Lucio's adult children said she never abused them and have been pleading for clemency. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution for 52-year-old Melissa Lucio, a woman who had been set to be the first Hispanic woman put to death by the state in modern history after being convicted of beating her 2-year-old daughter to death in 2007. He and others in the defence team have claimed that a number of errors had been made both during the trial and in the official transcription of it. They were behind on their own mortgage and owed $10,000 in back taxes and $12,000 on credit cards. screaming on a police dispatch tape from the night of the slayings. WebDarlie Lynn Peck Routier (born January 4, 1970) is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon in 1996. . The 911 dispatcher immediately says Theres a knife . escaped through a garage window. after seizing a large amount of evidence during what they describe This biography provides detailed information about her childhood, life, achievements, works & timeline. She was shown smiling, laughing, and spraying silly strings on the graves, while singing Happy Birthday along with her family. 5 - In an interview, Mr. Routier says his love for his wife has To date, Routier has not specifically been tried for Devons murder. Sep. 12:Judge Tolle grants a defense motion for change of venue, moving the trial from Dallas County to Kerr County. Routier's account. "His eyes were open, and there was Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. . 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We are bringing this back in conjunction with the new documentary series. And the evidence of her innocence, some of it has been there all along. she/they. A woman Darlie Routier, 26, has cut and stab wounds on her neck and upper body. 2000:The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overrules Darlies objections to the corrected court reporters record, forcing the appeal to go forward with an uncertified and uncertain record of the trial. She is then arrested and jailed. In April, though, the Innocence Project in New York entered the case and its review of the evidence and subsequent petition won court approval for further testing. Two officers testify that Ms. Routier gave conflicting accounts of And we heard about Melissa's case. Routier has been fighting her death sentence since 1997 when she was found guilty of murdering one of her two boys. 31 - Ms. Routier interrupts Mr. Davis' closing arguments, Judge Francis approves the new transcript anyway. The prosecution, under the leadership of Toby Shook and Greg Davis, suggested that the crime scene had been staged. The clip sickened Dallas County District Attorney Greg Davis, because it had only been a week since these boys deaths and yet weve got a full-blown birthday party out there at the gravesite. 18 - Police arrest Ms. Routier and charge her with capital Right now, it looks like you're a cold-blooded killer. Devon, Damon, and They married four years later and in 1989, their oldest son Devon was born. David Rogers, a WebBiography. Devon, who would have turned 7. So, you became involved in the case quite recently. As previously discussed, Darlie Routier is on death row in Texas. 5-year-old Damon Routier is still alive. Eight days after the incident, Routier was shown in newscasts across the country at her sons graves posthumously celebrating Devons birthday, who would have been seven that year. Jason Simpson is the son of former NFL running back, broadcaster and actor O. J. Simpson. 22 - Lawyers schedule meetings with the 165 prospective jurors. Darlie Routier Biography - Facts, Childhood, Life & Crimes on the boys and Ms. Routier's handwritten will were found beside Darin performed CPR but it wasnt enough. Times for the events of the 911 call are taken from a transcript prepared by Rowlett P.D. Either way, the jurors did not get to see any photographs of her injuries. You're trying to stop an execution. She appealed that order to the Court of Criminal Appeals. slayings. Darin and Routier finally divorced in September 2011, citing a mutual need to get out of the limbo they had been in since her arrest and conviction. In the years that have followed, Darlie has filed two appeals on the grounds of alleged irregularities during her trial, but they have been denied. Her mother found work at a Western Sizzlin restaurant where Darin worked as a cook. no appreciable blood was on the couch where Ms. Routier said she Patterson once again interviews Darlie at the Rowlett police station. And Melissa's case has two of the leading causes of wrongful convictions at its core, a false incriminating statement that came from coercive interrogation. Times for the events of the 911 call are taken from a transcript prepared by Rowlett P.D. It was a big win for advocates who argued that Lucio was wrongly convicted and that her case represents larger problems with the criminal justice system. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family, life, and little known facts about him. All accounts agree that the Routiers were living beyond their means. Twelve days after the murders, Darlie and Darin Routier returned to the police department voluntarily for another round of questioning. Texas womans last-minute reprieve on death row draws contained deposits of Ms. Routier's skin. She gave birth to Damon Christian Routier on February 19, 1991. Routier and her family hired J. Stephen Cooper as her post-conviction attorney. Told midway through it that the police already have a warrant for her arrest, Darlie continues to talk for another hour before asking for an attorney. She has a sister named Danelle Fugate. attack while she was being treated. And so that was used against her. She was officially charged with capital murder four days later. $1,200 "on hand." But the entire scene indicated to me there had not been an intruder, crime scene consultant James Cron testified. 20 - Testimony suggests that the knife used to slash the garage Some of the evidence could have been presented if her defense attorneys had just reached out to the right medical experts. Routier has always claimed a stranger had broken into the home and killed the In July, the federal court lifted its previous stay of that case, leading Darlie to file her motion for discovery in federal court the following month. Darlie, who had suffered serious injuries herself, including a knife cut on the throat, asked Waddell if any of her jewellery was stolen. He pointed out that the prosecution did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Feb. 4:After one day of sentencing testimony, the jury sentences Darlie Routier to death. Edmund Kemper is a convicted serial killer from America who murdered ten people. faded." Timeline Darlie Routier: Wrongly Convicted Less than a half-hour after they arrived at the house, authorities doubted Routiers version of events. Tom Bevel informed the court that the cast-off blood on the back of her nightshirt suggested that she had drawn her hand back every time before stabbing the children repeatedly. Waddell entered the house to find Routier still talking to the dispatchers; one boy had already died and the other was close to death. Routier has maintained her innocence since the June 6, 1996, stabbing deaths of her children, Damon, 5, and Devon, 6, who were found dead in the familys Rowlett, Texas, home during the early morning hours. When Darlie was 15 she moved to Lubbock with her mother, step-father, and younger sister. Apart from marking her as greedy and uncaring, they also highlighted that she could not give a clear description of the intruder, and nothing was stolen from her home, raising the question of if he really existed. After all, not only was it discovered that the Routier family had severe financial troubles, but it also came to light that Darlies wounds were superficial, as if self-inflicted. It's hard to completely anticipate. Patterson. the blood evidence lead to a heated exchange outside the courthouse their home on Eagle Drive in Rowlett. WebDarlie is on the phone the entire time. . In 2014, both the prosecution and her defence team were granted permission for further DNA tests. Darlie Routier, 26, has cut and stab wounds on her neck and upper body. They brought in crime scene consultant James Cron to support the claim. How quickly could that all move? Waddell entered the house to find Routier still talking to the dispatchers; one boy had already died and the other was close to death. Darlie's World (Drake had been placed in temporary wounds while standing at the kitchen sink. When Routier was a teenager, she relocated to Lubbock with her mother and stepfather Robbie Kee. The newscasts had a devastating effect. So now, lets find out all that there is to know about her, shall we? Investigators say her account testifies that he realized quickly that evidence didn't fit Ms. At one point, Routier contemplated suicide and wrote a note to her children in her diary. Throughout the book Cruz collaborates with a former FBI special agent on her examination of the case. 15 - Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty But those who knew them did not realise that at the time. The author has since changed her mind and now supports Routier by donating all the income from the book to her family. wrongdoing. psychological evaluation. The Darlie Routier Story He fled as soon as she tried to approach him and dropped the knife in the process. In 2007, Melissa Lucio was the mother of 12 children, pregnant with twins and struggling to provide for them. After recovery, she was charged with murder. We started to look into it. 2006:In August, a stay order was issued in the federal case to pause the proceedings there while the DNA testing issues were being decided by the state courts. testifies that blood evidence on Ms. Routier's nightshirt could June 14 1984, Darlie and Darin welcomed their first son Devon Rush Routier into the world. Routier, 26, is wounded in the neck and upper torso. I do believe Even though our hearts are breaking, I know that Devon and Damon would want us to be happy, she told the station. We are very confident that, given the compelling evidence of her innocence, if this case was tried today, she would be acquitted. There was also a lack of a blood trail or footprints leading outside of the garage. Other witnesses report On June 6, 1996, at 2:31 am, the 911 dispatchers at Rowlett got an emergency call from Routier from their home at 5801 Eagle Drive. The first officer to arrive at the scene was David Waddell who saw Darin running out the front door. Initially, Darin was quite successful with his small company that tested electronic components. In June 2008, Routier was granted the right to new DNA tests. released that casts doubt on Ms. Routier's story that the attacker as an exhaustive investigation. Well, that news was the best that we could have expected, because clemency would have turned Melissa's sentence into essentially a life sentence. tells police that he and the couple's 8-month-old son, Drake, slept She studied at Monterey High School in Lubbock, graduating in 1988. All Rights Reserved. When Darlie was 15 she moved to Lubbock with her mother, step-father, and younger sister. In 2008, she received the rights to new DNA tests. suggests that Ms. Routier stabbed the boys. Routier told the operator that her home had been broken into and that an intruder had stabbed her children, 6-year-old Devon and 5-year-old Damon, and cut her throat. There were knife wounds to Routiers neck, forearm and shoulder. the Kerr County Jail. Darlie, who had suffered serious injuries herself, including a knife cut on the throat, asked Waddell if any of her jewellery was stolen. As you also mentioned, some of that new evidence will now be considered. Because his transcript varies from the one introduced at trial, the quotes below are from the trial exhibit. In addition, the state based its case on presenting as evidence details that went to the kind of mother Routier was: Prosecutors Toby Shook played a 15-second clip of Routier happily spraying Silly String on Devons grave, and told the jurors the scene gives you a lot of insight into this woman. Nor did he raise the issue that Darin, not Routier, had committed the murders, a strategy her original lawyers later said they had planned to pursue. She also told Waddell that she had touched the knife that was used to kill her children, implanting her own fingerprints on it. 8 - A Baylor emergency room doctor testifies that Ms. Routier's A series of post-conviction petitions, as well as a Texas Monthly investigation, have cast significant doubt on the state case. 2:36:48 am:The 911 call ends after five minutes and 42 seconds. On June 6, 1996 a little after 2:00 a.m., Darlie Routier called 9-1-1 reporting that an intruder stabbed her and her 2 sons, Devon and Damon. WebBiography. Two of them, The Innocence Project is representing. Design a site like this with WordPress.com, Credit; https://darliefacts.com/defendants-exhibits/defexhibit68-2/, Credit; https://darliefacts.com/darlies-injuries/defexhibit3-2/, http://www.darlieroutierfactandfiction.com/myth-9/, Credit; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie. helped try to resuscitate the children. Discover Darlie Routier's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. 6 - Darlie and Damon Routier's two oldest sons, Devon, 6, and Rowlett Weekend One Hundred The subsequent trial went on for less than a year before the judge pronounced her sentence. 1999:Judge Francis appoints court reporter Susan Simmons to recreate the trial transcripts from Halseys tapes. hidden microphones beside the boys' graves "in case someone went up Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. She is from U.S.. We have estimated Nowadays, I'm a self-published author, professional writer, and lover of all things nerd. All accounts agree that the Routiers were living beyond their means. So, if money was the motive, they said, why did she leave Darin unharmed, who had an $800,000 insurance policy? 2:45 am:Approximate time Officer Waddell assumes guard duty at the front porch of the Routier home. By signing up you agree to ourTerms of ServiceandPrivacy Policy. Darlie Lynn Peck Routier is an American death row inmate convicted of killing her five-year-old son. less than a month before the killings. Joyce Meyer is a Christian author and speaker. A third child, and Darlies husband Darin, slept through the attack. A doctor from @frankncarlson. Before June 6, Darlie was a normal stay-at-home mom with three kids to raise and her husband Darin, owned an electronics store. custody of Mr. Routier's parents.) Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project, which is representing Lucio, joins Amna Nawaz to discuss. against Ms. Routier. That was used as a confession at her trial, along with testimony that Mariah's intake injuries indicated abuse. It is not known when Darlie Routier, 50, will be executed. Mr. Mulder And we had heard of Melissa's case from another one of our clients, Darlie Routier, who's on death row with Melissa. Given the pathologists estimate that Damon could have survived his wounds for only nine minutes, that the 911 call lasted six minutes, and that police arrived within a minute after the end of the call, that left barely over two minutes for Routier to stab her sons, head for the garage, step through the slit in the window screen, jump a back fence or go through a back gate, run barefoot for 75 yards down an alley, drop a bloody sock, run 75 yards back, stab herself, clean up the blood around the sink, and stage whatever crime scene there was left to be staged, as Texas Monthly put it. Skai Jackson is an American child actress with huge fan following. Routier's aunt, Sherry Moses, testifies Ms. Routier began screaming She was shown smiling, laughing, and spraying silly strings on the graves, while singing Happy Birthday along with her family. 22 - An expert testifies that blood evidence from the nightshirt Gia Carangi was one of the very first supermodels from the USA.