Lurker Coming Out

[KatiesMom]

I disagree. I don't think they ever made a noise.

Yes, I see what you mean - they were in shock and petrified. That makes me sad.

 

[beesy]

Hi everyone: I have lurked on this board for a couple of years now - I have followed the Routier case, read most of the information, etc. etc. and have always been on the fence about Darlie's guilt

Hi and welcome Lurker! There are probably a whole of bunch of others like you

So I've been back on re-reading transcripts, statements, etc. and cannot believe this did not jump out at me before. I'm sure it has been discussed here before, but I think her guilt is finally hitting home for me now.

It's very hard to accept her guilt. Some of her supporters seem to think we just decided, "yep, fry her". I did alot of thinking on it and I think all of the others did too.

One of the first lines Darin writes is, and I quote "We talked about the business, bills, and how Darlie was having a hard time with taking care of the baby's (all) today.

Great observation! I really hadn't thought about it being the first thing she discusses. This is why we need new eyeballs. Money problems break up a lot of marriages. Makes the money problems worse of course, but I think they get so they can't stand each other and it becomes more than money.

I can start to see a scenario form - she complains about taking care of the kids and all the housework, etc., etc. and he counters with, what I think the reaction of some men would be, that he works 40 hours a week to bring home the money and all she has to do is take care of the kids and the house. (Haven't we all heard this kind of argument before in our lives?) Hence, the supposed fight, the talk of divorce, and possibly Darlie's ultimate breakdown

Yes, we have. Then we have Darlie's history and Darin's admission that both of them are Drama Queens, it doesn't stretch the brain too much to see it spiral out of control.

 

[beesy]

Blood on the photo album . . .


I can't remember if we talked about this before, but ya'll have heard that there was some blood dropplets on pages of a photo album, right?

oh my god that is creepy! I don't remember hearing about that. Whose blood was it? The album that was out in the family room?

 

[beesy]

I don't believe that Darin could have slept through his children being slaughtered - neither of the boy's throats were cut, they had to be screaming bloody murder. Maybe he didn't "plan" to kill them w/ Darlie, but if she did do it, he had to have walked in on it. That's one of the reasons I lean towards her being innocent sometimes - how in the world did she convince him to cover it up??

The MB was not directly above the FR. I don't think they screamed. I've always imagined grunting, if even that. Both quickly would have blood-filled lungs and Devon died very quickly. Any type of scream would have been smothered quickly by his more powerful mother. Those boys didn't have a chance. The lack of screaming is another check on her side of the chart.
When Darin describes running down the stairs the first time, it sounds real to me. He describes his confusion, thinking the glass table fell onto Devon, where is all this blood coming from? He doesn't even see Damon at first. After that, he's full of you know what.
Darlie and Darin seemed to have a bond that was stronger than there love for their children. I think he had this mentality that the boys are gone, but I can keep Darlie and Drake if help her out of this mess. I can even hear Darlie saying "you made me do this" blaming him for something stupid he said during their fight. So once he is standing in the middle of his sons' blood and doesn't call 911 to turn in his wife in, he's involved, he's in it and they can't ever tell on the other. That is where the control even from prison comes in.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

oh my god that is creepy! I don't remember hearing about that. Whose blood was it? The album that was out in the family room?

I'm thinking a mixture, but memory is horrible right now. Yes, it was in the murder room.

 

[detectivewannabe]

Ok, adding on to the fight....I also believe she was taking diet pills (don't beat me up) and I think Darin and her sister had something "strange" going on. Add THAT and maybe there was a enormous fight. I know when I am home all day with the kids and I'm p.m.s.ing, I get very edging. Is it true Darin took Darlie's sister home on the night of the murder? Maybe hormones were raging, maybe some otc diet pills, hunger, suspicions, money problems, "stuck" with the kids all day, picking up the same things all day long, not getting enough sleep and the summer heat just all hit at once and she exploded??????? I don't know. I agree with the previous poster. I think she's guilty then I talk myself right out of it.


This is just my opinion and my own little theory. I really don't have alot to back it up as I have said before I am no where near as knowledgable as other posters on this forum.

 

[G.I.RattlesnakeJane]

I don't believe that Darin could have slept through his children being slaughtered - neither of the boy's throats were cut, they had to be screaming bloody murder. Maybe he didn't "plan" to kill them w/ Darlie, but if she did do it, he had to have walked in on it. That's one of the reasons I lean towards her being innocent sometimes - how in the world did she convince him to cover it up??

The wounds were very deep, very quick, severing his aorta, in Devon's case I don't imagine it took him long to die. In the fight or flight mode screaming doesn't occur to most people while being attacked.
We scream in fear before an actual attack occurs or after, before the fight or flight takes over. This seems to be effective self defense as your screams aren't going to stop someone from attacking you, it may prevent them from attacking you but stop it???????

 

[deanws]

The sloppiness of the crime. If they planned it together, surely they would have done a better job staging it. If they planned it together why stabbing in the middle of the night? I would have taken them to that boat and thrown them off and then jumped in and pretended to try and save them.

It speaks to me of a rage killing, hence the need to bring in an intruder.

Yeah but how well is the story going to sell if it is about kids that fell off a boat? The dramatic stabbing seems more their style. The middle night stabbing seems more likely than a mid afternoon stabbing don't you think? I see the rage aspect though.

 

[cami]

I disagree. I don't think they ever made a noise.

Neither do I, especially Damon, he was such a timid child, apparently.

 

[cami]

Ok, adding on to the fight....I also believe she was taking diet pills (don't beat me up) and I think Darin and her sister had something "strange" going on. Add THAT and maybe there was a enormous fight. I know when I am home all day with the kids and I'm p.m.s.ing, I get very edging. Is it true Darin took Darlie's sister home on the night of the murder? Maybe hormones were raging, maybe some otc diet pills, hunger, suspicions, money problems, "stuck" with the kids all day, picking up the same things all day long, not getting enough sleep and the summer heat just all hit at once and she exploded??????? I don't know. I agree with the previous poster. I think she's guilty then I talk myself right out of it.


This is just my opinion and my own little theory. I really don't have alot to back it up as I have said before I am no where near as knowledgable as other posters on this forum.

Yes, I believe the diet pills are a factor. They made her edgy and unable to sleep.

 

[easybz]

Here is a question maybe the more informed members can answer for me.

When you look at most of the pictures, Darlie is dressed up, hair done, makeup done and when asked to describe her people say tacky, showy, tight clothes, you get the idea.

But in the transcripts some of the witnesses, such as the pawn shop lady describe her as always being sort of grungy, almost. Sweats or shorts, big tee shirts, no undergarments, no makeup, unkempt hair. What do you think the deal with that is?

Usually you are one way or the other -can't go out without your makeup on or really don't care. Me, I'm the latter!!

 

[cami]

Yeah but how well is the story going to sell if it is about kids that fell off a boat? The dramatic stabbing seems more their style. The middle night stabbing seems more likely than a mid afternoon stabbing don't you think? I see the rage aspect though.

Yes, I don't think the drowing story would get them very far. But I just don't see them as sitting down planning this together. It's too sloppy for that, I think Darlie freaked out driven by the diet pills and lack of sleep, failing marriage, failing business, depression, kids driving her nuts, Darin not helping out, etc, etc. leads to her snap for some reason and she stabs the boys. I wish she had stabbed Darin instead of taking it out on those boys.

 

[txsvicki]

I'm not sure that the boys would have been able to scream after having a lung punctured. I also think that Darlie snapped due to diet pills, depression, and has some personality disorder like others have described. Deciding that she'd had enough, she murdered the children. I think that there is also enough evidence to show premeditation in order to get out of the responsibility of rowdy kids who probably wouldn't go to bed at night as told, and the years of raising them possibly divorced. If she were mainly angry with Darin, she couldn't kill just him because then she'd be left with the responsibility of raising all the kids alone if she got away with it. The baby was unable to talk back and make a big mess so maybe she spared him. So, I think some sort of sociopathic snap and premeditating the murders.

 

[cami]

Here is a question maybe the more informed members can answer for me.

When you look at most of the pictures, Darlie is dressed up, hair done, makeup done and when asked to describe her people say tacky, showy, tight clothes, you get the idea.

But in the transcripts some of the witnesses, such as the pawn shop lady describe her as always being sort of grungy, almost. Sweats or shorts, big tee shirts, no undergarments, no makeup, unkempt hair. What do you think the deal with that is?

Usually you are one way or the other -can't go out without your makeup on or really don't care. Me, I'm the latter!!

An unkempt appearance is a sign of depression. Usually you don't even want to wash/shower when you are depressed, you just don't care about your appearance. You don't care about anything. I firmly believe Darlie was suffering from depression in the months leading up to the murders.

 

[deanws]

Yes, I don't think the drowing story would get them very far. But I just don't see them as sitting down planning this together. It's too sloppy for that, I think Darlie freaked out driven by the diet pills and lack of sleep, failing marriage, failing business, depression, kids driving her nuts, Darin not helping out, etc, etc. leads to her snap for some reason and she stabs the boys. I wish she had stabbed Darin instead of taking it out on those boys.

I do too! :doh:

 

[easybz]

An unkempt appearance is a sign of depression. Usually you don't even want to wash/shower when you are depressed, you just don't care about your appearance. You don't care about anything. I firmly believe Darlie was suffering from depression in the months leading up to the murders.

Yep, that was exactly my initial feeling too. I guess I'm fishing a little bit to see how deep her depression goes.

Personally I think her "suicide attempt" was for attention, but I also think the depression was very real. I'm not sure everyone understands how bad and uncontrollable depression can be. Even mild depression can make you feel desperate.

I look at her pictures, even from her early years and something seems off. Her smile doesn't look like it comes naturally to her.

 

[Goody]

......................
I really, really struggle with Darin's involvement. If she did this, he HAS to be involved; there is NO WAY he did not hear his children being slaughtered in the living room.

Okay, D & D have a major fight, he goes to bed in a huff and she sleeps on the couch. As she lays there stewing, she thinks, "Those damn kids, it's all their fault" and grabs a knife and starts stabbing them. Darin hears the commotion and runs downstairs and sees Darlie killing the children.
SO instead of grabbing the knife and slicing her to bits, Darlie convinces him to help her invent an intruder story and cover the whole thing up??? I just can't get to that point w/ Darin.

I agree with you. I don't think Darin was upstairs when this happened unless one of the children was killed long before the second who died just as paramedics arrived. No one could turn in a matter of seconds or even minutes....it would take some discussion, tearful and dramatic and emotional,before he could figure out what to do. So if this murder was premeditated,even if just in part, it is almost a given that it was planned by two people, not just one.

 

[Goody]

The sloppiness of the crime. If they planned it together, surely they would have done a better job staging it. If they planned it together why stabbing in the middle of the night? I would have taken them to that boat and thrown them off and then jumped in and pretended to try and save them.

It speaks to me of a rage killing, hence the need to bring in an intruder.

I don't think these two were organized enough to plan anything in great detail. They were both big talkers and I think they probably expected most of it to just fall in place. They were smart enough to both be sleeping when the crime happened so that neither would be able to tell what happened during the actual murders. That is a big, big coincidence. NOT!!! They just didn't plan well in every area. And who knows? Maybe they scrapped the original plan and had to go for the staging at the last minute because there was too much blood to clean up. Wouldn't be the first time that happened.

 

[Goody]

The wounds were very deep, very quick, severing his aorta, in Devon's case I don't imagine it took him long to die. In the fight or flight mode screaming doesn't occur to most people while being attacked.
We scream in fear before an actual attack occurs or after, before the fight or flight takes over. This seems to be effective self defense as your screams aren't going to stop someone from attacking you, it may prevent them from attacking you but stop it???????

Okay. Maybe you can answer this. If Darin could not hear the screams of the kids getting killed, how on earth did he hear Darlie? She did not go upstairs after him.

He said in one interview that police tested the sound and he would not have been able to hear screams in his room with the door closed. So how did he hear Darlie screaming for him from the bottom of the stairs?

For that matter,how did he hear that wine glass break????

 

[Goody]

Neither do I, especially Damon, he was such a timid child, apparently.

I think Devon did. Not so sure about Damon. But Devon fought back for at least a couple of minutes. He was spunky and I think he would have been screaming his head off until enough blood filled his lungs and chest cavity preventing him from it.