Volume 49

1 IN THE CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT NO. 3
2 DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS
3
4
5
6 THE STATE OF TEXAS } NO. F-96-39973-J
7 VS: } & A-96-253
8 DARLIE LYNN ROUTIER } Kerr Co. Number
9
10
11
12
13 REPORTERS RECORD
14 JURY TRIAL
15 VOL. 49 OF 53 VOLS.
16 February 4, 1997
17 Tuesday
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
5632

1 C A P T I O N
2
3
4 BE IT REMEMBERED THAT, on Tuesday, the 4th day of
5 February, 1997, in the Criminal District Court Number 3
6 of Dallas County, Texas, the above-styled cause came on
7 for a jury trial before the Hon. Mark Tolle, Judge of the
8 Criminal District Court No. 3, of Dallas County, Texas,
9 with a jury, and the proceedings were held, in open
10 court, in the City of Kerrville, Kerr County Courthouse,
11 Kerr County, Texas, and the proceedings were had as
12 follows:
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1
2 A P P E A R A N C E S
3
4
5 HON. JOHN VANCE
6 Criminal District Attorney
7 Dallas County, Texas
8
9 BY: HON. GREG DAVIS
10 Assistant District Attorney
11 Dallas County, Texas
12
13 AND:
14 HON. TOBY SHOOK
15 Assistant District Attorney
16 Dallas County, Texas
17
18 AND:
19 HON. SHERRI WALLACE
20 Assistant District Attorney
21 Dallas County, Texas
22
23 APPEARING FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS
24
25
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
5634

1 ADDITIONAL APPEARANCES:
2
3 HON. DOUGLAS D. MULDER
4 Attorney at Law
5 2650 Maxus Energy Tower
6 717 N. Harwood
7 Dallas, TX 75201
8
9 AND: HON. CURTIS GLOVER
10 Attorney at Law
11 2650 Maxus Energy Tower
12 717 N. Harwood
13 Dallas, TX 75201
14
15 AND: HON. RICHARD C. MOSTY
16 Attorney at Law
17 Wallace, Mosty, Machann, Jackson & Williams
18 820 Main Street, Suite 200
19 Kerrville, TX 78028
20
21 AND: HON. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS, JR.
22 Attorney at Law
23 Wallace, Mosty, Machann, Jackson & Williams
24 820 Main Street, Suite 200
25 Kerrville, TX 78028
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
5635

1
2 AND: HON. JOHN HAGLER
3 Attorney at Law
4 901 Main Street, Suite 3601
5 Dallas, TX 75202
6 ALL ATTORNEYS REPRESENTING THE
7 DEFENDANT: DARLIE ROUTIER
8 MR. HAGLER HANDLING THE APPEAL
9 AND:
10 HON. ALBERT D. PATILLO, III
11 Attorney at Law
12 820 Main Street, Suite 211
13 Kerrville, TX 78028
14 APPEARING FOR: Witness-
15 Detective Jimmy Patterson

16 only on one date in trial
17 AND:
18 HON. STEVEN J. PICKELL
19 Attorney at Law
20 620 Earl Garrett Street
21 Kerrville, TX 78028
22 APPEARING FOR: Witness
23 Officer Chris Frosch
24 only on one date in trial
25
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2
3 February 4th, 1997
4 Tuesday
5 9:00 a.m.
6
7 (Whereupon, the following
8 proceedings were held in
9 open court, in the presence
10 and hearing of the
11 defendant, being
12 represented by her attorneys
13 and the representatives of
14 the State of Texas, but
15 outside the presence of the
16 jury, as follows:)
17
18
19 THE COURT: All right. Let the record
20 reflect that these proceedings are being held outside the
21 presence of the jury and all parties of the trial are
22 present.
23 Have both sides read the Charge of the
24 Court?
25 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: Yes, sir.
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1 MR. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS: Yes, your
2 Honor.
3 THE COURT: Okay. I believe the
4 defense wishes the failure to testify portion removed; is
5 that correct?
6 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: Yes, sir.
7 THE COURT: Does the State have any
8 objection?
9 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: No, we don't,
10 your Honor. But we would request that you inquire of the
11 defendant if that is her desire as well.
12 THE COURT: Is that your desire, Mrs.
13 Routier?
14 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
15 THE COURT: All right.
16 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: Thank you, your
17 Honor.
18 THE COURT: Will the State still
19 object to my removing that from the Charge?
20 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: No. Provided the
21 defense doesn't want it in, and they've objected. We
22 just heard them, we will concur in that.
23 THE COURT: All right. Fine then.
24 The motion is granted, by the Court. The defense's
25 motion is granted. We will remove that portion of the
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 Charge as to the failure to testify.
2 The rest of the Charge is satisfactory
3 to both sides?
4 MR. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS: No, your
5 Honor. If I might respond.
6 THE COURT: Oh, I'm sorry.
7 MR. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS: The
8 defendant objects to the anti-sympathy charge as written
9 in, as in total presented in the Charge. I would provide
10 McFarland_v._State, which references the charge, and it _________ __ _____
11 also cites Wheatfall_versus_State, in regards to an _________ ______ _____
12 anti-sympathy charge.
13 And in Wheatfall, which is a Court of _________
14 Criminal Appeals case, 1994, it says that the giving of
15 that charge may not be error, but the Court specifically
16 said that it does not pass on whether there is any
17 statutory authority to give that charge. And I believe,
18 as the Court knows, there is no statutory authority for
19 giving that charge.
20 Thus, giving that charge is purely
21 discretionary with the Court, and in that regard I would
22 submit it should not be presented.
23 Let me expound on it a little bit. If
24 you have a charge as required by Penry, which says that _____
25 you are to consider mitigating circumstances. And in the
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1 Charge you say, "And as the Court has instructed the
2 jury," you're going to say that they shall consider
3 mitigating circumstances, which I think is appropriate.
4 And if you say, on one hand you want
5 them to consider mitigation, and in that Charge you say
6 that mitigation includes anything about the defendant's
7 background, character, or anything personal about the
8 defendant, and then on the other hand you say, "Well, you
9 cannot consider sympathy," then you are contradicting the
10 Penry charge and you're contradicting the mitigating _____
11 evidence charge.
12 And because there's no statutory
13 authority for being in the Charge, I believe it's
14 improper to give it.
15 It's discretionary, and there is no
16 statutory basis for giving it. And, we object on that
17 basis.
18 THE COURT: Okay. Objection
19 overruled.
20 Anything other than that?
21 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: Let me say one
22 thing to that. I disagree with Mr. Douglass putting it
23 in the discretionary part. What the Court held in that
24 case was there was not an abuse of discretion, but the
25 statutory objection I don't believe was raised in that
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 case. And that's the thrust of our objection is no
2 statutory authority.
3 MR. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS: If I might
4 just add one thing to be clear. The Court specifically
5 said nobody raised, in that case, the fact that there's
6 no statutory authority, as if it was willing to say we'll
7 revisit that issue, because there was no authority to
8 give that charge.
9 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
10 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: And Judge --
11 THE COURT: Other than that -- yes,
12 Ms. Wallace.
13 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: I said the State
14 concurred in the request to remove the failure to
15 testify. We're not asking for it to be removed, but
16 understand that the defense is. And we're satisfied with
17 it in, but if they want it out, we understand your
18 ruling.
19 THE COURT: Thank you. Other than
20 that, does the defense have any objection?
21 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: Yes. We object
22 to the instruction on parole. That it is an inaccurate
23 statement of the law that she would have to serve 40
24 years. It also contradicts with the second full
25 paragraph of the Charge which says that the sentence is
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 mandatory death or confinement in the penitentiary for
2 life. And all it does -- all the Charge does is suggest
3 that, in fact, there is some parole law applicable to the
4 case, and we object to including it in there.
5 THE COURT: Overruled. Other than
6 that is there any defense objection to the Charge?
7 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: I just want to
8 reurge all of the arguments made.
9 THE COURT: Is the rest
10 satisfactory -- other then that, is the Charge
11 satisfactory to the defense?
12 MR. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS: Yes, sir.
13 THE COURT: All right. And so, Ms.
14 Halsey, if you will be kind enough to mark this as the
15 next Court Exhibit, Court's Exhibit D. All right. Make
16 this Exhibit D.
17
18 (Whereupon, the
19 Exhibit was
20 Marked for
21 Identification
22 Only, as Court's
23 Exhibit D.)
24
25 THE COURT: All right. So, we're
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 going to bring the jury in. I'll read the Charge of the
2 Court, then we will have arguments now.
3 So we get everyone in a row here, so
4 to speak. Who will argue for the defense -- who is going
5 to open for the State? Mr. Shook?
6 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: I will, your
7 Honor.
8 THE COURT: Ms. Wallace. All right.
9 And by agreement, 90 minutes a side.
10 What warnings do you want, Ms.
11 Wallace?
12 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: If you could let
13 me know when I've used 30 minutes, and 15 minutes
14 thereafter.
15 THE COURT: Okay. And who will argue
16 for the defense? What order?
17 MR. CURTIS GLOVER: Doug, are you
18 going to open?
19 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Yeah, I'll open,
20 Judge.
21 MR. CURTIS GLOVER: I'm following him,
22 Judge.
23 THE COURT: Pardon?
24 MR. CURTIS GLOVER: I'll follow him,
25 Judge.
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 THE COURT: Okay. How long do you
2 want, Mr. Mulder?
3 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: I don't need to
4 be called. I don't know how long I'm going to use, maybe
5 half an hour, maybe 45 minutes.
6 THE COURT: Well, do you want me to
7 let you know when you have used certain time limits, or
8 gone past a certain time?
9 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: No, that's quite
10 all right. Thanks.
11 THE COURT: All right. Well, then,
12 who will follow that?
13 MR. S. PRESTON DOUGLASS: After Mr.
14 Glover, then I will. I just need 10 minutes.
15 Well, Mr. Mulder, I will warn you at
16 the end of each 30 minute segment; is that clear? So
17 everybody will know the time they're using.
18 Now, we will break -- the jury is
19 going to need to break about an hour and 15 minutes. I
20 will try to wait until somebody -- whenever we can break,
21 but they're not going to be able to sit for three hours.
22 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Well, if you're
23 going to do that, then I suggest that you break at the
24 end of Sherri --
25 THE COURT: Mr. Mulder, I will
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
5644

1 determine when we break.
2 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Well, Judge,
3 listen, that's fine with me, but I just don't want to be
4 interrupted in the middle of my argument.
5 THE COURT: Well, we hope that you're
6 not.
7 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Well, I want that
8 understood, Judge.
9 THE COURT: Thank you. All right.
10 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: I want that
11 understood, Judge. I don't want to be interrupted in the
12 middle of my argument. Now, if you want to recess prior
13 to the time that she reaches -- at the conclusion of her
14 argument, that's fine and dandy. I don't want to be
15 interrupted in the middle of my argument.
16 THE COURT: If the jury wants to
17 break, Mr. Mulder, we will break. And we'll have plenty
18 of time.
19 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: You know, I
20 don't think that that's an unfair request, that Mr.
21 Mulder's argument not be interrupted.
22 THE COURT: Gentlemen, let's don't
23 get -- I normally don't interrupt people in the middle of
24 their argument.
25 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Well, if I argue
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 for 45 minutes that's going to take it to an hour and
2 half.
3 THE COURT: Well, all right. If I see
4 a juror with their hand up, we're going to be breaking.
5 I just want to warn you of that.
6 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Well, Judge, I
7 suggest you take that up with the jury before I get up to
8 argue, it's real simple.
9 THE COURT: I have. Thank you.
10 And we understand that there will be a
11 total of 90 minutes per side. Total.
12 With that understanding, let's bring
13 the jury in, please.
14 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: Could we wait a
15 minute, your Honor? Could I check on something?
16 THE COURT: Yes. All right.
17 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: Will that be
18 okay?
19 THE COURT: All right.
20 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: Your Honor, we
21 object to starting until Mr. Routier gets here. I think
22 that's not an unreasonable request after a five week
23 trial.
24 THE COURT: Thank you. Overruled.
25 Let's bring the jury in, please.
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 Well, when do you think he will be
2 here?
3 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: If the Court
4 will give me a few minutes, I can go check.
5 THE COURT: All right. Go ahead and
6 check and see where he is.
7 Just hold the jury a minute to see
8 where Mr. Routier is.
9
10 (Whereupon, a short pause
11 in the proceedings was had,
12 after which time, the
13 proceedings were resumed
14 as follows:)
15
16 THE COURT: All right. Are they here?
17 I thought they were coming up the stairs.
18 Let the record reflect these
19 proceedings are being held outside the presence of the
20 jury and all parties of trial are present.
21 These proceedings today began at 9:00
22 A.M. sharp. It's now 14 minutes after 9:00. We have
23 recessed for five minutes.
24 And Mr. Mosty, what is the result of
25 your search for the Routier family?
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
5647

1 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: I have someone
2 going to check on him. The place where he is staying
3 does not have a phone.
4 THE COURT: Well, it's 9:15 now.
5 MR. RICHARD C. MOSTY: His brother is
6 going, on his way there.
7 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
8 Well, it's 9:15 now. The Court feels that we have waited
9 long enough. We have a jury in the jury room ready to
10 go. We have three hours of argument ahead of us. So,
11 the Court is now going to proceed.
12 If you will bring the jury in, please.
13
14 (Whereupon, the jury
15 Was returned to the
16 Courtroom, and the
17 Proceedings were
18 Resumed on the record,
19 In open court, in the
20 Presence and hearing
21 Of the defendant,
22 As follows:)
23
24 THE COURT: All right. Be seated,
25 please. Let the record reflect that all parties in the
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 trial are present and the jury is seated.
2 Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, what
3 is going to happen now is, I am going read to you the
4 Charge of the Court. That's the law in the case. Then
5 you will hear arguments for both sides. Then the case
6 will be yours to decide.
7 The Charge of the Court: Ladies and
8 gentlemen of the jury: By your verdict returned in this
9 case you have found the defendant, Darlie Lynn Routier,
10 guilty of the offense of capital murder. It is necessary
11 now for you to determine, from all of the evidence in the
12 case, the answers to certain questions called Special
13 Issues in this charge.
14 The mandatory punishment for capital
15 murder is death or confinement in the penitentiary for
16 life. You are instructed that in answering the special
17 issues you may take into consideration all of the facts
18 shown by the evidence admitted before you in the full
19 trial of this case and the law as submitted to you in
20 this Charge.
21 During your deliberations in this
22 phase of the trial you must not consider, discuss or
23 relate any matters not in evidence before you. You
24 should not consider or mention any personal knowledge or
25 information you may have about any fact or person
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 connected with the case which is not shown by the
2 evidence.
3 You are instructed that if any
4 evidence has been introduced during the course of this
5 trial concerning the defendant's involvement in offenses
6 or bad acts, other than the offense on trial, you cannot
7 consider such evidence for any purpose unless you first
8 find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the
9 defendant committed these other offenses, or bad acts, if
10 there were any, and even then you may only consider the
11 same in determining the answers to the Special Issues.
12 If you do not so find or believe from the evidence, or if
13 you have a reasonable doubt thereof, you must wholly
14 disregard such evidence.
15 You are further instructed that you
16 are not to be swayed by mere sentiment, conjecture,
17 sympathy, passion, prejudice, public opinion or public
18 feeling in considering all the evidence before you in
19 answering the Special Issues.
20 The burden of proof in Special Issue
21 Number 1 rests upon the State, and it must prove the
22 affirmative of such issue beyond a reasonable doubt.
23 A reasonable doubt is a doubt based on
24 reason and common sense after a careful and impartial
25 consideration of all of the evidence in the case. It is
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 the kind of doubt that would make a reasonable person
2 hesitate to act in the most important of his own affairs.
3 Proof beyond a reasonable doubt,
4 therefore, must be proof of such a convincing character
5 that you would be willing to rely and act upon it without
6 hesitation in the most important of your own affairs.
7 In the event you have a reasonable
8 doubt as to the answer to Special Issue Number 1, after
9 considering all of the evidence before you, and these
10 instructions, you will answer the Special Issue, "no."
11 In deliberating on Special Issue
12 Number 1, you shall consider all evidence admitted at the
13 guilt or innocence stage and the punishment stage
14 including evidence of the defendant's background or
15 character, or the circumstances of the offense that
16 militates for or mitigates against the imposition of the
17 death penalty.
18 You are instructed that you may not
19 answer Special Issue Number 1, "yes," unless all jurors
20 unanimously agree to such answer. Further you may not
21 answer this Special Issue, "no," unless 10 or more jurors
22 agree. It is not necessary that members of the jury
23 agree on what particular evidence supports a negative
24 answer, that is, an answer of "no" to Special Issue
25 Number 1.
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 You are further instructed that if the
2 jury makes an affirmative finding to Special Issue Number
3 1, that is, an answer of "yes," then the jury shall
4 answer Special Issue Number 2.
5 You will answer Special Issue Number 2
6 yes or no. You may not answer Special Issue Number 2
7 "no" unless all jurors unanimously agree to such answer.
8 And you may not answer such issue "yes" unless 10 or more
9 jurors agree to such answer. The jury, however, need not
10 agree on what particular evidence supports an affirmative
11 finding on Special Issue Number 2.
12 In answering Special Issue Number 2,
13 you are instructed that you shall consider mitigating
14 evidence as evidence that a juror might regard as
15 reducing the defendant's moral blame worthiness.
16 And then we have the two Special
17 Issues, which I will read now. Special Issue Number 1:
18 Is there a probability that the defendant would commit
19 criminal acts of violence that would constitute a
20 continuing threat to society?
21 If the jury returns an affirmative
22 finding on the issues submitted above, then you shall
23 answer the following Special Issue:
24 Special Issue Number 2: Taking into
25 consideration all of the evidence, including the
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
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1 circumstances of the offense, the defendant's character
2 and background, and the personal moral culpability of the
3 defendant, is there a sufficient mitigating circumstance
4 or circumstances to warrant that a sentence of life
5 imprisonment, rather than a death sentence be imposed?
6 You are further instructed that your
7 verdict shall be arrived at by due deliberation and not
8 by drawing lots or any other method of chance.
9 The answers to the Special Issues
10 shall be signed by the presiding juror.
11 You are the exclusive judges of the
12 facts proved, the credibility of the witnesses, and of
13 the weight to be given to their testimony. But you are
14 bound to receive the law from the Court, which is herein
15 given you, and to be governed thereby.
16 And that is signed by me, Mark Tolle,
17 Presiding Judge.
18 Now, the next two pages contain the
19 Special Issues. And depending upon your answer, the
20 presiding juror will sign, of course, the bottom of the
21 issue, assuming it's answered, and depending upon the
22 instructions, you will answer one or both of these
23 issues, depending upon the answers thereto. And Mr.
24 Wilson (sic) will sign the ones that you decide upon, and
25 if he will print his name, please.
Sandra M. Halsey, CSR, Official Court Reporter
5653

1 CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN PUNISHMENT:
2
3 THE COURT: And now argument, by
4 agreement, 90 minutes a side. And who will open for the
5 State? Ms. Wallace?
6 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: I will, your
7 Honor.
8 THE COURT: Thank you.
9 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: May it please the
10 Court?
11 THE COURT: Yes, ma'am.
12 MS. SHERRI WALLACE: On June the 6th,
13 of 1996 two precious children were forever silenced by
14 their killer. Devon and Damon Routier, were forever
15 silenced by their mother.
16 On their behalf, and on behalf of the
17 people of this great State, I want to thank you for your
18 wisdom and your common sense, in sifting through four
19 weeks of testimony and telling us the truth.
20 I know this case has been difficult.
21 It's been difficult on all of us. You don't want to
22 believe that a mother would kill her children. You fight
23 in yourself, and say it is not so. But in this case, as
24 you saw, the evidence is overwhelming. This woman over
25 here, murdered her children in cold blood.
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1 And then that family comes in here and
2 tries to make you feel guilty for their loss. Tries to
3 blame you for their pain? She is to blame. It's her
4 fault they're hurting. It's her fault we're here.
5 So don't you feel bad for one minute for holding on to
6 your oath. And for sifting through all of that horrible
7 evidence. And for reaching a just verdict. For that we
8 thank you.
9 Sarilda Routier said, the defendant's
10 own mother-in-law, "If she did this, she should die."
11 We know that she did this.
12 Now, it's up to you to decide if she
13 lives or dies.
14 Now, you remember from voir dire, from
15 the jury selection we did, it seems so long ago, it's not
16 that clear. Instead of saying life or death, the Court
17 has asked you to answer two questions. But in this case,
18 the answers are so easy, because the answers are in the
19 evidence. The answers are contained in the defendant's
20 crime.
21 The first question: "Is there a
22 probability that she would commit further continuing acts
23 of violence, that she would be a continuing threat?"
24 I want you to think about the crime
25 when you answer that question. You see, folks, this
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5655

1 isn't some crime where she snapped. This isn't a case
2 where we have got an automatic weapon and a mom just
3 freaked out. She planned this thing. She thought about
4 it for a week. She had been sleeping downstairs for a
5 week.
6 She told the nurse in the hospital
7 that she had been leaving that window open in the garage
8 for a week. And then that night, what did she do? She
9 sat there, and she waited until her babies fell asleep.
10 And she walks into the kitchen.
11 Can you imagine what is going through
12 her mind? She stands there, and looks at that butcher
13 block and thinks, what knife? What weapon am I going to
14 use to kill my children? How did she select it? Was it
15 the biggest one? I don't know.
16 But she pulled it out, and you know
17 what? She could have stopped right then. She could have
18 said, "Oh my God, what am I doing?" But she didn't.
19 She goes over to her child, and the
20 sequence of events I'm going to tell you is a reasonable
21 deduction from the evidence. I don't know exactly how
22 she did this crime, but I'll tell you what I think, what
23 I think the evidence shows.
24 She went over to Devon, her oldest
25 child. He's laying there sleeping.
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1 You know, is there anything more
2 precious than a sleeping child? Anything? You know how
3 they get when they fall asleep and they start breathing
4 heavily, just that deep sleep because they are exhausted
5 from playing all day. That's how Devon was.
6 She walks up to him and looks at him.
7 He is face up. Sleeping. He is dreaming. I don't know
8 what he is dreaming about, riding bikes, licking
9 popsicles. I don't know what he's dreaming about, but
10 it's nothing like the nightmare that awoke him. She
11 awoke him. She did it by taking that knife and slamming
12 it into his chest. She plunged it into his chest. And
13 she could have stopped then.
14 And if you are asked this question,
15 would she probably be a future danger? Would she
16 probably commit criminal acts of violence? Right then,
17 what would you say? Surely not. Not a mother. That
18 would snap her.
19 Surely she realizes her wrong?
20 But no, she does it again, until she
21 is sure he is dead.
22 And then she walks over to her five
23 year old child, Damon. Look at those eyes, those
24 precious eyes.
25 He is face down. He is sleeping too.
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1 And she has a chance at this point to
2 stop, to say, "Oh my God. I have made the most horrible
3 mistake of my life. I can't do it to another child."
4 But she doesn't. She is that cold. These kids are in
5 her way. And she has got a mission and a goal and she
6 carries it out.
7 And she goes over and she stabs Damon.
8 Do you know what it is like to stab
9 something? Have your ever stabbed a chicken? It's hard.
10 She had to go through bone. And pull it out and do it
11 again. And I don't know what happened then. Maybe she
12 thought she had done it with two times. But do you
13 remember what Barbara Jovell said about this little boy?
14 He was stubborn. He was a fighter. He didn't want to
15 die.
16 So she goes off and does whatever she
17 does. You know, flipping stuff around, taking that --
18 just turning that flower arrangement over, putting that
19 vacuum cleaner there, cutting herself, you know,
20 whatever she does. Okay? And she stages that crime
21 scene, and then you know what happened next. Because we
22 know from the blood trail that that little boy left, he's
23 trying to get out of there. He crawls away. And she
24 goes after him and hunts him down like an animal. And
25 she finishes him off.
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1 Those big eyes as he is dying are
2 looking up at her. You heard the paramedic talk about
3 it. He was choked up. It's hard to watch a little boy
4 die. And what did their mother do? Not one dadgum
5 thing. Not even then did she stop.
6 All she did was hold that towel on her
7 neck and ask when the heck the ambulance was going to be
8 there for herself.
9 You know, have any of y'all ever lost
10 anybody you really loved? You know what it's like to
11 have something suddenly taken away from you? You don't
12 ever want to believe it. You live in denial.
13 You know you remember when she
14 testified in the guilt or innocence phase of this trial,
15 and she told you, when she got in the ambulance she knew
16 her babies were dead. Well, they hadn't even declared
17 Damon dead.
18 She knew they were dead because she
19 knew she had stabbed him hard enough. She knew she had
20 finished him off.
21 So you have got to answer that first
22 question, and this crime gives you everything you need to
23 answer that first question.
24 You see, the law doesn't require -- we
25 talked about this in jury selection. The law doesn't
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1 require anything else.
2 There are some crimes that are so bad,
3 that are so distasteful, that are so horrible, that
4 that's all you need to hear. If we had asked this
5 question after Devon's death, maybe we would still have
6 Damon.
7 How long are we going to wait? You
8 all know she is a continuing threat. She is a threat to
9 anything that gets in her way.
10 As long as you don't cross her,
11 everything is fine. But if you get in her way, God help
12 you.
13 Now, I want you, if you will, to think
14 about this woman. Because that is really what this
15 second question is all about.
16 Is there something here sufficient,
17 after that crime, to warrant y'all changing your mind
18 and giving her life, even though she deserves death?
19 That's what it's all about.
20 Well, what evidence have you heard?
21 Well, the family doesn't want to believe it's true. The
22 truth is too ugly for them to face. But you have sat
23 here for four, now almost -- well, four and a half weeks,
24 and you know the truth. They have not been in this
25 courtroom. They don't know all you have heard. And they
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1 don't want to believe it. Who does? But that's the
2 case.
3 So think about this woman. Are you
4 not going to kill her because she is a woman? Does that
5 make those kids one bit less dead? All of you were asked
6 on your questionnaire, could you execute a woman if the
7 crime called for it? And every single one of you
8 answered yes.
9 So I ask you, if a stranger had broken
10 into this home, and done this -- look at it. Done this.
11 Done this to two little boys, what would you do to that
12 stranger? Well, I have talked to you all. I have heard
13 from you. I know what you would do. You would kill him
14 in a heartbeat.
15 Don't you know that their mother doing
16 this is so much worse?
17 So take the fact that she is a woman
18 out of the equation.
19 So, is there anything sufficiently
20 mitigating? Any reason for you to change the right
21 verdict?
22 Well, think about what she said.
23 You-all have seen that, you know, we call it the Silly
24 String tape. You have seen it. It's the 14th, it's
25 eight days after these babies are slaughtered. And she
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1 stands before that camera, and has the gall to say that
2 these children have had such rich and full lives.
3 You tell me. How does somebody that
4 hasn't even gotten to kindergarten yet have the chance to
5 have a rich and full life?
6 Her mother asked you to have
7 compassion. I ask you to have as much compassion for her
8 as she had for her children.
9 You have heard evidence in this phase
10 of the trial about this woman. You have heard -- you
11 know, it doesn't matter if she doesn't wear a bra. I
12 don't care if she doesn't wear a bra. That's not the
13 point.
14 The point is, that what you see here
15 in this courtroom is a sham. She is out there in our
16 communities. She is rude. She is not this -- you know,
17 all you heard was what a doting mother she was. How kind
18 and gentle she was.
19 Well, excuse my language, but, "Get
20 the fuck over here," to a three and four year old?
21 That's who you're asked to sentence.
22 She didn't care about these kids.
23 You know, they want you to think there
24 is something mitigating about she bought them a lot of
25 stuff. Well, yeah, that's the easy way. Buy them stuff,
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1 maybe they will shut up. Maybe they will go outside and
2 play.
3 You know that's how you know if the
4 Routiers are home. Kids are running wild outside. Mama
5 doesn't want them in the house. She doesn't have time
6 for them.
7 She took care of that, didn't she?
8 You know, some of you may be thinking,
9 maybe she ought to get a life sentence. Maybe that would
10 be worse. That would be a greater form of hell, because
11 she would have to think about her crime for the rest of
12 her life. That's a mistake. And I'll tell you why.
13 Because she is not like we are. She
14 is different. Very different. The only concern she's
15 got, the only time you saw real tears is when she is
16 worried about her own hide. And she doesn't give a flip
17 about anybody else.
18 A life sentence isn't going to work
19 for her, people. She doesn't have the guilt.
20 Knowing her life is about to end is
21 the only thing that will affect her.
22 I think the most scary thing is that
23 she looks like us. She looks like a human being, but she
24 is not. She is not one bit like us.
25 We couldn't do this. We don't even
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1 know somebody that could do this. This is one of those
2 crimes that is unthinkable.
3 You may be wondering, but why? Why
4 would she do it? You know, we don't have to prove
5 motive, but you want to know why.
6 You have heard some of the evidence
7 about what she was going through. But there's not a good
8 reason to stab a five and six year old boy. There is
9 nothing I could say to you, where you would go: "Oh, I
10 understand now. I understand why she stabbed her
11 children."
12 Senseless crimes. That's what they
13 are called. You know why they are called senseless
14 crimes? Because they don't make sense. But they happen.
15 And the people that do them are so evil. We reserve the
16 death penalty for those people. We reserve the death
17 penalty for people like Darlie Routier.
18 If she did it, she should die. You
19 know she did it.
20 You-all have got a tremendous
21 opportunity. There are juries today all around the State
22 that are called on to make decisions. And people often
23 times don't hear about them. But people are going to
24 hear about your verdict. People are paying attention to
25 this case.
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1 All of those people are press.
2 There's camera people in here and writers and TV people
3 and book people. And they are all waiting to see what
4 you do with this case.
5 They are your messengers.
6 I ask you to tell this nation, in
7 Texas, we protect our children. If you harm our
8 children, you will get the full extent of our laws.
9 I know this decision isn't easy. It
10 shouldn't be. But if you look at this evidence, and you
11 think about this crime, you think about the fact that all
12 of the time that she had where she could have stopped,
13 where she could have changed her mind. But she kept
14 plowing on through because that is what she wanted.
15 You think about those things. You
16 think about these babies.
17 Think about the last few minutes of
18 their life. What did they say to her, "Mommy, it hurts.
19 Mommy, why?" I don't know. But it hurt. And it wasn't
20 instant. And she didn't care.
21 In order for the defendant to die, you
22 must answer the first question "yes." And you must
23 answer the second question "no." If you answer them any
24 differently, she receives a life sentence. You must all
25 be in agreement that the first question is answered
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1 "yes," and the second question is answered "no." Every
2 single one of you has to agree to that verdict.
3 I ask you to tell this nation, to tell
4 this world, "Darlie Routier, we are not going to tolerate
5 what you have done to our children. You will die."
6 THE COURT: Thank you, Ms. Wallace.
7 Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, to
8 give both sides equal opportunity in explaining this case
9 to you, we will now take a 10 minute break.
10 Thank you.
11
12 (Whereupon, the jury
13 Was excused from the
14 Courtroom, and the
15 Proceedings were held
16 In the presence of the
17 Defendant, with his
18 Attorney, but outside
19 The presence of jury
20 As follows:)
21
22 THE COURT: All right. These
23 proceedings are being held outside the presence of the
24 jury, and all the parties in trial are present. The
25 Court's Charge was read to the jury commencing at 9:15
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1 A.M., and Ms. Wallace argued for the State. And she
2 began her argument at 9:23 A.M. and ending at 9:50 A.M.
3 Mr. Darin Routier appeared in Court at 9:40 A.M.
4 All right. Thank you.
5 Are both sides ready to bring in the
6 jury?
7 MR. GREG DAVIS: Yes, sir, we are
8 ready.
9 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Yes, sir, we're
10 ready.
11 THE COURT: All right. Bring the jury
12 in, please.
13
14
15 (Whereupon, the jury
16 was returned to the
17 courtroom, and the
18 proceedings were held
19 in the presence of the
20 Defendant, with her
21 Attorney, and in the
22 Presence and hearing of
23 the jury as follows:)
24
25
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1 THE COURT: Let the record reflect
2 that all parties in the trial are present and the jury is
3 seated.
4 Mr. Mulder.
5 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Yes, sir. May it
6 please the Court?
7 THE COURT: Yes, sir.
8 MR. DOUGLAS MULDER: Ladies and
9 gentlemen, I'll be the first to visit with you on behalf
10 of the defendant. And I think it would be less than
11 candid of me not to tell you that I am extremely
12 disappointed in your verdict.
13 But I believe in the system. And, you
14 are good people and you went through this evidence
15 sincerely, and you did your dead-level best, and for that
16 I certainly appreciate it. And it's not my position, or
17 anyone else's position to quarrel with your verdict.
18 The State's position is, at what we
19 call the punishment hearing, to bring you evidence upon
20 which they will later contend that you are to base your
21 verdict that Darlie should die. And I want to discuss
22 with you a little bit that testimony that they brought,
23 and then I want to answer Ms. Wallace's argument, if I
24 can, and then I want to point out some things that I
25 think are important and should be considered by you in
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1 arriving at a proper verdict in this case.
2 The first witness they called was a
3 young lady by the name of Allison Hennessey. And, she
4 basically told you that she is a friend, or up until
5 January of 1995, was a friend of Rene Stanley's, the
6 little girl who lived down the street. And Rene Stanley
7 would babysit for the Routiers from time to time, and
8 that she would go over there to the Routiers' house, and
9 she told you basically three things. She said that
10 Darlie bought cigarettes for Rene. This is a 16 year
11 old. That one time she gave her a Zima, and another time
12 she gave her a small quantity of marijuana.
13 But you know, it's curious to me, that
14 if the thrust of their proof is to show that these things
15 actually happened. And I would caution you that this
16 young lady is kind of kin to the case through Glenn Mize.
17 She is the stepdaughter of Glenn Mize, who has this
18 circuitous relationship with Basia, who is woven
19 throughout this whole mystery.
20 But if, in fact, the object is to
21 prove that these things occurred, why don't they bring
22 Rene Stanley? I mean, doesn't that make sense? Where is
23 Rene Stanley? I'll tell you where she is. They know --
24 and neither one of them are going to get up here with a
25 straight face and deny it. They know that Rene Stanley
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1 denies those allegations, you see.
2 Now, the next lady to come in here and
3 testify was Eileen Schirmer.
4 Remember, she is the one that lives
5 some two blocks away and quarrels with the way the little
6 bike riders are supervised. She didn't like the fact
7 that they didn't wear life preservers on the dock, and
8 that has, you know, the birthday party with the cake in
9 the face and the water gun and that.
10 She is what we call a volunteer. You
11 see? She is somebody who wants to get into the act. She
12 doesn't really have anything to bring to the party. But
13 you know, when you call and you volunteer, it doesn't
14 take long to figure out something that you can testify
15 to, and you can get into the act, and you can become a
16 star.
17 There is no way on God's green earth
18 that they found her during some neighborhood canvas. She
19 simply volunteered.
20 Now the next witness was Nelda Watts.
21 And you know the interesting thing about her, she's the
22 lady who heard the scream and saw the little black car
23 out in front, at her mailbox. And then when she heard
24 the sirens and the emergency vehicles, she looked out
25 there and it was gone. And nobody knows, to this day,
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1 what became of -- or how that black car fit into this
2 mystery.
3 I don't know why they weren't asking
4 her about that. You know, she has been there some three
5 years, and she has never spoken to Darlie, and obviously
6 doesn't even know what she looks like to be able to
7 identify her at a distance. I mean, this is an obvious
8 case of mistaken identity.
9 But I wonder why she wasn't asked
10 about the little black car, instead of this other
11 business that doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of
12 sense.
13 At any rate, the next witness called
14 was also a volunteer. Kay Norris. And basically, she
15 said she is trashy, and she is rude, and she doesn't
16 approve of the language that she used to correct her
17 children.
18 I mean, I don't either. If, in fact,
19 she used that language. But I suggest to you that if, in
20 fact, that is what they set out to prove, they could
21 bring somebody who doesn't have an obvious ax to grind.
22 And I think Ms. Norris does.
23 But enough said about her. Halina,
24 Halina is traceable back to Basia, and I think Rebecca
25 sufficiently rebutted anything that she had to say.
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1 I think that -- of course, I'm a
2 little bit curious that the only time she has ever in her
3 time here in the United States needed an interpreter was
4 when she comes down here to testify in Court, and that
5 strikes me as somewhat unusual.
6 I think you know from your common
7 experiences that by using an interpreter it's, of course,
8 to her advantage, and she can find out where Mr. Mosty is
9 going when he asks the questions.
10 She is Basia's mother, and you have
11 seen Basia, and I suggest to you that the apple doesn't
12 fall far from the tree. But, be that as it may. If they
13 were intent and wanted to bring you information of how
14 she acted, and how she treated those children, they have
15 that information from the canvas that they did of that
16 neighborhood.
17 You know they talked to the fellow
18 behind the house who saw Darin working on the fence that
19 night.
20 They have talked to everybody in that
21 neighborhood. They can pay ten grand to have some guy do
22 that business on the 911 tape, and you know they have
23 canvassed that neighborhood, and this is the best that
24 they can come up with, that she has not been a good
25 mother. And, I'll tell you, it's absurd. If this is all
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1 they can come up with, and they have had her under a
2 microscope for some seven months.
3 I think basically when you analyze a
4 capital murder case with the idea of punishment, and what
5 should be, or ought to be the proper punishment. And I
6 would remind you again in this case that the law says
7 that your decision should be the decision of twelve
8 jurors, not 6 or 8 or 10 or 11, but it must be unanimous.
9 So each of you is one hundred percent responsible for the
10 verdict, and that's the way it's supposed to be under our
11 law.
12 The law says that with respect to this
13 first issue, it must be proven to you beyond all
14 reasonable doubt. And that means simply this: That if
15 you have any reasonable doubt, the law says that you
16 resolve that doubt in favor of Darlie. Each and every
17 time. It doesn't make any difference whether it's once
18 or 10 times or 21 times or 101 times. Each time you have
19 a reasonable doubt, the law says you give her the benefit
20 of that reasonable doubt.
21 Now let's see if this makes sense: I
22 suggest to you that there are three considerations in
23 determining whether or not you've got a capital murder
24 case that warrants the death penalty.
25 The first one is, is the consideration
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1 of the victim. Who is the victim in this case?
2 The second consideration should be
3 the proof. Okay?
4 And the third consideration should be
5 the defendant.
6 To have a capital murder case that
7 warrants death you have got to have an innocent victim,
8 who did not provoke the killing. Does that make sense?
9 You have got that here, no question about that. Nothing
10 more innocent than a five year old child, and I dare say
11 there is absolutely nothing that a five year old child
12 could ever do, under any circumstances, to provoke his
13 death.
14 Now what about proof? Well, you
15 should want the proof to be so clear, so convincing,
16 evidence that is so compelling, evidence that satisfies
17 you in your heart of hearts that the defendant, to the
18 exclusion of all other people, is solely responsible for
19 the death of the victim. Does that make sense to y'all?
20 Absolute proof. You know it in your
21 heart of hearts, the evidence is so clear and convincing
22 that you are convinced of her guilt to the exclusion of
23 all others.
24 Now, I think the third consideration
25 should be the defendant. Is the defendant beyond
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1 redemption?
2 Okay. Let's talk a little bit about
3 the proof in this case. And I think if Mr. Davis, and
4 you know he talked last last time, so I didn't have an
5 opportunity to get up and answer him, and I would have
6 liked to have answered him on a number of things. But
7 again, I believe in the system, and that is the way the
8 system operates.
9 But if Mr. Davis is going to get up
10 here with a straight face and ask you to set her
11 punishment at death, then you are entitled to some
12 answers and some explanations.
13 I suggest to you that right now you
14 don't have a clear picture on what exactly happened, how
15 it happened, why it happened, or the timeframe in which
16 it happened.
17 And I suggest to you that if they have
18 proven their case to such an extent that they expect you
19 to render a verdict of death, you would have those
20 answers. You have held her responsible. I don't quarrel
21 with that.
22 I am surprised, but that is your
23 prerogative. But, for example, and I thought Ms.
24 Wallace, when she got up here, was finally going to take
25 a position as to what they thought happened out there,
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5675

1 but they won't do it. They want you to guess what
2 happened.
3 Let's talk about the blood, for
4 example.
5 Let's talk about the blood.
6 That may have been important in your
7 decision. You had the blood spatter man that came down
8 from Oklahoma City. Tom Bevel. The blood may have been
9 important. But I'll tell you what is missing in the
10 blood is the chain of custody.
11 You remember they got the clothing
12 worn by Damon to the hospital, just like they got the
13 T-shirt worn by Darlie, to the hospital. But then it
14 jumps from the hospital to the fire station number 2 over