#guiltyorinnocent

[youthtele]

Be here for this 5.8.2020

[itwasmurderblog]

Darlie Routier: Grieving Mother or Cold-Blooded Killer?

                                          Timeline of Events

     On June 6, 1996, Devon and Damon Routier were sleeping in the downstairs family room of their Rowlett, Texas home with their mother, Darlie, when they were brutally stabbed to death. According to Darlie, she slept through the attack and awoke to discover her sons had been stabbed and she had sustained several injuries herself, including a slash across her throat just two millimeters away from hitting her carotid artery. She claims a white, male intruder around 6 feet tall entered the home and carried out the brutal murders. Surprisingly, Darlie's husband, Darin, and infant son, Drake, slept undisturbed upstairs throughout the ordeal until Darlie screamed for help. 

     Once Darin came downstairs, Darlie ran to the kitchen to grab the phone and some towels, then called 911. Her frantic first words to the dispatcher were, "somebody came in!" She expanded on the situation by telling the dispatcher that she and her children had been stabbed. In court, Darin testified that he began to perform CPR on Devon as Darlie ran back and forth from the kitchen to Damon and then over to Devon. When the dispatcher questioned Darin as to what his wife was doing in the kitchen, he replied, "grabbing towels" and explained that it was in an effort to stop the bleeding.

     Just one minute into the 911 call, Darlie can be heard speaking to Damon, telling him to "hold on." She continually speaks to her children, repeatedly telling them to hold on. Officer David Waddell arrives on scene approximately three minutes into the 911 call. He is the first responding officer. He would go on to testify that he instructed Darlie several times to attend to her son, saying she refused. However, one listen to the 911 call seems to debunk this claim as Darlie can be heard tending to the boys' injuries throughout. In addition, Waddell can be heard shortly after his arrival at the Routier home telling Darlie to sit or lie down, presumably to calm her down.

     Four minutes into the call, Darlie begins to sound progressively desperate. She pleads with the dispatcher, telling him or her that the children were barely alive and would be dead if the paramedics did not arrive soon. Around seven minutes into the call, the paramedics were finally cleared to enter the home (an estimated two minutes after their arrival) and began to attend to the children. Devon was DOA. Jack Kolbye, paramedic, immediately began working on Damon, spending two minutes with him at the scene before moving him to an ambulance. It was at this point Kolbye began to "see the light leave" Damon's eyes.

                                        Suspicious Activity

     Perhaps coincidentally, but perhaps not, there were numerous reports of suspicious vehicles in the neighborhood as well as an attempted break-in situation a mere half-mile away from the Routier home an hour before the murders. On June 11, Mary Angelia Rickels, better known as Angel, came forward to police to tell them  that at approximately 1:30 am on June 6, she heard what sounded like wood splitting and then a crack. She then proceeded to turn the porch light on and noticed two men, one stocky, the other tall. She went on to describe the taller man as blonde with a knit cap and jogging suit on. Presumably startled by the light being switched on, the men ran off in the direction of Willowbrook Drive. Willowbrook Drive leads straight to Eagle Drive, the very street the Routiers called home. About half an hour later, Angel says the men returned, this time with some sort of metal object, possibly a knife. They left once again after she turned off her bedroom light. The killer, or killers, could have easily arrived at the Routier home within half an hour. 

Photo courtesy of Justice4Juveniles.

     Numerous neighbors of the Routiers came forward to police in the days following the murders with claims of seeing a dark vehicle with a suspicious driver in the vicinity of the Routier home. One neighbor says he saw a white vehicle in the Routier driveway the night of the murders. It is important to note that the Routiers only owned a green Nissan Pathfinder and a Jaguar that was in the shop at the time. Their Pathfinder was confirmed to have been parked in the front of the home, as per usual.

                             Guilty Until Proven Innocent?

     According to the prosecution, Darlie took the time between the stabbing of her children and the police arriving to cut herself in several places and stage the crime scene. This includes planting a sock with both Devon's and Damon's blood several houses down in the alley. How did Darlie have time to do all of this before the police arrived just 3 minutes into the 911 call? If she had staged the home, wouldn't that implicate Darin as an accomplice? He certainly did not wait until the police arrived to come downstairs; this is proven by the 911 transcripts. 

     According to the medical examiner, Damon could not have lived for longer than around 8 to 9 minutes after being stabbed. With the 911 call being placed at approximately 2:30 am and the paramedics cleared for entry between 2:37 and 2:38 am (another 2 minutes were spent attempting to save Damon before he was taken to the ambulance and sadly passed away), that leaves essentially no time at all for Darlie to have taken the bloody sock down the street, extensively harm herself, and then call out to Darin for help before calling 911. Damon simply survived too long a time after she called for help for her to have staged the scene in between the attacks and the 911 call.

     Though Darlie's fingerprints were taken and recorded, investigators failed to obtain fingerprints from both Damon and Devon. To get prints from the two boys, their bodies had to be exhumed. Because the children were buried together, holding hands, not all of their prints could be collected. However, investigators were able to obtain some. 

     Naturally, there were prints discovered that belonged to the boys and Darlie, but there were also prints that did not match anyone in the family. Who do the prints belong to and does this lend credence to Darlie's story? The defense has been pressuring the state to run the prints through all databases to see if there is a match. Dallas County announced in November of 2018 that testing was being done on 10 to 12 items from the case, but they did not disclose what those specific items are. It is now April of 2019 and there has been no word on whether the tests have concluded and no results.

     The prosecution strove to present Darlie as a cold and calculating murderer who simply wanted to rid herself of her children to lead a more narcissistic life. Eight days after the murders, Devon would have celebrated his 7th birthday. The Routier family chose to hold a "birthday party" at the grave site and invited a reporter from a local news station to record the event. In the recording, Darlie can be seen smiling and laughing while spraying Silly String at the grave site. Admittedly, this is extremely odd behavior after losing two children in a gruesome murder and being attacked herself. However, it is important to remember that everyone responds to grief and trauma in different ways. Maybe that was simply her way of coping with her loss. Then again, maybe it wasn't. 

                                               Final Thoughts

     My first thought while driving deeper into this case was: If Darlie were trying to rid herself of her children to focus on more self-absorbed facets of life, as the prosecutors proclaimed, why did she let her youngest son, Drake, live? An infant is significantly more work to take care of than a five- and six-year-old. Wouldn't it also make sense for her to make sure both boys were dead before calling 911 if she were the perpetrator? Damon lived for several minutes after police arrived. There was a possibility of him telling police who had attacked him. It seems reasonable to assume she would want to prohibit that if she did, in fact, stab her children.

     The prosecution team found an entry in Darlie's diary in which she mentioned she wanted the boys to "forgive" her for what she was "about to do." They took this quote and ran with it while ignoring the next lines in which she alludes to suicide, not murder, and tells the boys she loves them more than anything else and wants them to lead happy and healthy lives. This doesn't seem to be indicative of homicidal thoughts, just self-reflective thoughts of a depressed woman. Being suicidal does not usually mean a person is homicidal as well. 

     I have had a hard time finding a clear-cut motive for Darlie to have killed her sons. The "strongest" motive, in my opinion, would be the life insurance policies on the boys. However, upon further exploration, I noticed that the boys were only insured for $5000 each. The cost of the funeral was around $10000-$12000. This would mean that she killed the boys for a deficit. Why would anyone do that? 

     This case is one that has baffled investigators and civilians alike for over twenty years. I still cannot say with 100% certainty that I believe one scenario over another. What I can say is that Darlie had a right to a fair trial. The jury was expected to deliver a verdict that was undeniably true. I don’t believe this happened. There was an incredible amount of reasonable doubt in this case, but Darlie was given the death penalty. Is this because she truly is guilty of this heinous crime, or is it because the jury made an emotional decision based on circumstantial evidence? Is Darlie truly the self-absorbed, horrible mother the prosecution would have you believe, or is she actually a grieving mother and victim of a crime that may never be solved because of a confirmation bias?

[inkwellspoken]

No Kill Guilds a.k.a. No Kill Guilt: Whether guilty or innocent, cops aren't supposed to kill discontents. #STEELYourMind #InkWellSpoken #NoKillZone #PoliceBrutality #GuiltyOrInnocent #BlackLivesMatter

[laurisaurus]

Guilty or Innocent?

I was tagged by @mistercrocetti-and-misterlevitch, thank youuuu! :*

RULES: You can only say guilty or innocent. You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you or asks you.

Asked someone to marry you? Guilty Kissed one of your friends? Guilty Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent Ever told a lie? Guilty
 Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have? Guilty Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty Kissed a picture? Guilty Slept in until 5pm? Innocent Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty Held a snake? Innocent Been suspended from school? Innocent Worked at a fast food chain/restaurant? Innocent Stolen something? Innocent Been fired from a job? Innocent Done something you regret? Guilty
 Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose? Guilty Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Guilty
 Kissed in the rain? Guilty Sat on a roof top? Guilty Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Guilty Sang in the shower? Guilty Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent Shaved your head? Innocent Slept naked? Guilty Had a boxing membership? Innocent
 Made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? Guilty Been in a band? Innocent Shot a gun? Innocent Donated blood? Innocent
 Eaten alligator meat? Innocent Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
 Still loved someone you shouldn’t? Innocent Have/had a tattoo? Innocent Liked someone, but will never tell who? Innocent Been too honest? Guilty Ruined a surprise? Guilty Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you can’t walk after? Innocent Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty Dressed in a man’s clothes? Guilty Joined a pageant? Innocent
 Been told that you’re beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty Still have communication w/ your ex? Innocent
 Cheated on someone? Innocent Got totally drunk one night and you have an important exam tomorrow morning? Innocent
 A total stranger treated you by paying your fare? Innocent Got totally angry that you cried? Guilty Tried to stay away from someone for their own good? Guilty Thoughts about suicide? Guilty Thoughts about murder? Innocent How about Mass Murder? Innocent Rode in a stranger’s vehicle? Innocent Stalked someone? Innocent Had a girlfriend/boyfriend? Guilty Gotten totally drunk during a holiday? Guilty

I’m now going to tag @emilyshaw124, @peanutbutter-and-jellicent, @jellyt, @drunkenfandom and whoever else wants to do this!

[amberroussell]

[chabroweoczy]

I was tagged by no one, because I don’t have friends and nobody loves me, but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ RULE 1. You can only say Guilty or Innocent. RULE 2. You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks! Now, here’s what you’re supposed to do… And please do not spoil the fun. Delete my answers, type in your answers and tag 3-10 people. 1. Asked someone to marry you? guilty 2. Kissed one of your friends? guilty 3. Danced on a table in a bar? innocent 4. Ever told a lie? guilty 5. Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have? guilty 6. Ever kissed someone of the same sex? innocent 7. Kissed a picture? guilty 8. Slept in until 5 PM? guilty 9. Fallen asleep at work/school? guilty 10. Held a snake? innocent 11. Been suspended from school? innocent 12. Worked at a fast food chain/restaurant? guilty 13. Stolen something? guilty 14. Been fired from a job? innocent 15. Done something you regret? guilty 16. Laughed until something you were drinking came out of your nose? guilty 17. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? guilty 18. Kissed in the rain? innocent 19. Sat on a roof top? guilty 20. Kissed someone you shouldn’t? innocent 21. Sang in the shower? guilty 22. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? innocent 23. Shaved your head? innocent 24. Slept naked? guilty 25. Had a boxing membership? innocent 26. Made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? innocent 27. Been in a band? guilty 28. Shot a gun? guilty 29. Donated blood? innocent 30. Eaten alligator meat? innocent 31. Eaten cheesecake? guilty 32. Still love someone you shouldn't? innocent 33. Have/had a tattoo? innocent 34. Liked someone, but will never tell who? guilty 35. Been too honest? guilty 36. Ruined a surprise? innocent 37. Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you can’t walk afterwards?innocent 38. Erased someone in your friends list? guilty 39. Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? guilty 40. Joined a pageant? innocent 41. Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? guilty 42. Still have communication w/ your ex? innocent 43. Cheated on someone? innocent 44. Get totally drunk one night and you have an important exam tomorrow morning? innocent 45. A total stranger treated you by paying your fare? guilty 46. Get totally angry that you cried so hard? guilty 47. Tried to stay away from someone for their own good? innocent 48. Thought about suicide? innocent 49. Thought about murder? innocent 50. How about Mass Murder? innocent 51. Rode in a stranger’s vehicle? guilty 52. Stalked someone? guilty