June 27, 1996 Police haven't found motive : JUSTIN BACHMAN Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Investigators have been unable to determine a motive in the stabbing deaths of two Rowlett boys whose mother is charged with capital murder in their slayings, a police detective testified yesterday. Detective Jimmy Patterson, the lead investigator on the case, said physical evidence at the home of Darlie and Darin Routier makes her the prime suspect. But he conceded under fierce questioning from her defense attorney that he is "not sure" why Darlie Routier would have . . . Find Article

June 29, 1996 Grand jury indicts Rowlett mother in slaying of two sons A 26-year-old homemaker is charged with two counts of capital murder in the June 6 stabbings. : HOLLACE WEINER Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Rowlett mother Darlie Lynn Routier was indicted yesterday on two counts of capital murder in the June 6 stabbing deaths of her 5- and 6-year-old sons, Damon and Devon. A Dallas County grand jury charged the 26-year-old homemaker with killing a child under 6 years of age and with committing murders that resulted in multiple deaths.If convicted of either charge, the mother - whose husband and relatives vouch for her innocence - could face the death penalty. Find Article

July 2, 1996 Lower bail requested for mom in stabbing : Justin Bachman Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Citing a string of debts and an inability to work since his sons' deaths, Darin Routier asked a Dallas County district judge yesterday to reduce his wife's $1 million bail enough that he can begin raising money to free her. Judge Mark Tolle said he will rule Friday on the bail reduction motion for Darlie Routier, 26, who has been indicted on two capital murder charges in the June 6 deaths of 6-year-old Devon Routier and his 5-year-old brother, Damon. Find Article

July 3, 1996 Agency wants grandparents to take Rowlett boy : Justin Bachman Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Child welfare officials are recommending that Drake Routier, the 10-month-old son of a Rowlett woman who has been charged with capital murder in the stabbing deaths of his two brothers, be placed in the temporary custody of his paternal grandparents. The grandparents, Sarilda and Leonard Routier of Lubbock, petitioned for Drake's custody last week. A hearing is scheduled for this morning before state District Judge Cheryl Shannon. Find Article

July 4, 1996 Darlie Routier invokes right not to testify : Justin BachmanStar-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Darlie Routier was called to testify yesterday during a custody hearing for her 10-month-old son but declined to answer any questions, invoking her constitutional right againstself-incrimination 12 times. District Judge Cheryl Shannon placed the child, Drake Routier, in the temporary custody of his paternal grandparents, Sarilda and Leonard Routier of Lubbock, and ordered that Darlie Routier be allowed no visitation rights with her son. Find Article

July 6, 1996 Routier plea for lower bail rejected by judge : Bill Hanna Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - A Dallas County judge declined yesterday to lower the bail of Darlie Routier, likely ending her chances of being freed any time soon. The 26-year-old mother has been in jail since June 18 when police arrested her in the deaths of her two oldest sons. She has been indicted on two capital murder charges in the June 6 stabbing deaths of Devon, 6, and Damon, 5, at the family's Rowlett home. Find Article Related Transcript

July 12, 1996 Routier lawyers ask for change of venue Defense attorneys say the Rowlett woman, who is accused of killing her sons, cannot get a fair trial in Dallas County. : Justin Bachman Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Attorneys for Darlie Routier, the Rowlett woman accused of fatally stabbing two of her sons, have filed a motion asking that her trial be moved out of Dallas County because of extensive publicity. The papers, filed Wednesday by defense attorney Doug Parks, assert that "so great a prejudice" against Routier exists in Dallas County that her constitutional right to a fair trial "is rendered either impossible or highly unlikely. Find Article

July 26, 1996 Routier's kin violated order, prosecutor says : Justin Bachman Star-Telegram Writer : DALLAS - Prosecutors and police reacted swiftly and angrily yesterday after the mother and husband of Darlie Routier appeared on a radio talk show to contend that Routier is innocent of charges that she fatally stabbed her two sons. Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis filed a notice that Darlie Kee and Darin Routier had violated a court gag order, and asked District Judge Mark Tolle to schedule a hearing to consider sanctions against them. Find Article

August 27, 1996 Husband relates night of Routier slayings Events described during hearing on bail motion : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - In a confused account, Darin Routier described yesterday the slow-motion horror of awakening to his wife's screams and trying to keep two of their sons from bleeding to death on the floor of their home. The testimony came during a hearing on a prosecution motion to deny bail to Darlie Routier, 26, the mother of the boys who is being held in lieu of $1 million bail on capital murder charges in their June 6 stabbing deaths. Find Article Related Transcript

August 28, 1996 Routier attorney decries prosecution's bail motion : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - An attorney for Darlie Routier, the suburban homemaker accused of fatally stabbing two of her sons, denounced what he called prosecutors' "cynical" attempt to get around an appeal of her $1 million bail. The remarks came as the defense summed up its position after a day of testimony that included a replay of Routier's frantic voice on an emergency dispatch tape. Routier and several relatives sobbed as the tape was played. Find Article Related Transcript

August 29, 1996 Bail denied to Routier in slayings Rowlett woman's attorneys say they will appeal decision : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - A judge approved the prosecution's request to deny bail to Darlie Routier, the suburban homemaker accused of fatally stabbing two of her sons. Her lawyers said they intend to appeal the ruling, which heads off an appeal on another judge's decision not to reduce her bail, which until yesterday was set at $1 million.The decision came after two days of graphic testimony about the slayings, which occurred June 6 in the den of the Routier home in Rowlett, along the shore . . . Find Article Related Transcript

September 5, 1996 Motions pile up in trial of Routier State files financial records in slaying case : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - With a hearing scheduled for next week, attorneys for Darlie Routier have filed more than a dozen motions in an effort to bolster the case of the suburban woman accused of stabbing her two sons to death. Also, the state has filed documents containing financial records on the Routiers' business, and medical records from Darlie Routier's stay in Baylor Medical Center in the days after the June 6 stabbing deaths of Devon Routier, 6, and his brother Damon, 5, in the family . . . Find Article

September 11, 1996 Ruling expected on site change for Routier trial : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - The judge in the Darlie Routier murder trial plans to rule tomorrow on a request for a change of venue, and courtroom space has been reserved for the trial in Kerrville. The 26-year-old homemaker from Rowlett is charged with capital murder in the stabbing deaths of her two sons, Devon, 6, and Damon, 5, in the middle of the night of June 6. Routier was also wounded to the neck and collarbone, but the prosecution contends that the wounds were self-inflicted.On July 12, defense . . . Find Article

September 13, 1996 Routier venue to change Judge's decision on site awaited : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - The trial of a Rowlett woman accused of fatally stabbing her young sons will be moved out of Dallas County because of extensive publicity, a judge ruled yesterday. District Judge Mark Tolle granted a motion to move the trial of Darlie Routier, but he did not say where it will be moved or when it will begin.Officials in Kerrville said they had reserved a courtroom for Oct. 21 for Routier's trial and that a delegation from Dallas had come down to look over the site. . . . Find Article Related Transcript

September 17, 1996 Sheriff's office to contest motion : Barry Shlachter Star-Telegram Writer : An attorney for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department said yesterday that he will seek to quash a motion that the assistant chief deputy be held in contempt for commenting on the jailhouse demeanor of a Rowlett woman accused of fatally stabbing her two young sons. On Thursday, District Judge Mark Tolle ordered Assistant Chief Deputy Bob Knowles to appear in court Friday to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for telling The Dallas Morning News that the accused, Darlie . . . Find Article

September 21, 1996 Judge retains court lawyers in Routier murder case : Bill Hanna Star-Telegram Writer : Darlie Routier will continue to have court-appointed lawyers in her capital murder case even though her mother has hired a Dallas defense attorney as a consultant. District Judge Mark Tolle determined yesterday that Darlie and Darin Routier had not retained lawyer Doug Mulder and that he will not be allowed to participate in the trial."Mr. Mulder has not been hired as her attorney," Tolle said. "Her mother, Darlie Kee, hired him as a consultant. He and her mother can . . . Find Article Related Transcript

September 28, 1996 Woman accused of killing two sons will have her trial moved to Kerrville : Associated Press : DALLAS - The Rowlett woman accused of fatally stabbing her two young sons will stand trial in Kerrville, a state judge announced yesterday. State District Judge Mark Tolle decided on the site after agreeing Sept. 12 to grant the change-of-venue motion by attorneys for Darlie Routier, 26.Routier had sought the change because of extensive news coverage in Fort Worth-Dallas. Prosecutors did not object. Routier could face the death penalty if convicted in the June 6 stabbing deaths . . . Find Article

October 11, 1996 Bloody sock in alley linked to boys' deaths : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - A sock found in an alley near Darlie Routier's home showed stains of blood from both her slain sons, sources said yesterday. The stains are the first blood evidence found outside the Routier home, and could support assertions by Routier that the boys were killed by an intruder who escaped after wounding her.Routier, 26, who is charged with capital murder in the June 6 attacks, has contended from the beginning that an intruder stabbed the boys and then attacked her. . . . Find Article Related Transcript

October 19, 1996 Dad fights for right to visit son ~ Darin Routier agrees to psychological test : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - As his surviving son looked on wide-eyed, Darin Routier agreed yesterday to a psychological test before a family court judge rules on his request for unsupervised visits with the boy. The hearing before District Judge Cheryl Shannon was the latest round in a legal Catch-22 in which state authorities have essentially required that Routier denounce his wife, who faces trial on capital murder charges, or give up the boy.Darlie Routier, 26, is charged in the June 6 stabbing . . . Find Article

October 20, 1996 Murders' motive still a mystery on trial eve : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - The case started with screaming. Early the morning of June 6, Darlie Routier screamed for her husband to wake up and come downstairs, where their sons lay bleeding to death of stab wounds on the floor of the family den."Darlie was screaming, `Devon! Devon! Devon!' her husband, Darin Routier, later recalled, "so I went right to him. He was lifeless, two wounds in his chest, looking up at me. No movement." By the time the screaming was over, the . . . Find Article

October 23, 1996 Panel of 162 qualified for Routier jury ~ Selection to begin Monday in Kerrville : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - The court qualified a panel of 162 prospective jurors yesterday for the trial of Darlie Routier, the Rowlett woman accused of the stabbing deaths of two of her young sons. Jury selection began Monday in the trial, which was moved to this Hill Country retirement haven on a change of venue from Dallas. Of the 450 summonses sent out in anticipation of the trial, District Judge Mark Tolle qualified 162 prospective jurors.Court was adjourned yesterday until Monday, when . . . Find Article Related Transcript

October 30, 1996 Routier murder trial lawyers seat juror : JUSTIN BACHMAN Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : In their second day of questioning potential jurors, lawyers in the Darlie Routier capital murder case seated a second juror yesterday and struck 11 others. The juror is a Hispanic male, in his 40s who listed his occupation as retired from the Navy, said Carrie Whitt, a Kerr County deputy district clerk.On Monday, both sides accepted a Kerrville contractor, a white male in his 30s. The two men were selected from 167 prospective jurors. Prosecutors and defense lawyers are questioning . . . Find Article Related Transcript

November 8, 1996 9 jurors seated for Routier stabbing trial : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : Nine jurors have been seated to hear the capital murder trial of Darlie Routier, the suburban housewife charged with stabbing her two young sons to death, officials said yesterday. The panel includes four men and five women, said Linda Uecker, Kerr County district clerk. The trial was moved to Kerrville, in the Hill Country northwest of San Antonio, at the behest of Routier's former defense counsel.Jury selection is being done at a justice of the peace court at the county . . . Find Article Related Transcript

November 17, 1996 Father of 2 slain boys says he has nothing to hide : Jack Douglas Jr. Star-Telegram Writer : The father of two young boys who were slain in June said yesterday that he is troubled by the discovery of evidence suggesting he may have participated in the killings, but that he has nothing to hide. "I'm nervous. But, you know, I don't have anything to be nervous about. I didn't do anything," Darin Routier said in an interview. Routier's wife, Darlie Routier, is scheduled to go on trial early next year, charged with murder in the slayings of the . . . Find Article

November 19, 1996 DNA test results may aid Routier defense in trial ~ Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis of Dallas County disclosed the evidence to the accused mother's attorneys as required by law : Associated Press : KERRVILLE - Hair and blood collected at the Rowlett home where Darlie Routier is accused of killing her two sons may bolster her claim that an intruder committed the crime, according to a court filing yesterday. Some findings in a DNA expert's report "may be consistent with one or more of the stories previously told by the defendant," prosecutors stated in the new court documents.Routier, 26, is charged with capital murder in the June 6 stabbing deaths of 5-year-old . . . Find Article

November 20, 1996 Protesters march in Rowlett, say Routier is innocent : JUSTIN BACHMAN;JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : ROWLETT - About four dozen people marched and waved signs last night outside the Rowlett Police and Municipal Court Building in support of Darlie Routier, who is charged with capital murder in the stabbing deaths of her two young sons. At least three people also carried signs supporting prosecution of Routier.Carrying handmade signs saying, "Free Darlie Now" and "Rowlett Beware! Killer runs free," the larger group of demonstrators paraded in front of TV cameras and . . . Find Article

December 6, 1996 Home where 2 children died is repossessed : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - The suburban Dallas home where Darlie Routier's two sons were fatally stabbed has been repossessed by the mortgage company, and her husband, Darin, says it's probably just as well. Darin Routier said yesterday that he "just assumed" that his mortgage company would foreclose on the property because he stopped making the monthly $1,300 payment on it in June, when sons Damon Routier, 5, and his 6-year-old brother, Devon, were killed.Darlie Routier faces a . . . Find Article

January 6, 1997 Trial starts today for Routier ~ The Rowlett mother is charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of two of her young sons. : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - Today in Kerrville, six months after two small Rowlett boys were stabbed to death as they slept, a prosecutor will spell out the state's case against their mother, 27-year-old Darlie Routier. The opening statement by Greg Davis, a Dallas County assistant district attorney, may also suggest what the prosecution will contend was the motive in the slayings of Damon Routier, 5, and his brother, Devon, 6.Darlie Routier is charged with capital murder in the deaths, and the . . . Find Article

January 7, 1997 Routier `cold enough' to kill kids, prosecutor says : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier killed her two young sons because she was angered by a declining lifestyle and was resentful of the demands that her three children placed on her leisure time, prosecutors said yesterday at the opening of her capital murder trial. "The evidence will show you that Darlie Lynn Routier is a self-centered woman, a materialistic woman, and cold enough to murder her own children," lead prosecutor Greg Davis said in his opening statement.Routier's . . . Find Article

January 8, 1997 Routier didn't aid dying sons, says ex-officer : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - A former Rowlett police officer testified yesterday that Darlie Routier didn't help her two dying sons, and seemed more concerned with fingerprints on the knife used in the attack than she was in treating the children's wounds. "I thought if she was worried about fingerprints on a knife, she could certainly take care of her kids," said David Waddell, who was the first officer to respond to Routier's 911 call on June 6 that an intruder had attacked he . . . Find Article Related Transcript

January 9, 1997 Doctor calls Routier's reactions to sons' deaths `flat' : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier had superficial wounds and traces of amphetamine in her blood, and her reactions to the stabbing deaths of her two sons were "flat," a physician who attended the Rowlett woman the night her sons were killed testified yesterday. Routier faces capital murder charges in the stabbing deaths of two of her sons, Damon, 5, and Devon, 6. She is being tried now on the charge of killing Damon.Dr. Alex Santos, a trauma surgeon at Baylor University Medical . . . Find Article

January 10, 1997 Routier was talkative in hours after sons' deaths, nurses testify : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - Seven hospital employees testified yesterday that in the hours after the stabbing deaths of her two sons, Darlie Routier repeated an account of the attack so often that one nurse told her to be quiet and go to sleep. Routier's outward display of grief for her lost children never rose beyond an occasional welling of tears, according to trauma nurses who became emotional as they testified at her capital murder trial."She told me a story about how the older boy . . . Find Article

January 11, 1997 Judge denies Routier motion for mistrial : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Attorneys for Darlie Routier requested a mistrial in her capital murder trial yesterday, saying that prosecutors held a "clandestine meeting" to allow witnesses to orchestrate their testimony in violation of criminal procedure. Visiting Judge Mark Tolle denied the motion, but Routier's attorneys indicated that the issue might be a point on appeal if she is convicted in the stabbing death of one of her sons.Defense attorney John Hagler asked for a mistrial . . . Find Article

January 13, 1997 Prosecution in Routier trial begins 2nd week of its case The defense has fought the contention that the Rowlett woman's response to the deaths of her sons was not typical of a grieving mother. : Kelley Shannon Associated Press : KERRVILLE - Jurors in Darlie Routier's murder trial were left over the weekend with the startling image of her bloody nightshirt and graphic testimony from paramedics about her sons' deaths. The seven-woman, five-man jury returns to court today to hear more witnesses for the prosecution, which expects to wrap up this week.Routier, 27, is accused of fatally stabbing 5-year-old Damon and 6-year-old Devon as they slept on June 6, 1996, in their comfortable home in Rowlett, a . . . Find Article

January 14, 1997 Staff and Wire Reports Routier trial to resume today after weather delay : KERRVILLE - Jurors in Darlie Routier's murder trial got an extra day to consider the last thing they saw in court before the weekend: the startling image of her bloody nightshirt and graphic testimony from paramedics about her sons' deaths.Testimony scheduled for yesterday was postponed until at least today after a winter storm left highways glazed with ice. If the storm abates and the roads clear, the seven-woman, . . . Find Article

January 15, 1997 Will, policies said to be found near bodies : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier's handwritten will, and life insurance policies on Routier, her husband and her two slain sons were found near the boys' bodies the night they were fatally stabbed, a police officer testified yesterday. Officer David Mayne also testified that marijuana was discovered at the Routier home, but jurors in Routier's capital murder trial were instructed to disregard that statement.Routier, 27, is on trial on a capital murder charge in the death of . . . Find Article

January 16, 1997 Expert testifies struggle in Routier's home was staged : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - A crime scene expert testified yesterday that he found no evidence of an intruder at Darlie Routier's home the morning she is accused of fatally stabbing her two young sons. James Cron, a retired Dallas police lieutenant who founded the department's crime scene section, said that evidence suggested that a struggle had been staged.Cron said he made an initial walk-through of the house and grounds before daybreak, after Rowlett officers related Routier's . . . Find Article

January 17, 1997 Re-enactment used to attack Routier's account of intruder : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - With a full-scale mockup of a garage window and a 6-foot-tall police detective to crawl through it, prosecutors in the Darlie Routier capital murder trial yesterday demonstrated the difficulties an intruder would have had in fleeing the scene of a double homicide. Later, testimony hit a language barrier as a one-time domestic worker tried, with the help of a Polish-speaking nun, to give evidence of Routier's state of mind in the hours before her sons were stabbed to death . . . Find Article

January 18, 1997 Routier once spoke of aborted suicide attempt, witness says A longtime acquaintance and employee testifies that the defendant complained of erratic mood swings. : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - A longtime friend and employee testified yesterday that in the months leading up to the stabbing deaths of Darlie Routier's two sons, Routier complained of erratic mood swings and once spoke of an aborted suicide attempt. Routier is being tried on a capital murder charge in the death of 5-year-old Damon Routier, and is also charged in the death of Devon Routier, 6.Basia Jovell spoke tearfully at times about the woman she met at age 16 or 17, when she was engaged to . . . Find Article

January 21, 1997 Routier knife likely used to cut screen, expert says ~ Particles found on a bread knife in the defendant's kitchen match materials from the garage window, a forensic scientist testifies. : JOHN W. GONZALEZ Houston Chronicle : KERRVILLE - The knife used to cut a window screen at murder defendant Darlie Routier's home was probably a bread knife later found in her kitchen knife-holder, a forensic scientist testified yesterday. Routier, accused in last summer's stabbing deaths of her sons, Damon, 5, and Devon, 6, has told investigators that a man attacked them in their sleep and then fled their home in Rowlett through the slashed screen in a garage window.But trace-evidence expert Charles Linch of . . . Find Article

January 21, 1997 Expert tells of Routier's shirt, knife and screen ~ The mother accused of killing 2 sons didn't have wounds corresponding to punctures in her shirt, the forensic analyst testifies. : Associated Press : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier's shirt had four bloody punctures in the right shoulder, but the mother accused of fatally stabbing her two older sons had no corresponding wounds, an expert witness testified yesterday. Charles Linch, a trace evidence analyst from the Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences, also told jurors that fiberglass slivers and rubber dust that seemed to match a window screen from the Routiers' home were found on a knife in a butcher block in the . . . Find Article

January 22, 1997 Expert says blood traces don't back Routier account : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE, Texas - Blood traces on the utility room floor of Darlie Routier's home probably were not left by a fleeing assailant dropping the knife found in the home where Routier's two sons were killed, an internationally-known blood trace analyst testified yesterday. And a ballistics and tool-mark specialist said the same type knife was used to inflict one of the chest wounds on Devon Routier."I was not able to determine conclusively that this knife made the . . . Find Article

January 23, 1997 Routier trial witness cites bloodstain test : JAY B. LEWISStar-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - A bloodstain analyst testified yesterday that the pattern of blood found on Darlie Routier's nightshirt could have been made by the swinging of a knife as it repeatedly stabbed her two oldest sons. Tom Bevel, a retired Oklahoma police captain, said he was able to re-create a string of bloodstains running down the back of her nightshirt by dipping a knife in human blood and swinging it as though repeatedly stabbing someone lying on the floor.The Victoria's Secret . . . Find Article

January 23, 1997 Trailer trash' label too good for Routier trial : Bud Kennedy Star-Telegram Writer : Dallas prosecutor Norm Kinne shouldn't call anybody "trailer trash." But he's not alone in thinking that. He's only alone in saying it.For three weeks now, we have endured the nightly spectacle of murder defendant Darlie Routier's histrionic family members, searching out TV cameras and shouting at reporters in the same tone of voice normally used to shoo the French poodle off the barcalounger. As if Mama Darlie Kee hadn't already been on TV . . . Find Article

January 24, 1997 Killer no stranger, agent says ~ Prosecution rests in Routier murder trial : : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Damon and Devon Routier were likely killed by someone who knew them, and not by an intruder in their Rowlett home, an FBI expert testified yesterday as the state closed its capital murder case against their mother, Darlie Routier. Alan Brantley, a supervising agent in the FBI's National Center for Analysis of Violent Crime, summed up the state's contention that Routier stabbed her two oldest sons - Damon, 5, and Devon, 6 - to death as they slept, and then inflicted . . . Find Article

January 25, 1997 Nothing odd in Routier's behavior ~ Friend testifies in murder trial ~ neighbor saw suspicious car : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier was depressed after the birth of her youngest son in late 1995 but had snapped out of it and was behaving normally in the weeks before her other two sons were stabbed to death in their home, a family friend testified yesterday. The testimony of Julie Clark, a farm manager from Rockwall, in Routier's capital murder trial came against a background of bickering over the availability of witnesses to be called by the defense.Clark said she has known the . . . Find Article

January 25, 1997 Trailer trash is the double-wide slur of the moment : PATRICIA RODRIGUEZ Star-Telegram Writer : It is the last acceptable slur in our p.c. world. "Trailer trash."The most flagrant use was just this week, when - with TV cameras running - Dallas Assistant District Attorney Norm Kinne referred to murder defendant Darlie Routier's mother as "trailer trash." (This occurred after Mom butted into Kinne's interview with reporters and accused him of lying.) Kinne later apologized, but hey, he's not exactly a linguistic trailblazer. A computer . . . Find Article

January 27, 1997 Defense witnesses recast Routier ~ Friends describe Rowlett homemaker as doting mother : KELLEY SHANNON Associated Press : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier has sat silently for weeks, sometimes stoically and sometimes tearfully, as prosecutors have portrayed her as a coldblooded killer who killed her two young sons. Now defense attorneys are presenting their case, and a different picture of the Rowlett homemaker is emerging.Instead of a woman who fatally stabbed 5-year-old Damon and 6-year-old Devon Routier, family and friends describe Routier as a patient, doting mother who adored her children. "She . . . Find Article

January 28, 1997 Detective says he bugged graveside ~ Darin Routier testifies for wife : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : This article contains explicit descriptions of violence. KERRVILLE - The lead detective in the Darlie Routier murder case testified yesterday that he and three other detectives had bugged the graveside the day of the two young victims' funeral, a possible violation of state and federal law.Later, the defendant's husband tearfully described his futile efforts to revive one of his sons, whose lungs were pierced so badly that they would not hold air. "I blew into his . . . Find Article

January 29, 1997 Legal experts split on police's right to bug Routier grave : Joe Swickard Star-Telegram Writer : FORT WORTH - Investigators who plant an electronic bug in hopes of catching a graveside confession - as the Rowlett police did in the Routier homicide investigation - may be within the law, but attorneys and legal scholars warned that they run the risk of discrediting themselves in the eyes of an outraged jury. "If anyone came to me with an idea like that, my answer would be `No,' " said Fort Worth attorney Elizabeth Berry, who tried capital murder cases as a Tarrant County . . . Find Article

January 29, 1997 Pathologist, psychiatrist testify on Routier's behalf : Jay B. Lewis Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - Bexar County's chief medical examiner testified yesterday that it would be highly improbable that Darlie Routier wounded herself the night her two sons were killed, and a psychiatrist who specializes in criminals said she believes that Routier was telling the truth in her account of the attack. Pathologist Vincent Di Maio, testifying for the defense, said it is possible that Routier cut her own throat, trailed the knife across her chest, and then changed hands and stabbed . . . Find Article

January 30, 1997 Routier denies slayings ~  letters spark exchange : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier faced her accusers yesterday and said in a clear, firm voice: "Sir, I did not kill my children." But her resolve wavered later, when she was confronted with jailhouse letters whose significance was being argued at day's end.Routier, accused of killing two of her sons, spent five hours on the witness stand and listened three times to tapes of her 911 call made as her boys lay dying. She recounted their deaths and described her wounds once, and . . . Find Article

January 30, 1997 FBI set to investigate surveillance of Routier : JUSTIN BACHMAN Star-Telegram Writer - Dallas Bureau : DALLAS - The head of the Dallas FBI said yesterday that the bureau will investigate surveillance tactics by Rowlett Police Department investigators, who taped Darlie Routier and her family holding a graveside birthday party for one of her two slain sons, after two Dallas attorneys requested the inquiry. Jimmy Ray Patterson, a Rowlett detective assigned to the June 6 homicides of Devon and Damon Routier, testified Monday that detectives hid microphones near the boys' graves June 14 . . . Find Article

January 31, 1997 Testimony in Routier trial ends ~ An investigator says the Rowlett woman did not deny his suggestions that she killed her sons. : JAY B. LEWIS Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Testimony concluded yesterday in the capital murder trial of Darlie Routier with a investigator's assertion that during a three-hour interrogation the day she was arrested, the Rowlett mother did not deny suggestions that she killed two of her sons. Final arguments are scheduled for this morning, and the jury could begin deliberations by afternoon.Private investigator Bill Parker, a retired Dallas police officer who assisted Rowlett police in their investigation, said . . . Find Article

February 1, 1997 Jury retires with no verdict ~ Routier challenges prosecutor: "Liar....Liar, liar." : Jay B. LewisStar-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Jurors in the capital murder trial of Darlie Routier deliberated for six hours yesterday without deciding whether the 27-year-old Rowlett woman is guilty of fatally stabbing two of her young sons. The deliberations began about 1 p.m., moments after Routier called Assistant District Attorney Greg Davis a liar as he concluded his closing arguments.Davis, the lead Dallas County prosecutor in the four-week trial, which was moved to Kerrville because of extensive publicity in . . . Find Article

February 1, 1997 Relax, Eddie, and welcome to the Bubbaplex : BUBBA Kennedy;Bud Kennedy Star-Telegram Writer : First, the "trailer trash" got riled up at the very suggestion of any comparison to Darlie Routier's mouthy relatives. Now, we've got a bigger rebellion to deal with:Bubbas. The Bubbas are hot. Or at least one Bubba is hot. Eddie Gossage, the touchy chief gearhead at our new Texas Bubba Speedway, blew a gasket this week - all because one of our local Bubbas from the Fort Worth Bubba Council made the mistake of calling race fans "Bubbas." . . . Find Article

February 2, 1997 Routier found guilty ~ Jury determines homemaker killed son in grisly knife attack She could get the death penalty or life in prison : JAY B. LEWIS ; JUSTIN BACHMAN Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Darlie Lynn Routier, once described by her neighbors as an "all-American mom," was convicted yesterday of stabbing her 5-year-old son, Damon, to death with a kitchen knife in their Rowlett home. Routier's face, pale after seven months in jail, drained of color completely as visiting Judge Mark Tolle read the word "guilty" to the capital murder charge."I did not kill my babies," defense attorney Richard Mosty quoted Routier of saying after . . . Find Article

February 2, 1997 Rowlett neighborhood different now ~ Former Routier house brings only memories and curiosity-seekers : JANETTE RODRIGUES Star-Telegram Writer : ROWLETT - The house at 5801 Eagle Drive is empty. The furniture and trappings of an upwardly mobile, middle-class family are gone. There are no children playing in the back yard, running in and out of the den on an unseasonably warm winter's day. The fountain that looked so out of place on the front lawn has been removed. All that is left are a few plastic poppies and a large circle of loamy soil that looks like a wound in the middle of the well-manicured yard.A couple of doors . . . Find Article

February 3, 1997 Jury to begin deciding Routier's fate ~Panelists have two choices concerning the Rowlett homemaker: life in prison or the death penalty, which attorneys say is rarely given to women : NICHELE HOSKINS ; JENNIFER PACKER Star-Telegram Writer : FORT WORTH - Kerr County jurors will begin hearing testimony today on whether they should sentence convicted murderer Darlie Routier to death, a choice some attorneys say is more difficult because of the sex of the defendant. The jury found the 27-year-old homemaker guilty Saturday of capital murder in the grisly June 6 stabbing deaths of one of her young sons in their Rowlett home, about 20 miles east of Dallas. She will be sentenced to death or to life in prison.Routier's . . . Find Article

February 3, 1997 Routier sentencing to begin ~  Death penalty rare for women : NICHELE HOSKINS ; JENNIFER PACKER Star-Telegram Writer : FORT WORTH - Kerr County jurors will begin hearing testimony today on whether they should sentence convicted murderer Darlie Routier to death, a choice some attorneys say is more difficult because of the sex of the defendant. The jury found the 27-year-old homemaker guilty Saturday of capital murder in the grisly June 6 stabbing deaths of one of her young sons in their Rowlett home, about 20 miles east of Dallas. She will be sentenced to death or to life in prison.Routier's . . . Find Article

February 4, 1997 Routier's family begs for her life ~ Prosecution witnesses describe a callous woman who gave the baby sitter marijuana and sometimes abused her children. : JUSTIN BACHMAN Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Standing with her housekeeper next to the caskets of her slain sons, Darlie Routier said she wasn't concerned about the expense of their burials because she was expecting a $10,000 insurance payment from their deaths, the housekeeper testified yesterday. Halina Czaban's assertion brought a gasp to the courtroom, where jurors were hearing evidence in the punishment phase of Routier's capital murder trial.Later, in an emotional plea to the jury, Routier's . . . Find Article

February 5, 1997 Routier gets death penalty ~ Rowlett neighbors weary of publicity, torn by Routier case : BILL HANNA Star-Telegram Writer : ROWLETT - Darlie Routier's neighbors made one thing clear yesterday after a Kerr County jury sentenced Routier to death: They're fed up with the media. Several residents shouted at reporters and television crews to get off their property when the news media descended on the Rowlett neighborhood seeking reactions to the death sentence.Most were unwilling to talk, and some who did blamed the media for Routier's murder conviction. "I think she was tried and . . . Find Article

February 5, 1997 Texas lawmakers unmoved by call to halt executions : : LINDA P. CAMPBELL Star-Telegram Writer : AUSTIN - An American Bar Association call to suspend executions seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the Texas Legislature, according to the lawmaker whose Senate committee covers the death penalty. "I'm confident most Texans support the death penalty," said Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, just hours before a Kerrville jury sentenced Darlie Routier to become the seventh woman on Texas' Death Row."I don't think there's any chance that the Legislature . . . Find Article

February 5, 1997 Routier gets death ~ Rowlett homemaker becomes the seventh woman on Texas' Death Row `I'll see you in heaven,' Darin Routier says to his wife, Darlie : JAY B. LEWIS ; JUSTIN BACHMAN Star-Telegram Writer : KERRVILLE - Darlie Routier stood stone-faced with her shoulders squared yesterday as she was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing her 5-year-old son in the den of their Rowlett home. Her mother and her husband, along with other relatives, listened stoically as state District Judge Mark Tolle read the court order turning her over to the state prison system for execution."We were thinking the worst," Routier's brother-in-law, Deon Routier, said after the rest of the . . . Find Article