State's highest criminal court hears Darlie Routier's appeal - Baby killer may get off?

Associated Press ^ | March 27, 2002 | A/P Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

	Posted on Wed, Mar. 27, 2002
	State's highest criminal court hears Darlie Routier's appeal By The Associated Press AUSTIN - Convicted child killer Darlie Routier should get a new trial because the transcript of her 1997 trial is filled with problems and prevents her attorneys from raising important legal questions, her attorney argued Wednesday. "This whole record (transcript) issue is so outrageous," said her attorney, Stephen Cooper. "It impacts other fundamental constitutional rights of my client, to boot." Arguing before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Cooper said questions surrounding the trial transcript prevent him from probing whether a conflict existed with Routier's original attorney because he also represented her husband in a hearing. John Rolater Jr., a lawyer from the Dallas County district attorney's office, said the trial transcript is in good shape and should be used for the appeal. Routier, a homemaker at the time, was arrested two weeks after her sons Damon, 5, and Devon, 6, were stabbed to death in their upscale Rowlett home on June 6, 1996. Routier was tried and convicted by a Kerrville jury for Damon's death and was given a death sentence. She has maintained her innocence and blames the stabbings on an intruder. Attorneys for Routier had filed an appeal that raises questions about whether her husband had a role in the killings. The appeal didn't blame her husband, Darin Routier, for the crime but states that a conflict involving Darlie Routier's attorney prevented the lawyer from questioning any inconsistencies his account of the event. The appeal alleged Darlie Routier deserves a new trial because her trial attorney had previously represented Darin Routier. Darin Routier maintains neither he nor his wife committed the crime. The appeal cited more than a dozen other claims of trial error.

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© 2001 dfw and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
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[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Oh my gosh! What an interesting thing to learn about that juror! Thanks....... Yes, that piece was very "pro Darlie" wasn't it? I was a little shocked, but pieces like that on TV sway a lot of people.......

I know some don't believe the husband had anything to do with it, but how could he NOT know what happened? I don't get that at all..........

[Yellow Rose of Texas]

So, did she do it? Or did he? or an intruder?

[basil]

I lived in Dallas at the time of these murders, and followed it very closely. Since my daughter is a court reporter, when I saw that the court reporter transcribing the trial really screwed up, I was flabberghasted! The court reporter did some very strange things--like just not ever turning in pages and pages of transcripts. She was given many chances to rectify this, but just didn't ever do it. I began to wonder if she were perhaps working for the Routiers.

IMHO, the Routiers were in this together--they were experiencing money problems, and insured these kids lives shortly before they were murdered. I don't know many people who take out large insurance policies on children so young.

[GUIDO]

Maybe I haven't been in the right place at the right time, but I can't recall seeing you for some time now. Hi, and sorry I missed the last freeper meet. Really thought i would be able to be there but my 8yr old was in a baseball tourney and was winning and had 2 games that day. they did good came in 2nd. just wanted to say hi

[GUIDO]

So you live in Rowlett. I have a friend I went to high school with that lives or did in Rowlett and he is the ASST. Police Chief in Garland Texas or was, haven't seen him since our 20th reunion in 1995. For all I know he could be Police Chief by now.

[lonestar]

There is no such thing as a technicality. There are constitutional rights that guarantee that the proper persons are convicted of the crimes they committed. When these rights are not honored, the defendant must be tried again. We have fought innumerable wars, spilled rivers of blood, and spent countless fortunes to preserve these rights, and when you reduce them linguistically to mere technicalities you blasphemy the millions of dead who died to preserve those rights for you. Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, J.D. Masters work in Political Philosophy, Valedictorian, BTW

I don't think anybody fought and died for some lawyer to find technicalities, loopholes, whatever you want to call it, to get guilty people off for crimes committed. People are fed up with the "If the glove don't fit, you must equit" mentality.

If this woman killed her kids she doesn't deserve a new trial because of some darn transcript!

There has never been and never will be a perfect trial. If she has a new trial, somebody will screw up enough that some lawyer can scream that her Constitional Rights have been violated. Where does it stop?

BTW, Common Sense, Ph. D.

[SpookBrat]

Yes, that juror is a nice man, but he is such a DORK. I was watching that documentary screaming at the TV the whole time because it was so sympathetic to Darlie. Then when I saw my neighbor on there saying he made the wrong choice, I screamed even louder. It WOULD be him....GRRRRRR..... He just isn't very bright if you know what I mean.

I always know they are guilty when they shed tears over themselves but not ONE tear for the victim. She didn't cry over her babies in that documentary. I kept waiting for her to cry over them, but she didn’t.

Meek doesn't think the husband was in on it, and I guess we will never know. But I personally find their story very hard to believe. If my husband was downstairs stabbing my children so hard that the knife was stabbing the carpet underneath them...I WOULD KNOW. Surely they struggled or screamed. And people just don't break into a house in the middle of the night to stab two babies. If they want to kill your children, they remove them from the home, rape them then kill them. Her story is so unbelievable.

If she gets a new trial, she is still going to die. The forensic evidence is too strong.

[SpookBrat]

Common sense bump.

[lonestar]

Do I remember that the mother went to the graves and had a birhtday party for one of the kids, or do I have her mixed up with another mother murderer?

It's gotten to the point that if a mother doesn't kill her kids, she's a "good mother." These biological mothers make Rosie O'Donnell look good.

[SpookBrat]

Yeah, she went to their grave and sprayed silly string all over it. She was laughing, giddy, whoopin' it up, having a grand old time.

Afte they put her to death, I'm going to spray silly string on her grave. :)

[MeekOneGOP]

I know some don't believe the husband had anything to do with it, but how could he NOT know what happened?
I don't get that at all..........

I understand exactly what you're saying. The only thing that I can contribute regarding this is that all the evidence indicated that Darlie's story does not add up and points to her guilt. I mean, the bloody footprints in he house were determined to be hers and hers alone. Only one set of bloody footprints and it was hers - no others. That's just one, there's a lot more. There was no evidence found that indicated that Darin had anything to do with it that I am aware of. I know that doesn't mean he didn't, only that a strong case cannot be made against him. Not only that, but I knew Darin a LOT more than I did Darlie. As I said previously, Darin was more open and amicable with me than Darlie was. He was just a regular guy there to do his job. And as I recall he did a good job for the company. After working for our company for several years he started his own little business and eventually quit his job where I worked, but he maintained contact with us. We in fact had him do some contract service work for our company. A little tidbit here. The afternoon before the early morning that the kids were murdered, Darin had been at our plant and had discussed with our production manager some contract work that we were going to be giving to Darin. At the time, our business was very strong and we were having trouble keeping up with it and by having Darin help it would relieve our situation. The next morning when I went to work I found out that Darin had left his car - his Jaguar - parked in our parking lot overnight. The police were notified of that the same day, so that would have been investigated by the police I'm sure.

The main point I'm trying to express is that I never had any reason to think that Darin was the type that would have anything to do with such a terrible thing like what Darlie was convicted of. Oh, one more little tidbit. About three weeks before the kids were murdered, I went into a Taco Bell here in Rowlett. It was fairly new at that time. When I walked in I glanced at someone that was sitting at a table near the corner of the store and thought to myself 'was that Darin?' But I had sort of dismissed it. After I placed my order I went back to sit and wait and he spoke to me "Hi Richard". I looked at him and said, "Darin, when I walked in I thought that was you, but I didn't recognize you with the beard." He had grown a beard and so I wasn't used to his new look. We had a short talk. I asked him how his business was doing and so forth, just small talk. They called for my order and I picked it, and as I walked out I told Darin to take it easy, see ya later. That was the last time I ever saw Darin......

Darlie, on the other hand, lived in her own world, had her own 'clique' - if you weren't part of it, you were nobody to her. Or at least, that's how I saw it. For example, on many occasions when she worked at my workplace, we would pass in the hallway and I would greet her (as I would everyone) with "good mornin'" or "howdy" or whatever, and she never once returned my greeting - absolutely not once....never. Consequently, I never did have any sort of conversation with her. That's my memory of Darlie, she was just cold. That was my impression.

[lonestar]

I've been very surprised at the things some people I've known have done. Would have bet a million that they never would have done, what they've done.

She sounds like a very insecure person if she still needed a "clique." That's Jr. High stuff!

[MeekOneGOP]

I lived in Dallas at the time of these murders, and followed it very closely. Since my daughter is a court reporter, when I saw that the court reporter transcribing the trial really screwed up, I was flabberghasted! The court reporter did some very strange things--like just not ever turning in pages and pages of transcripts. She was given many chances to rectify this, but just didn't ever do it. I began to wonder if she were perhaps working for the Routiers.

IMHO, the Routiers were in this together--they were experiencing money problems, and insured these kids lives shortly before they were murdered. I don't know many people who take out large insurance policies on children so young.

Yes, the transcripts were really messed up. The court reporter did a sloppy job and I think was disciplined for this. I don't recall exactly, but didn't they like 'disbar' her or something like that?

Regarding the insurance, I recall that was discussed early on in the investigation and I thought that was logical motive if they killed the babies for a big sum of insurance money. What I recall though, was that they had insurance on the kids, but it was NOT a huge amount. It seems to me that they were covered for $5,000 each, which would cover the funeral expenses. I wouldn't call that a windfall or a motive to kill the kids though.....

They were struggling with money problems. I think that Darlie had expensive tastes and Darin catered to her every want and need and was so proud of her. It did cause him financial problems though, and in the end he lost his home in Rowlett.

[hopespringseternal]

It's gotten to the point that if a mother doesn't kill her kids, she's a "good mother." These biological mothers make Rosie O'Donnell look good.

Actually it's worse than that. There have been whackjobs running around saying that Yates was a good mother (other than that little bathtub thing.)

[lonestar]

From all accounts, she was as good a mother as one could expect with five little stair-steps and a mental illness.

I wish she had killed their father or herself instead.

[MeekOneGOP]

She sounds like a very insecure person if she still needed a "clique." That's Jr. High stuff!

Yes. I think she was immature. Remember though, when she worked at our company it was in the late 80s/very early 90s and she was in her very early 20s though. I think she left the company to have a family. She may have been pregnant with her first child when she left, in fact.

So she wasn't too far out of junior high school in years! :O)

[MeekOneGOP]

Hey, guys! I just did a Google Search just for grins to see if I could find more info on Darlie. There is a huge amount on that search, and it looks like really good info, too. Here is the Google Search with 4 pages of links. I might peruse those today and perhaps post some relevant things regarding the Routiers and this case???............

Google Search: "Darlie Routier Biography"
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Darlie+Routier+Biography&btnG=Google+Search

[basil]

You could very well be right about the amount of insurance money--it just seems to me that it was more than that. I remember discussions going on about them having recently taken out insurance policies on the kids, though, and it sure seems to me like it was more than that.

There have been so many horrible episodes of mothers killing their children in recent years, that it's hard to keep up with them all. I happened to see an episode the other night on Susan Smith, the woman who drowned her 2 kids in a lake. It's just sickening!

[mountaineer]

On one documentary I saw about this case, I seem to recall that the jurors thought the silly string episode was the clincher on Darlie's guilt. The videotape was damning, and it's just impossible to fathom how a "grieving mother" could sing and dance and have such a jolly good time at her children's graves just days after their murders.

[lonestar]

Susan Smith was the worst, IMO. She could have given the father of her kids custordy if her boyfriend didn't want them.