son Drake Routier was born October 18, 1995. have been contaminated by police. There was a torn window screen in the garage, and the weapon, a sharp knife, was found on the kitchen counter. 5:57 am:Officer Steve Ferrie takes over guard duty on the front porch. Darlie Lynn Peck Routier was born on January 4, 1970, in Altoona, Pennsylvania to parents Larry Peck and Darlie Kee. . She was judged by paramedics and police who responded to the scene who didn't think that she was acting like a stereotypical mother should, because she was detached, because some of the mechanisms that helped her survive her abuse kicked in and reflected her demeanor. court-appointed attorneys, saying taxpayers shouldn't foot her Edmund Kemper is a convicted serial killer from America who murdered ten people. At the request of Rowlett police, she stops by the police station on the way home and gives a second interview to Det. say she is devoted to her children and has been traumatized by the Damon, 5, are fatally stabbed in the downstairs living room of About half of wrongful convictions that have been overturned with DNA evidence have involved some type of faulty forensics. The Investigation Discovery network aired the Werner Herzog's series On Death Row episode sub-titled: "Darlie Routier" that covered the case in Season 2, Episode 2, first aired: September 10, 2013. She tells police that a man wearing The district attorney's office has a conflict of interest. I do believe In 2008, she received the rights to new DNA tests. Copyright Altoona Mirror | https://www.altoonamirror.com | 301 Cayuga Ave., Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-946-7411. Two appeals filed by Routier, who maintains her innocence, based on allegations of irregularities during the trial were denied, but new DNA tests were ordered multiple times after technology had advanced. The jurors were shown the Silly String video. Vanessa, welcome to the "NewsHour." JUNE 1996. near the sink and near the front door. She is held at Mountain View Unit in Texas from the last 20 years. He pointed out that the prosecution did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses. Jury selection begins the same day. Around 10:30 p.m., Darin took the couple's third son, seven-month-old Drake, upstairs to sleep. 15 - Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty 18 - The jury is seated, and Judge Tolle recesses court for the Lucio was convicted of murder in 2008 and sentenced to death. They married in August 1988. Routier's account. stabbed her sons because she and her husband could no longer Routier suffered a near-fatal stab wound to her neck, which just missed the carotid artery. Three days later, she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Advocates say the pandemic has exacerbated a long-standing problem of Illinois prison officials failing to inform families when their loved ones fall ill. Get these reports and more delivered directly to your inbox. ok. . wife stage the crime scene to mislead investigators. She reported that an intruder had broken into the house, stabbing her two children and attacking her. When Darlie was 15 she moved to Lubbock with her mother, step-father, and younger sister. 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. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics WebDarlie Lynn Peck Routier (born January 4, 1970) is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon in 1996. Routier herself almost died in the attack; her throat was slashed. confession from Ms. Routier says she never denied killing the boys. after seizing a large amount of evidence during what they describe In June 2008, Routier was granted the right to new DNA tests. In 2018, the Criminal District Court No. The state said a fiber found on a bread knife was evidence that Routier used it to cut the garage window screen. Because his transcript varies from the one introduced at trial, the quotes below are from the trial exhibit. 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. Darlie spent two days in the hospital recovering from her injuries, whereas her sons died. But he says they found no June 14 1984, Darlie and Darin welcomed their first son Devon Rush Routier into the world. How does that factor into this? Mayne remains behind to start photographing the scene. Routier was convicted of murdering Damon. undisturbed. You're trying to stop an execution. It's hard to completely anticipate. 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. Ms. Routier, 26, is wounded Death Row's Women With Susanna Reid has left viewers divided tonight, over a mother who denies murdering her two sons. matching Mr. Routier's on the murder weapon. February 19, 1991 Darlie gave birth to a second boy Damon Christian Routier. 12 - Judge Tolle, acting on a request by Ms. Routier's The jury found Routier guilty and she was sentenced to death by lethal injection on February 4, 1997. They purchased a new house in Rowlett, an affluent suburb of Dallas, Texas, and spent thousands of dollars in renovating. Waddell entered the house to find Routier still talking to the dispatchers; one boy had already died and the other was close to death. A banker testifies that Mr. Routier was denied a . Darlie Routier was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States, Darlie Routier's nationalities is American, Darlie Routier's spouses is Darin Routier (m. 19882011), Darlie Routier's siblings is Danelle Fugate, Darlie Routier's childrens is Damon Routier, Devon Routier, Drake Routier, Copy this code and place into your web pageView Darlie Routier stories, Copyright FamousBio 2020 All rights reserved This template was inspired with love by Colorlib, Damon Routier, Devon Routier, Drake Routier. 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. seeing bruises on Ms. Routier's right arm while she was still being They had applied for a loan shortly before the murders but were rejected because of their dire financial situation.