Darlie Routier

Darlie 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.

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.

To date, Routier has not been tried for Devon’s murder.

Damon and Devon were stabbed to death with a large kitchen knife in Routier's home, while Routier sustained knife wounds to her throat and arm.

Routier told authorities that the crime was perpetrated by an unidentified intruder.

During the trial, the prosecution argued that Routier's injuries were self-inflicted, that the crime scene had been staged, and that she murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties; the defense argued that there was no reason Routier would have killed her children, and that the case did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses.

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.

Routier told the operator that her home had been broken into and that an intruder had stabbed her children, six-year-old Devon and five-year-old Damon, and cut her throat.

Police arrived within three minutes of the 9-1-1 call.

They discovered a window screen in the garage had been cut, which indicated a possible entry point for an intruder.

A search of the house and grounds did not locate an intruder.

Having thus secured the site, police permitted paramedics to attend to the victims.

Routier told the police that she had fallen asleep on the couch with her two boys while watching television, only to wake up later and discover an unknown man in her house.

She stated that as she approached him, the man fled, dropping the knife in a utility room as he ran.

After picking up the knife and chasing him away, Routier said she realized that she and her children had been wounded and called 9-1-1.

Police found it highly suspicious that Routier claimed she had only awoken after the attack that severely wounded her and her sons.

Routier told police that the assailant escaped through the garage.

Investigators said that the garage contained no blood drops, and added that indications were that no one had run through there at all.

The window sills in the garage had untouched layers of dust, including the window that had been cut, implying that no one had actually climbed through it, and the mulch in the flower beds between the garage and the backyard gate was undisturbed.

In February 1997, the jury found Routier guilty of the murder of Damon, and sentenced her to death by lethal injection.

Two appeals filed by Routier, who maintains her innocence, based on allegations of irregularities during the trial were denied.

Routier's trial began on January 6, 1997, in Kerrville, Texas.

The prosecution suggested that Routier murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties, and described Routier as "...a self-centered woman, a materialistic woman, and a woman cold enough, in fact, to murder her own two children.” Jurors also saw the Silly String video. Crime scene consultant James Cron testified that evidence suggested the scene inside the Routier residence had been staged.

However, a fingerprint was found on the windowsill which was determined in 2002 not to belong to anyone in the family.

Fingerprint expert Pat Wertheim would later testify before an appeals court that he could not rule out Darlie Routier's right ring finger as the source of the print.

75 yards away from the house, a bloody sock was discovered.

Lab tests revealed it had blood from both of Routier's sons on it.

Both Damon and Devon sustained fatal injuries.

Her wounds, described as superficial, came within two millimeters of her carotid artery.

Routier was treated at a hospital and released two days later.

Her youngest son, 7-month-old Drake, was asleep upstairs with her husband Darin at the time of the murders; both escaped harm.

Newscasts showed Routier and other family members holding a birthday party at the boys' grave to posthumously celebrate Devon's seventh birthday eight days after the murders.

She was shown smiling and laughing as she sprayed Silly String on the graves in celebration, singing "Happy Birthday".

Family members point out that the newscasts did not show an earlier video that depicted a solemn ceremony honoring the children.

Four days later, on June 18, Routier was arrested and charged with capital murder.

Routier later commented on the video, saying, "He wanted to be seven. I did the only thing I knew to do to honor him and give him all his wishes because he wasn't here anymore. But how do you know what you're going to do when you lose two children? How do you know how you're going to act?"

Since at least 2018, DNA tests have been ordered multiple times after technology has advanced.

As of 2024, the results of these tests are still pending.

Routier's case has been the subject of multiple books and television shows.

Routier's ex-husband believes that she is innocent.