For those who believe Darlie innocent - help me understand.

[Occams Razor]

While I do think she's guilty, I don't believe she got a fair trial.

The prosecution played the "silly string" clip 9 times at trial but neglected to show the solemn graveside memorial full of crying and praying that the police had captured on video tape right before the birthday party thing (which was her sister's idea in the first place). There is a 2017 documentary on Youtube that shows the sad memorial clip for those who haven't seen it.

If Darlie is on death row, why is her husband walking free? He failed a polygraph test and was in the home that night just like she was. And he's admitted to staging a break-in months before the killing as a form of insurance fraud. If anything, Darin had more criminal ties than Darlie. And how did those giant bruises get on her arms? Is it possible to inflict that kind of damage all by yourself...and cut your neck with your non-dominant hand?

Also: Texas is the capital of capital punishment. They are too eager to put people to death. While I support the death penalty in certain extreme cases, it needs to be carried out carefully because if the state puts even one innocent person to death, they're as bad as any common killer. And they almost certainly HAVE killed innocent people--Todd Willingham comes to mind but there are others. You can always let an innocent person out of jail but you can't bring them back from the dead.

It's that 0.000001% of doubt that makes me want to halt the execution on Darlie's case. Not because I think she's innocent or a great person, but because the trial sounds like a *****show and I know how Bible Belt "justice" can be. I imagine it was a botched murder/suicide and that Darin was involved, but I didn't draw that conclusion based on the info presented at trial, which largely centered on her lavish lifestyle, odd mourning behavior (Silly String, gum chewing, etc) & other non-evidence.

 

[wasnt_me]

Interesting thread. I'm late to the party, but I am left-handed. I cut and slice with my right. Just wanted to say that since people are remarking about the dominant hand.

Also, Darin claimed to wake up upon hearing glass break. So at the point that he got involved, Darlie had to call the cops whether she was ready or not.

I just started this case, but my questions are:

1. Did anyone check the trashcan that the sock was next to? The sewer? Any other trashcans nearby?

2. How does a man get in and out of that screen slit without tearing it bigger or making it worse?

3. Why start stabbing people in the living room without checking the rest of the house first? There could have been a football team upstairs for an all intruder knew. Why break in just to kill these three? Did Darin hire this person? I have a problem with entering just to kill the three without taking anything. Has a similar crime happened again there?

4. What did he slit the screen with? Why didn't he keep using his own weapon? If he came there to murder, why did he not have the tools? Did his weapon break or something? I find it hard to believe he brought a box cutter to a murder.

5. Is it possible that Darlie stabbed herself in the arm while stabbing the kids? Maybe she had to grab one and hold him down and wound up stabbing her own arm? The slits on her fingers are on her left hand. So she has to be a lefty stabber. The stab wound is on her right arm. If she was holding down and stabbing in the dark, she might have hit herself on accident.

6. So she fought with the attacker, but he didn't hit her in the head? Punch her face? I can't believe he got the drop on her in her sleep, but she only got those few wounds.

7. Why were the boys stabbed, but the killer didn't just start stabbing her in her back, too? Why the throat slit attempt? It's a change of MO, isn't it? I just do not see how she can avoid torso stabs if that's how he started with the boys.

8. Some think she passed out between attacks, but why would she pass out? From shock? There are no head wounds to show he knocked her out. She didn't bleed enough to get knocked out.

9. I gotta a problem with an intruder entering and leaving from an area where a bright light flicks on. I wonder how long that light stayed on when triggered.

10. Why did EMT bag jeans and underwear on the scene? Was Darlie wearing PJ top and jeans, too?

Amazing that she sees the killer as he's leaving. Amazing he's leaving while her son is waking her up. Incredible coincidence. but she doesn't scream and the boy doesn't start crying. The killer just "walks on down the hallway," as The Doors would put it. I haven't read an account of her fighting the guy in the kitchen, yet, so...

Well, those are my questions going in. Maybe the trial transcript has some answers.

 

[k-mac]

rsbm

. No one can bruise themselves that badly. Both of her arms were so bruised they were completely black/purple. Do you have any idea of the blunt force trauma needed to cause these bruises?

yep sure do.
I probably wouldn't have had I not experienced it myself.

slam yourself into a wall.
I did this one night in a storm in the dark....woken out of a deep sleep to a screaming baby in another room....blind panic i never closed the bedroom door but for some reason it was this night and I slammed into right side.
full arm sleeve from shoulder to wrist and full thigh from hip to knee. BLACK!

but...…
I still carry the thought that Darren and darlie blued earlier and HE SLAMMED HER INTO A WALL A FEW TIMES to jerk some sense into her.

took a day for my bruises to come through.

that's what her bruises look like to me. a good wall slam.
by her or Darren earlier in the night.

 

[wasnt_me]

Another question:

Did Darin not check the garage or yard?

I gave my dad this scenario and asked what he would do. I said the kids are stabbed. the wife is screaming that the guy ran out of the garage. What would he do?

Without hesitating, my dad said, "Grab my gun and go after him."

Not everyone is alike, but shouldn't Darin have checked the garage to make sure the danger had passed? Did he? I don't know yet because I haven't come across it in research yet. Isn't it weird to work on the boys without making sure the murderer won't be running back in there with a new weapon or back up? I hope the answer is that he did check.

 

[chlban]

As to the bruising..I just moved with professional movers, but have been carting boxes, moving furniture etc. and one arm and my legs are significantly bruised. I just bruise easily. I could easily replicate the kind of bruises Darlie had. As for Darrin, I believe he knew, at least on some level, as soon as he came downstairs and witnessed the scene. Why does he continue to defend her? Maybe family pressure since both families rally behind her. Maybe he doesn't want Drake to live with the horrible knowledge, maybe some form of guilt that he pushed her to it (that is my least likely scenario). I am not sure why he continues to proclaim her innocence, but I don't have a single doubt that she did it.

 

[Madeleine74]

The blunt force trauma to Darlie's arms didn't occur the night of the murders. She was in the hospital for several days and no bruising appeared during the 3 or 4 days she was there (this is in testimony). So, whenever it was done, it was sometime (days likely) after the murders. The prevailing consensus is she needed to look more 'beat up' to make her story look real.

 

[mlw987m]

OK, first time poster and long time lurker - I saw a show on the other night and I cannot remember the name of the intruder, but it was a schizophrenic man who was fascinated with knives and stabbing - would go to random peoples homes at night with unlocked doors and kill them with axes or knives. Has that scenario been brought into this? I can't remember his name, but his mother told some very frightening stories about him being obsessed with Lizzie Borden. Random acts of stabbing and killing

 

[Madeleine74]

Has that scenario been brought into this?

I'd say over the last 22 years every scenario you can possibly think of and maybe even more than that has been proposed, considered, and ultimately rejected.

Darlie is forensically linked to the crime. Blood from at least 1 son is on the upper back of her Tshirt from that night. No other forensic evidence (like DNA) has been found and nothing points to anyone else, and certainly not from a lack of trying.

 

[ethoma12002]

It seems one of the main things that come up when professing Darlie's innocence is that the neck wound was very close to an artery or something. I wouldn't know this. Why would she?

I do have to say that its possible that someone who was mad at the husband for a deal gone wrong, could have possibly broke in and killed the kids as revenge. But that's something usually left to the movies.

I also have to say that its possible she slept through the struggles. She had a new baby and was a light sleeper - so she slept downstairs that night. I used to sleep in another room sometimes when I had a baby. She very well could have been burnt out and sleeping deeply. I did the same thing once. I was right next to him and he had been crying for some time before his dad came home and found me passed out next to him. I am a very light sleeper, also, but I had just had enough.

 

[ethoma12002]

One more thing...

I don't know if she did it or not. But her different stories and recollections of what happened, in my opinion, sound like someone who really had just woken up from a dead-sleep and didn't know what was going on...seeing her son standing next to her, seeing the man, picking up the knife. Sometimes I get these lucid dreams. One time I woke up because I heard my husband saying my name and getting into bed with me...but he was out of town. If something would have happened that night, like what happened with Darlie, I would probably swear that it was my husband because in my state of mind, I thought he was home. It was so real. Then the other night it was dark and I was sleeping and I saw all of these bubbles filling up the room. I mean, try explaining that to someone when they demand to know exactly what happened.

Because think of it like this - if she did mastermind this whole thing, she would have her story straight. She can't explain why some things don't make sense...because they don't make sense to her either. She speaks like someone who was in a fog and all these images are all distorted, then add on the trauma of seeing her kids hurt.

Again, I don't know if she did it or not. But if she did not, I would believe this confused version of her truths.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

Interesting thread. I'm late to the party, but I am left-handed. I cut and slice with my right. Just wanted to say that since people are remarking about the dominant hand.

Also, Darin claimed to wake up upon hearing glass break. So at the point that he got involved, Darlie had to call the cops whether she was ready or not.

I just started this case, but my questions are:

1. Did anyone check the trashcan that the sock was next to? The sewer? Any other trashcans nearby?

2. How does a man get in and out of that screen slit without tearing it bigger or making it worse?

3. Why start stabbing people in the living room without checking the rest of the house first? There could have been a football team upstairs for an all intruder knew. Why break in just to kill these three? Did Darin hire this person? I have a problem with entering just to kill the three without taking anything. Has a similar crime happened again there?

4. What did he slit the screen with? Why didn't he keep using his own weapon? If he came there to murder, why did he not have the tools? Did his weapon break or something? I find it hard to believe he brought a box cutter to a murder.

5. Is it possible that Darlie stabbed herself in the arm while stabbing the kids? Maybe she had to grab one and hold him down and wound up stabbing her own arm? The slits on her fingers are on her left hand. So she has to be a lefty stabber. The stab wound is on her right arm. If she was holding down and stabbing in the dark, she might have hit herself on accident.

6. So she fought with the attacker, but he didn't hit her in the head? Punch her face? I can't believe he got the drop on her in her sleep, but she only got those few wounds.

7. Why were the boys stabbed, but the killer didn't just start stabbing her in her back, too? Why the throat slit attempt? It's a change of MO, isn't it? I just do not see how she can avoid torso stabs if that's how he started with the boys.

8. Some think she passed out between attacks, but why would she pass out? From shock? There are no head wounds to show he knocked her out. She didn't bleed enough to get knocked out.

9. I gotta a problem with an intruder entering and leaving from an area where a bright light flicks on. I wonder how long that light stayed on when triggered.

10. Why did EMT bag jeans and underwear on the scene? Was Darlie wearing PJ top and jeans, too?

Amazing that she sees the killer as he's leaving. Amazing he's leaving while her son is waking her up. Incredible coincidence. but she doesn't scream and the boy doesn't start crying. The killer just "walks on down the hallway," as The Doors would put it. I haven't read an account of her fighting the guy in the kitchen, yet, so...

Well, those are my questions going in. Maybe the trial transcript has some answers.

She want us to believe that a person came in and out of that window screen using the bread knife in the knife block in her kitchen. It had fibers (sic) from the screen on the blade.

Darlie was wearing a short sleep t shirt and panties. You know if it was to rape her ( another reason they said Darlie was attacked) why not take her into another room ? Instead you kill her boys and may have raped her on the couch.

Blackouts are a convenient tool to hide behind in a murder. Jodi Arais had her pesky blackouts. Mollie Tibbetts killer said he has them too.)

 

[katydid23]

While I do think she's guilty, I don't believe she got a fair trial.

The prosecution played the "silly string" clip 9 times at trial but neglected to show the solemn graveside memorial full of crying and praying that the police had captured on video tape right before the birthday party thing (which was her sister's idea in the first place). There is a 2017 documentary on Youtube that shows the sad memorial clip for those who haven't seen it.

If Darlie is on death row, why is her husband walking free? He failed a polygraph test and was in the home that night just like she was. And he's admitted to staging a break-in months before the killing as a form of insurance fraud. If anything, Darin had more criminal ties than Darlie. And how did those giant bruises get on her arms? Is it possible to inflict that kind of damage all by yourself...and cut your neck with your non-dominant hand?

Also: Texas is the capital of capital punishment. They are too eager to put people to death. While I support the death penalty in certain extreme cases, it needs to be carried out carefully because if the state puts even one innocent person to death, they're as bad as any common killer. And they almost certainly HAVE killed innocent people--Todd Willingham comes to mind but there are others. You can always let an innocent person out of jail but you can't bring them back from the dead.

It's that 0.000001% of doubt that makes me want to halt the execution on Darlie's case. Not because I think she's innocent or a great person, but because the trial sounds like a *****show and I know how Bible Belt "justice" can be. I imagine it was a botched murder/suicide and that Darin was involved, but I didn't draw that conclusion based on the info presented at trial, which largely centered on her lavish lifestyle, odd mourning behavior (Silly String, gum chewing, etc) & other non-evidence.

I agree with much of the above post. But I do have comments about the bolded portion.

IIRC, it was the jury itself, during deliberations, that asked to rewatch the silly string party. It was not the prosecutors that showed it to them 9 x.

As for the memorial video, the prosecution said something about not being able to have it admitted into evidence? I think that was what was said in the latest ID Channel documentary on it.

 

[wasnt_me]

OK, first time poster and long time lurker - I saw a show on the other night and I cannot remember the name of the intruder, but it was a schizophrenic man who was fascinated with knives and stabbing - would go to random peoples homes at night with unlocked doors and kill them with axes or knives. Has that scenario been brought into this? I can't remember his name, but his mother told some very frightening stories about him being obsessed with Lizzie Borden. Random acts of stabbing and killing

Welcome!

Disclaimer: I am very new to this case. I have seen the mystery specials etc for years, but new to studying it.

I know of a Sacremento Vampire, who used to say "a locked door means you're not invited." He'd go through the streets, tugging on doors and murdering people who hadn't locked their doors. I would think that if it was this type of person, unless he immediately moved or was killed, we would have seen more of this type of crime in the area. I don't think you kill like this once and then just stop -- if you're a stranger killing people. Know what I mean?

If you ask me, this is also an escalation type crime. I mean, could a first-time killer be THIS comfortable to go into a house, stab up three people while they slept and wander off without a trace? It's possible, but this is a lot for a first-time stranger killing. Isn't it?

It's troubling that the killer came in and stabbed people without making sure that all 3 were dead. It's really hard to believe Damon was speaking to Darlie and the killer, still in the house, did not hear him. If Damon could actually speak, why wouldn't he be crying, yelling "mommie?" To me, Darlie describes it in a way that makes me think Damn was trying to be quiet. Otherwise, Darin should have heard Damon's cries, right? I mean, if a wine glass breaking in the kitchen can rouse him, right? And the killer would have heard, signaling that his job wasn't done.

I am also very troubled that any grown man can go through those slits in that screen without ripping the slits wider.

 

[wasnt_me]

She want us to believe that a person came in and out of that window screen using the bread knife in the knife block in her kitchen. It had fibers (sic) from the screen on the blade.

Darlie was wearing a short sleep t shirt and panties. You know if it was to rape her ( another reason they said Darlie was attacked) why not take her into another room ? Instead you kill her boys and may have raped her on the couch.

Blackouts are a convenient tool to hide behind in a murder. Jodi Arais had her pesky blackouts. Mollie Tibbetts killer said he has them too.)

Jodi. SMDH. Refer to my signature.

I might believe she slept through the boys' stabbings if the boys didn't wake up while being killed. I have a problem with her blacking out during whatever she claims the killer did to her. I don't believe her bruises were from that night, but if they were, how could she block out the fight that made them? She didn't lose that much blood on the couch to pass out, and her vocal cords were not slashed. So how do you fight someone like that without screaming?

If Damon was alive and able to speak and walk over to her, why was he not screaming or saying anything while a man is attacking his mommie? Why would he just wait until the guy stops attacking her to speak to her? Literally, if we believe her, Damon politely waited until the guy got off her and was beyond the couch before he started speaking. That's just not believable.

And then, the way she tells the story, they remain quiet. It takes her until she goes in the kitchen and picks up a knife before she even thinks about the other son.

She would have been better off having said she woke up in pain and found the scene. Anyone have an opinion of why it wouldn't have been better to just say she woke up and it was already over and she never saw that guy?

As for the sock, I think Darlie used that sock as a glove for some reason. I believe she took clothes or something out to a neighbor's trash or to that sewer drain, but she accidentally dropped that sock. I just don't know why she felt she needed a glove.

Did anyone ask Darin what Darlie was wearing when he last saw her and what the kids were wearing? I wonder if she really was wearing PJ type clothes. So after playing outside and all they did that day, no one caught a shower before changing and getting in PJ's?

Again, I haven't read the testimony.

 

[wasnt_me]

I have been looking at the crime scene, and if Darlie is innocent, I need help understanding how a stranger picked her house.

1. There is a privacy fence around the entire backyard, so how does the intruder know at 2am that the window is open without first going through the gate? I do not see how a burglar can see over this fence or around the Spa, etc, to figure out that this window is open. You have to already want to go into this house because you have to go through the gate or climb over it before you see the window.

2. Why is the criminal going deeper into the neighborhood to make his exit? If you view the map of the neighborhood, it becomes apparent that getting away means going across that street you see in the open gate pictures, cut through one of those yards and wind up in a parking lot. Why instead go in the opposite direction? That direction just leads you deeper into the neighborhood.

3. Interesting to note, the criminal goes out the window and Darlie never mentions looking out the kitchen window over the sink to see if she can see him. She never says she can see the automatic light come on outside. So how does she know he's gone? Wouldn't you be scared as crap if you thought he was in the garage still?

 

[BradJRN]

One more thing: If Ms. Routier feels she's innocent and has been railroaded, she should contact The Innocence Project to see if they are willing to look into her case.

I see they now have. Some very bright legal minds have many of the same concerns as I do. Again, not saying she is innocent, but a new trial is warranted.

 

[TartLemon]

This one case I simply cannot make up my mind about. Leaning towards NOT GUILTY, but totally deserves a new trial because of all the evidence not allowed before or completely (what I see as ) skewed.

FWIW, I'm 100% against the death penalty in ANY case.

 

[cami]

I agree with much of the above post. But I do have comments about the bolded portion.

IIRC, it was the jury itself, during deliberations, that asked to rewatch the silly string party. It was not the prosecutors that showed it to them 9 x.

As for the memorial video, the prosecution said something about not being able to have it admitted into evidence? I think that was what was said in the latest ID Channel documentary on it.

No it was the Defense who didn't enter the memorial tape into evidence. They were given the chance to play it at trial before the jury but they chose not to. They chose to question the legality of it by claiming the two detectives committed a federal felony by bugging the grave.

Yes the jury watched in it deliberations. That's one of the many cough cough errors surrounding this case that the prosecution played it 9 times. Didn't happen.

 

[cami]

Jodi. SMDH. Refer to my signature.

I might believe she slept through the boys' stabbings if the boys didn't wake up while being killed. I have a problem with her blacking out during whatever she claims the killer did to her. I don't believe her bruises were from that night, but if they were, how could she block out the fight that made them? She didn't lose that much blood on the couch to pass out, and her vocal cords were not slashed. So how do you fight someone like that without screaming?

If Damon was alive and able to speak and walk over to her, why was he not screaming or saying anything while a man is attacking his mommie? Why would he just wait until the guy stops attacking her to speak to her? Literally, if we believe her, Damon politely waited until the guy got off her and was beyond the couch before he started speaking. That's just not believable.

And then, the way she tells the story, they remain quiet. It takes her until she goes in the kitchen and picks up a knife before she even thinks about the other son.

She would have been better off having said she woke up in pain and found the scene. Anyone have an opinion of why it wouldn't have been better to just say she woke up and it was already over and she never saw that guy?

As for the sock, I think Darlie used that sock as a glove for some reason. I believe she took clothes or something out to a neighbor's trash or to that sewer drain, but she accidentally dropped that sock. I just don't know why she felt she needed a glove.

Did anyone ask Darin what Darlie was wearing when he last saw her and what the kids were wearing? I wonder if she really was wearing PJ type clothes. So after playing outside and all they did that day, no one caught a shower before changing and getting in PJ's?

Again, I haven't read the testimony.

She was wearing a Victoria Secret large white tshirt type top with matching panties. Although the panties were no on her when she left the house. She probably flushed them down the toilet, they would have had blood on them. No the boys were not showered or put in pjs that night.

 

[cami]

This one case I simply cannot make up my mind about. Leaning towards NOT GUILTY, but totally deserves a new trial because of all the evidence not allowed before or completely (what I see as ) skewed.

FWIW, I'm 100% against the death penalty in ANY case.

I am as well, but there is never going to be a retrial in this case because she is guilty and the forensic, physical evidence is overwhelming against her. Also, the evidence is much stronger now after all the DNA testing over the years. Evidence that was Y-STR tested isolating the male gene, including the bloody partial print on the glass table has not helped Darlie. No unknown male DNA has been found on any of the evidence tested. There is no place left for her to go except the running of the print through AFIS. That was done months ago so the IP is keeping the results to themselves. Sounds like it hasn't worked to me. There is nothing left.