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Darlie Routier | New Evidence Uncovered | An Inmate & Mother Running Out Of Time — Transcript

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0:00the case of darlie Routier is one of the
0:02most tragic and painstaking death row
0:05investigations I have encountered in the
0:08entirety of my legal career what began
0:10as a simple analysis of a case that had
0:13been described to me as an open and shut
0:15conviction entirely devoid of Reasonable
0:18Doubt transformed into several months of
0:20an arduous investigation culminating in
0:23an unexpected discovery of new evidence
0:25evidence that until now has never been
0:28previously reported details that would
0:31go on to reframe my understanding of
0:33darley's case as well as the entirety of
0:36the Criminal Justice System several
0:39months ago I started my analysis of the
0:41infamous death row case having very
0:43little prior knowledge concerning the
0:45details surrounding it after my initial
0:47assessment of the facts I like many
0:49others before me adopted a clear
0:52position concerning her guilt and
0:54conviction but then I began to read the
0:56court transcripts as well as the
0:58supporting records and what what I found
1:01on those pages revealed a deeply
1:03disconcerting legal debacle unlike
1:06anything I have seen in years the
1:08ramifications of which we will discuss
1:11at length today do you think the case
1:14their case was damaged when Dolly took
1:16the stand in our own defense yeah I
1:17think it was damaged because you know it
1:19gave us an opportunity to show the jury
1:21the real darly Routier I think uh what
1:24they saw as a person who is cares about
1:27one thing and that's themselves
1:29and she was exposed for being a liar and
1:32anytime you can expose the defendant for
1:34being a liar it's a circumstantial
1:36evidence case the jury is going to be
1:38much more likely to convey and it is my
1:41belief that what I'm about to show you
1:43in today's video is a story that has yet
1:46to be told in its entirety until now on
1:50June 6 1996 at 2 31 am the Rowlett Texas
1:55Police Department received a frantic
1:57call from the Routier home darlie
1:59Routier had called 9-1-1 in a frenzy
2:02after she and her two boys had suffered
2:05catastrophic injuries at the hands of an
2:07alleged Intruder a crime that would
2:10claim both boys lives minutes after law
2:13enforcement arrived the responding
2:15officers would begin surveying the scene
2:17and quickly established his strong and
2:19unwavering opinion that the person
2:22responsible for this vicious attack was
2:24not an intruder but the boy's own mother
2:27darlie Lynn Routier over the course of
2:30the next few weeks law enforcement began
2:32an aggressive investigation that sought
2:35to prove their primary theory that
2:37Darley had perpetrated these unspeakable
2:39acts against her own children within a
2:43few short weeks the case the state had
2:45built against Darley was already
2:46considerable but law enforcement would
2:49inadvertently receive one of the most
2:51important elements of their case gift
2:53wrap in a box covered in dollar store
2:56Silly String by none other than their
2:59primary suspect herself darlie Routier
3:04for some this may seem a strange thing
3:07to do in an odd place and time
3:11[Music]
3:13singing Happy Birthday in a cemetery to
3:16a son who was brutally stabbed to death
3:18just over a week ago
3:23but Dolly and Darren Routier say this is
3:25appropriate for them and their family it
3:28was a crime of moral ineptitude caught
3:31on camera that would all but guarantee
3:33that a jury would convict darly Beyond
3:36any reasonable doubt and just seven
3:39months later the weight of that video
3:41would help to convict darlie Routier for
3:43the homicide of her son Damon Routier
3:46and her sentence by the jury was the
3:49death penalty in the Years following her
3:51trial the general public remained fairly
3:53confident over the veracity of her
3:55conviction however over time that
3:58sentiment has started to change while
4:00many have never doubted her guilt others
4:03believed that she was not afforded a
4:05fair and unbiased trial and now that the
4:08Innocence Project has agreed to
4:10represent Darley many have started to
4:12question the case that was brought
4:13against her at trial but for the 53 year
4:17old death row inmate who has exhausted
4:19most of her remaining appeals the
4:21inescapable reality is that she is
4:24quickly running out of time in today's
4:27video we will analyze the case brought
4:29against Darley at trial by the
4:31prosecution and then we will carefully
4:34review the evidence that has arisen in
4:36support of her innocence we will examine
4:39the court records the evidence the
4:41testimony and the surrounding facts of
4:43her case as we try to piece together a
4:46fragmented puzzle of this American
4:48Tragedy and when I have placed all of
4:51the pieces of the puzzle out for you to
4:53see I will show you the Lost puzzle
4:56piece that I found buried in an area
4:58that no one thought to look evidence
5:01that was seemingly stored away
5:03misunderstood and forgotten and it's
5:06what I found in that evidence that
5:08caused me to fundamentally change my
5:11understanding and view of the case
5:13brought against darlie Routier
5:16so today I would like to invite you to
5:18come with me down this winding rabbit
5:20hole and go back in time to a small East
5:24Texas town in the conservative center of
5:26the Bible Belt as we try to uncover the
5:29truth of what happened that terrible
5:31June night inside of the Routier home
5:35this is a death row inmate or a mother
5:38Running Out of Time the darly Routier
5:40Case episode one
5:52now before we begin there's something
5:55very important that I need to cover
5:57first from the very first day that I
5:59began my analysis into darley's case I
6:03immediately noticed the sheer volume of
6:05documentaries and related media that has
6:07been created since darley's conviction
6:09with the prevailing view of that media
6:12and the general public widely in support
6:14of darley's conviction now while that
6:17wasn't surprising or unexpected what was
6:20concerning to me is the discourse that
6:22surrounds this case please allow me to
6:25explain I realized that many people who
6:28have studied this case and are familiar
6:30with the facts surrounding it have very
6:32strong beliefs concerning her conviction
6:34and it's precisely because of those
6:36strong convictions that you don't have
6:38to look far to see people throughout the
6:40entirety of the internet angrily
6:42attacking anyone who tries to analyze
6:44this case from a contrary or an
6:47objective standpoint but reviewing this
6:49case from an objective standpoint is
6:52exactly what I intend to do today
6:53primarily because I believe there are
6:56vital legal and societal issues that
6:59stem from darley's conviction that we
7:02cannot afford to ignore so instead of
7:04creating a documentary that largely
7:06repeats the same facts that you have
7:08already heard a story that ultimately
7:11arrives at the same conclusion I wanted
7:13to take a vastly different approach in
7:16today's video to tell you both sides of
7:19this case as completely and as
7:21thoroughly as I can early on in my
7:24analysis I realized something critically
7:26important about this case the matter of
7:29darlie Routier strikes at the heart of
7:31our very Humanity because it doesn't
7:33just involve a crime against the
7:35innocent it is something far worse it is
7:39a horrific and unpardonable offense
7:41against children and it is the nature of
7:44this crime that calls Upon Our human
7:46nature to demand Justice and instills in
7:49each of us the desire to want to take up
7:52arms against the perpetrator and Dole
7:54out that Justice ourselves for a crime
7:57that we can all agree was truly
8:00reprehensible and completely
8:02Unforgivable
8:03but the criminal justice system was
8:05created as a beacon of objectivity blind
8:08and impartial where the truth and
8:10evidence is the ultimate guide in how
8:13and when we Dole out that Justice where
8:16our righteous and understandable anger
8:18is mitigated by the impartiality of a
8:21system that weighs in the balance
8:23whether or not someone lives or dies a
8:27system of justice predicated on the
8:29notion that we are innocent until proven
8:32guilty Beyond any reasonable doubt where
8:35our need for Retribution and Punishment
8:38does not guide our judges or our
8:40prosecutors and most especially our
8:43juries but that we allow the truth to
8:46dictate how and when we make the most
8:48severe of those judgments and that isn't
8:51merely a lofty idea that we hope exists
8:54within our courts and judicial corridors
8:56but objectivity fairness and the truth
8:59are the very tenets of the American
9:01criminal justice system so today as we
9:04evaluate both sides of the darly rootier
9:07case I am asking each of you to play a
9:10very important role I am asking you to
9:13review this case as an impartial juror
9:16as though you have been chosen to make
9:18the final determination at her trial to
9:21sit in the seat of judgment and to
9:23fairly evaluate both sides of the
9:26evidence additionally I will share with
9:28you vitally important legal issues that
9:31I have identified in my own evaluation
9:33of her case and at the conclusion of
9:36this video you will be called upon to
9:38decide to determine her guilt or her
9:41innocence so today I invite you to take
9:44notes listen closely and most
9:47importantly withhold judgment until you
9:49have heard all of the facts from both
9:51sides in their entirety and when the
9:55totality of the evidence has been
9:56presented you will be asked to make your
9:59final judgment and to answer the
10:01following questions one one is darlie
10:04Routier guilty Beyond any reasonable
10:07doubt and two does darlie Routier
10:11deserve the death penalty I believe that
10:14the answer to these questions is one of
10:16the most important and solemn
10:18responsibilities within our criminal
10:20justice system and today you have been
10:23called upon to make that choice so with
10:26that as our guide let's begin
10:32the June summer air was hot and sticky
10:36that evening in the small conservative
10:38East Texas town of roulette the spacious
10:41Routier home had finally started to
10:43settle as Darren took baby Drake
10:45upstairs in an effort to give Darley a
10:48long overdue and much needed reprieve it
10:51had been months since Starley could
10:53remember getting more than a few hours
10:55of rest before being woken up and after
10:58months of sleep deprivation Financial
11:00stressors and familial disputes the
11:03young mother was nearing a mental and
11:05emotional collapse the last few months
11:07since Drake's birth had been
11:09particularly brutal getting him to sleep
11:11through the night had been a
11:12near-constant struggle most of the time
11:15she would be lucky to string together a
11:17few hours of sleep before it was time to
11:19get up and do it all over again to add
11:22to her ongoing stress she had struggled
11:24with losing the baby weight that she had
11:26gained during her pregnancy with Drake
11:28but thankfully she had heard of an
11:30immensely popular diet pill called Ben
11:32that her doctor had been more than happy
11:35to prescribe by early June she had been
11:38taking the diet pills for several months
11:40and while they did seem to help it
11:43wasn't the miracle drug that she had
11:44been hoping for but if all that wasn't
11:46enough the young family had hit a rough
11:49patch that had seemingly affected every
11:52area of their lives Darren's once
11:55exceedingly successful business had seen
11:57an unexpected downturn and things
11:59weren't as comfortable financially as
12:01they had been before
12:03as a result the couple seemed to find
12:05themselves in more frequent and
12:07explosive arguments over money but that
12:10wasn't the only thing bothering Darley
12:12she felt different and despite her best
12:15efforts to ignore it she just didn't
12:17feel like herself anymore her
12:19relationship with Darren was reaching a
12:21critical mass from the financial and
12:24emotional stress she found herself
12:26lashing out at him more frequently over
12:28his inattentive nature with their boys
12:30and while she loved him she knew things
12:33could not stay the same and the weight
12:35of that realization was becoming
12:38untenable in the preceding days she had
12:41found herself unable to Keep from Crying
12:43feeling despondent and she knew that
12:46something was very wrong one afternoon
12:49she began feverishly writing in her
12:51journal words that felt honest and yet
12:54part of her couldn't believe that she
12:56was effectively writing a letter telling
12:58her family goodbye it was shocking to
13:01her because the words on that page were
13:03the truth a truth that was about to
13:06become front page news for all the world
13:09to see no one can know with absolute
13:12certainty the exact events of what
13:14transpired in the minutes and hours
13:16preceding 2 31 am at the Routier home
13:19but what we do know is that shortly
13:22after 1am on June 6 1996 darlie Routier
13:26went downstairs with her boys Devin and
13:29Damon to sleep in the family living room
13:31and what transpired over the next 90
13:34minutes in the rootier home would
13:36radically alter the course of their
13:39lives
13:39forever at 2 31 am 911 dispatchers for
13:44the Rowlett Police Department received a
13:46desperate and hysterical call from 5801
13:49Eagle Drive the home of Darren and
13:52darlie Routier
13:54within the first few seconds of the call
13:56Darley can be heard shouting for help to
13:58the 9-1-1 operator
14:02[Music]
14:06initially the 911 dispatcher was unable
14:09to clearly understand Darley but 23
14:12seconds after the call began the
14:14operator request EMS and law enforcement
14:17to respond to the scene for an unknown
14:19medical emergency at 5801 Eagle Drive
14:27at nearly 30 seconds into the call
14:29Darley frantically tells the operator
14:3551 seconds in the operator can be heard
14:39communicating to First Responders
14:44[Music]
14:48at the one minute and 24 second Mark
14:50Darley can be heard communicating to her
14:53husband Darren
14:58just 32 seconds later two minutes into
15:01the call Darley is asked by the operator
15:04to explain what happened and Darley
15:06provides her first detailed explanation
15:09of the crime
15:12[Music]
15:25[Music]
15:29at approximately 2 32 a.m just two
15:33minutes after Darley initiated the call
15:35to 9-1-1 responding officer David
15:37Waddell of the Rowlett Police Department
15:40would arrive on scene at 2 minutes and
15:4338 seconds into the call the operator
15:45asked Starly for additional information
15:48anybody in the house to talk to you and
15:51your children
15:57okay now three minutes into the call we
16:00can hear Darley impatiently asking for
16:02the status of the already in route
16:05paramedics
16:13and again 30 seconds later Darley
16:16expresses urgency at the timeliness of
16:19the still inbound EMS responders
16:24one of the next things we hear in the
16:26recording is Officer Waddell instructing
16:29Darley to look for a rag to help provide
16:31emergency medical assistance to her
16:34Gravely injured Sons it would later be
16:37revealed a trial that the confusion
16:38happening in this call was due to the
16:40fact that Darley Was Heard communicating
16:42to officer Waddell in between speaking
16:45with the 9-1-1 operator but at the four
16:48minute Mark of the call Darley can be
16:50heard initially speaking to officer
16:52Waddell and then the operator about the
16:55alleged intruder
17:03how many times
17:05and just seconds later Darley again asks
17:08for the status of the still incoming
17:10paramedics
17:17nearing the end of the call Darley is
17:20again her describing her reaction to the
17:22alleged intruder
17:28but this next interaction at the five
17:30minute Mark and subsequent conversation
17:32between darlie Routier officer Waddell
17:35and the 911 operator would become the
17:38Bedrock of the state's case against her
17:40a moment that has been widely viewed as
17:43one of the most initially important
17:45elements of establishing the suspicion
17:48that would ultimately lead to darley's
17:50arrest
17:53[Applause]
17:58at 5 minutes and 19 seconds Darley
18:02speaks to her husband Darren and is
18:04heard discussing the intruder
18:08[Music]
18:12shortly after Darley was instructed to
18:14end the call with the 9-1-1 operator EMS
18:17and additional law enforcement would
18:19begin to arrive at the scene after a
18:22short wait outside while law enforcement
18:23secured the scene the EMTs were
18:25eventually giving clearance and rushed
18:27inside the Routier home quickly
18:29assessing the Gravely injured Routier
18:31boys in a matter of moments they
18:34realized the catastrophic severity of
18:36the injuries the boys had sustained
18:38tragically Devin was already Beyond
18:41medical intervention by the time
18:43paramedics arrived as a result of his
18:45injuries he would be pronounced at the
18:47scene in the attending paramedic would
18:50have to move on to the other injured
18:52family members after a brief assessment
18:55EMTs would rush Damon and Darley to
18:57Baylor Medical Center to receive
18:59emergency medical care despite the emt's
19:02best efforts Damon would not survive the
19:05devastating injuries he had sustained
19:07tragically he would be pronounced
19:10shortly after he arrived at the hospital
19:12but EMTs had been unsuccessful in
19:15regaining any of his Vital Signs and
19:17root while still at the rootier home law
19:20enforcement quickly began surveying the
19:22scene to try and locate any evidence of
19:25the Intruder Darley had identified in
19:27her initial call at first law
19:29enforcement would find evidence that
19:31seemed consistent with darley's claims
19:32of an intruder including the living room
19:35coffee table having been moved a broken
19:37wine glass in the kitchen and a knocked
19:39over vacuum cleaner law enforcement
19:41would also find evidence that initially
19:43seemed consistent with a break-in inside
19:45the garage which had a screen door
19:47window that had been cut but after
19:49scouring the routier's neighborhood
19:51without finding any signs of an intruder
19:54investigators would eventually secure a
19:56sock found nearly 80 yards away from the
19:59Routier home the sock that they had
20:01found would later test positive for
20:03blood from the rootier boys as well as
20:05DNA from both Darley and Darren but
20:09testing did not reveal any foreign or
20:12unknown DNA from any one other than the
20:14Routier family after further assessment
20:17of the available evidence at the crime
20:19scene by a tenured crime scene analyst
20:22law enforcement developed significant
20:24concerns with darley's story and her
20:27claims of an intruder their concerns
20:29stem from the view of the evidence
20:31concerning an alleged Intruder but more
20:34specifically the lack thereof despite
20:37their suspicions law enforce Horsemen
20:39opted to wait for darley's initial
20:41statement after surgery to try and
20:43ascertain the true nature of this crime
20:45a short time after darlia awoke from
20:48surgery she would provide law
20:50enforcement with her initial written
20:52statement however the details she gave
20:54would only raise their suspicions of her
20:57involvement homicide detectives were
20:59struck at the lack of detail in her
21:01report and her inability to offer any
21:04reasonable description of the
21:06perpetrator Beyond telling them that he
21:08wore jeans a ball cap and a dark t-shirt
21:11the lack of any considerable description
21:14of the intruder's facial features were
21:16only compounded when CSI investigators
21:18at the scene noticed that if an intruder
21:21had been present that they had failed to
21:23take anything from the home including
21:25darley's extensive jewelry collection
21:27that was downstairs in plain view as
21:31investigators began to try and piece
21:33together the details of her statement
21:34they began to realize that her version
21:37of events were inconsistent with what
21:39they were seeing at the crime scene and
21:41it would be fair to say that from the
21:43very beginning darlie Routier was the
21:46primary suspect in connection with this
21:48brutal crime and the Rowlett Police
21:50Department was certain that they had the
21:52right person in their sights and from
21:54that point forward they focused all of
21:57their resources into pursuing their
21:59primary suspect in connection with this
22:02unspeakable crime against the Routier
22:04boys in the initial days following the
22:07attack law enforcement began to dive
22:10into Darren and darley's life eventually
22:12opting to begin surveilling their
22:14day-to-day movements but their
22:16investigation would be gifted one of the
22:18most important elements of their case by
22:21the local news media at the site of
22:23Damon and Devin's funeral without
22:25prompting Darley Routier gave the police
22:28one of the most important pieces of the
22:30case that prosecutors would eventually
22:33use against her this moment was captured
22:36in the hours after the routers had
22:38conducted a private family funeral for
22:40both boys and was recorded by the local
22:43news after this segment was aired the
22:46response from the general public was
22:48pure and unadulterated outrage those who
22:52viewed the broadcast were stunned and
22:54disgusted that a mother who had just
22:56lost her eldest boys could demonstrate
22:59such an irreverent and careless display
23:01it would go on to become the final piece
23:04of the puzzle the prosecution needed to
23:07arrest their sole suspect in connection
23:09with this inhuman crime and just four
23:13days after this Infamous Silly String
23:15video was taken at the site of her boy's
23:18funeral darlie Lynn Routier was arrested
23:21for the first degree homicides of her
23:23two eldest boys Devin and Damon Routier
23:26the state would waste no time in
23:29pursuing their case against her and just
23:32six months later the trial of darlie
23:34Routier began with their mandate from
23:37the public in hand the prosecutors would
23:40stop at nothing to ensure Darley Swift
23:43and just conviction at any and all costs
23:50the trial of darlie Routier began
23:52exactly six months to the day after the
23:55homicides of her sons with the first day
23:57of trial beginning on January 6
24:001997. the state's case was led by
24:03prosecutors Toby Shook and Greg Davis
24:05who were tenured and experienced
24:08litigators men who understood the
24:10intricacies of the courtroom and as
24:13those who have practiced law no trial
24:15work is an art form the trial itself
24:18would last for nearly five weeks which
24:20included dozens of witnesses experts and
24:24testimony from members of the community
24:25as well as friends and family of the
24:27routers
24:28now in the interest of time and due to
24:31the sheer size and scope of the trial
24:33record I'm going to summarize the
24:35primary points that were brought against
24:36Darley by the state you will hear the
24:39core evidence as it was shown to the
24:41jury in January of 1997 but remember
24:44you're going to be hearing both sides of
24:46this case including new details that the
24:49jury was never told the following is the
24:52case brought forward by the state's
24:54prosecutors against their defendant
24:56darlie Lynn Routier
24:59an arrest warrant is the legal basis by
25:02which the state or law enforcement
25:03agency is granted Authority by a
25:06presiding judge to detain arrests and
25:09eventually prosecute a criminal
25:10defendant and in the matter of darlie
25:13Routier the rest warrant contained many
25:15of the main tenants of the state's case
25:17that would eventually be brought against
25:19her at trial it is not uncommon to see
25:22arrest warrants that cover a wide
25:24variety of criminal infractions as
25:26supported by the available evidence that
25:28are intended to depict the legal basis
25:30for why the state is pursuing charges
25:33against the accused now it's important
25:35to remember that a defendant does not
25:38need to be found not guilty of every
25:40claim of wrongdoing associated with the
25:43specific charge but if any modicum of
25:45Reasonable Doubt is established at trial
25:48then the law demands that the defendant
25:51be acquitted of that charge and with
25:53that in mind prosecutors Toby Shook and
25:56Greg Davis were careful to bring the
25:58most viable cases against darlie Routier
26:00and intentionally only pursued the
26:02criminal action for the homicide of
26:04Damon and not Devin This legal maneuver
26:07allowed for them to pursue a crime
26:10eligible for Capital Punishment Due to
26:12the boy's age despite the overwhelming
26:15consensus by the general public
26:17concerning darley's guilt at the time
26:19these experienced prosecutors knew from
26:22the beginning that motive would be a
26:24considerable issue for their case
26:26while the state does not need to prove
26:29motive it cannot however be ignored and
26:32in Prosecutor Greg Davis's opening he
26:35outlined for the jury the indictment and
26:37case against darlie Lynn Routier
26:40but these are the primary tenets of
26:42criminality brought against her during
26:44her trial
26:46number one darlie Routier was
26:48materialistic Vain and demonstrated
26:51Behavior Unbecoming of a mother number
26:55two darley's statements were
26:57inconsistent and appeared to contain
26:59evidence of a cover-up number three
27:02Darley failed to provide any medical
27:04assistance to her children at the scene
27:07of the crime
27:084. law enforcement was unable to find
27:12evidence of an intruder number five
27:15forensic evidence found inside the
27:17rootier house showed signs of a staged
27:20crime scene number six darley's wounds
27:23were deemed medically superficial and
27:25were inconsistent with the severity of
27:27the injuries sustained by Damon and
27:30Devin injuries that were believed to
27:33have been self-inflicted since these
27:35were the primary claims made by
27:37prosecutors we will now begin to analyze
27:39each claim brought forward by the state
27:43from the opening statements of the trial
27:46the prosecution quickly set the stage
27:48for the jury concerning the character of
27:50darlie Routier she was regularly and
27:53repeatedly described as a vapid selfish
27:56and absent-minded mother who was so
27:59motivated by greed and material
28:01possessions that she ended the lives of
28:03her two eldest boys out of Rage
28:05convenience and ultimately for financial
28:07gain in the form of their tandem five
28:10thousand dollar life insurance policies
28:12the following is an exact quote from
28:16Prosecutor Greg Davis's opening
28:18statement that he spoke to the jury at
28:20the commencement of darley's trial quote
28:24and perhaps most importantly the
28:26evidence will show you that the money
28:28trained from Darren's business was
28:30beginning to Peter out when we come to
28:33June 5th 1996 the evidence is going to
28:37show you that those problems began to
28:39worsen and they have worsened over time
28:42by that date the defendant right over
28:45there still had not lost the weight that
28:47she had gained during her pregnancy and
28:49that had led her by June 5th 1996 to
28:53begin taking pills in order to try and
28:55get back that figure she was no longer
28:59the Glamorous blonde center of attention
29:01by that date by this time Drake was
29:04eight months old Drake Devin and Damon
29:07were taking up more and more of her time
29:09and by this time she was becoming angry
29:12because in fact her lifestyle that she
29:15had grown accustomed to the vacations
29:17the buying sprees the nice things the
29:21freedom those things were starting to go
29:23away a unquote during the trial several
29:27people would testify for the prosecution
29:29speaking to the character of darlie
29:31Routier and most importantly her
29:33behavior as a mother this included
29:35testimony by Alison Hennessey who told
29:38the jury that she witnessed Darley
29:39routinely allow her very young children
29:42to play outside near the street
29:44unsupervised including allowing their
29:47babysitter to drink alcohol and smoke
29:49cigarettes despite the fact that she was
29:51only 16 years old
29:53a neighbor Eileen Shermer also testified
29:56for the state and against Darley
29:58concerning an incident where in the
30:00summer of 1994 the routers had invited
30:03her and her children out to the lake on
30:05their boat
30:06the Routier boys were only four and five
30:09years old and were not yet competent
30:11swimmers Eileen attempted to express
30:13concern to Darley about the fact that
30:15they weren't wearing life preservers but
30:18were still allowed to run around the
30:19docks unsupervised Eileen would testify
30:22that neither Darley nor Darren seem to
30:25pay any attention to her concerns about
30:27their children's safety she would go on
30:30to testify about how she too had seen
30:32the children running around outside
30:34unsupervised even going out of view of
30:37Darley riding their bikes in the street
30:39where they could have easily been
30:41injured by oncoming cars Eileen
30:43explained to the jury that when she
30:45expressed these concerns to Darley she
30:48was met with a cold and muted antipathy
30:50virtually ignoring her concerns
30:52altogether
30:54several other instances were discussed
30:56at trial that seemed to paint darly as a
30:58cold at times unkind and borderline
31:01abusive distant mother someone who
31:04appeared to lack the attentiveness and
31:06Care indicative of a loving and
31:08responsible mother
31:11two minutes into Darley routier's
31:14initial phone call to 9-1-1 she's
31:16clearly heard giving her initial
31:18description of an alleged Intruder she
31:20explains that he attacked her children
31:22then her that she was fighting with him
31:25and then he ran out through the garage
31:27throwing the knife down as he fled
31:30a short time later after Darley is told
31:32by the 911 operator not to touch
31:34anything we hear Darley making a highly
31:37unusual comment about having already
31:39picked up the knife saying and I quote
31:42God I bet if we could have gotten the
31:44prince maybe prosecutors shook explained
31:48to the jury just how problematic that
31:50comment was chiding Darley a mother who
31:53had just somehow slept through the
31:55vicious and brutal attack of her two
31:58young boys a sleep mere feet away while
32:00it transpired and is now minutes later
32:03seemingly more concerned about the
32:05alleged intruder's fingerprints than she
32:07is her own critically wounded children
32:10Darley had even described herself as a
32:13light sleeper and had told law
32:14enforcement that she went to sleep
32:16downstairs that evening precisely
32:18because of the fact that baby Drake woke
32:20her up so often throughout the night but
32:23when Darley would eventually testify
32:25during the trial she was unable to
32:27provide any explanation for how she
32:30could have stayed asleep during this
32:33brutal attack but most problematic to
32:35darley's case were the inconsistencies
32:38and ongoing alterations to her version
32:40of events and prosecutors were able to
32:43demonstrate to the jury how darley's
32:45story frequently changed over time what
32:48she had initially told the 911 operator
32:50had changed to something entirely
32:52different less than 48 hours later when
32:55she provided her initial statement to
32:57law enforcement in her written statement
32:59she now describes being woken up by
33:02Damon pressing on her right shoulder
33:03hearing him cry and then realizing that
33:06a man that she couldn't even describe
33:08was standing at the foot of her couch
33:11there was no mention of the fight that
33:13she had described in her initial call to
33:159-1-1 and unfortunately for her
33:18prosecutors would outline every new and
33:21altered iteration of her story to the
33:23jury which by all accounts was a story
33:25that changed eight different times
33:28darley's defense in response to these
33:31issues could effectively be described as
33:33Amnesia but the problem with that
33:35defense was Darley herself because in
33:38the weeks following the brutal attacks
33:40Darley would send letters to friends and
33:43family members with a more detailed
33:45description of the attacker including
33:47accusations of a specific person that
33:50she believed had to have been
33:51responsible but at her trial Darley
33:55would admit that he could not have been
33:56the perpetrator and her defense claims
33:59of Amnesia became virtually impossible
34:01to defend
34:05one of the most highly problematic
34:07elements of darley's trial arose from
34:09the testimony of First Responders
34:12prosecutors were able to establish from
34:14officer Waddell's testimony as well as
34:16the tape 9-1-1 recording that upon
34:19arriving he instructed Darley to apply
34:21pressure to Damon's wounds officer
34:24Waddell testified that she seemingly
34:26ignored his instruction choosing instead
34:29to remain focused on the 9-1-1 call and
34:32her own injuries
34:33a short time later he would again tell
34:35her to get towels to help treat Damon's
34:38injuries something that can be heard
34:40during the recorded call but again
34:42Darley would not respond and continue to
34:45hold a towel to her own neck now this
34:49would be challenged by the defensive
34:50trial including testimony from both
34:52Darley and Darren claiming that Darley
34:54had been wetting towels and placed them
34:56on Damon's back prior to officer
34:58Waddell's arrival Darren would also
35:01testify that Darley had helped him hold
35:03Damon's back wounds while he was
35:05providing first aid prior to the First
35:07Responders arrival however during the
35:10trial the paramedic who was first to
35:12enter the scene testified that he saw no
35:15towels on Damon from the moment he
35:18walked through the door and this
35:20testimony would have a profound effect
35:22on the jury because by this point they
35:25had already heard considerable
35:26circumstantial evidence of darley's
35:29questionable Behavior as a mother prior
35:31to the events of June 6 but what
35:34continued to work against darley's
35:36defense was the incontrovertible fact
35:38that if her story was true that she had
35:41slept through the attacks and then
35:44failed to provide first aid to her
35:46Gravely injured Sons now I wanted to
35:49take a brief moment to provide you with
35:51some insight into my analysis at this
35:54moment of my investigation when I began
35:57reviewing the extensive history of this
35:59case I intentionally started with the
36:02various documentaries podcasts and
36:04YouTube videos that are firmly in
36:06support of her guilt I wanted to know
36:09all of the primary issues that have been
36:11brought against her before I thoroughly
36:13reviewed the claims of her innocence and
36:16I intentionally began this way because
36:18that was always how I approached any
36:21client's case that I worked on in my
36:23legal career I would want to know
36:25exactly what I was up against before I
36:28started any work on developing a legal
36:30strategy for trial
36:32but if I'm being completely transparent
36:35when I arrived at this part of darley's
36:37case being a father of three young
36:40children I could not reconcile these
36:43issues a mother who tells the world that
36:46she's a sound sleeper who intentionally
36:48goes downstairs to sleep with her boys
36:51precisely because she wakes up so easily
36:54is then somehow asleep through the
36:56brutal attacks of her children and the
36:59attacks against her as well I understood
37:02why so many people are so passionate
37:05about their belief of her guilt stemming
37:07from this issue alone but that is
37:10exactly why I intentionally chose to
37:13remain objective why I removed my own
37:16personal feelings and chose instead to
37:18continue to follow the evidence no
37:20matter where it LED and while we are
37:23still making our way through the state's
37:25case against her remember we are not
37:27even close to being done yet so let's
37:30continue
37:33James cron was an experienced crime
37:36scene investigator who had worked on
37:38thousands of cases during his
37:40significant 39-year career but prior to
37:43the events that had transpired the
37:45morning of June 6 that the Routier home
37:47he had already gone into retirement
37:49however when the Rowlett Police
37:52Department's leadership became aware of
37:54the size and scope of the crime scene at
37:565801 Eagle Drive they reached out to Mr
38:00cron and asked him to come out of
38:02retirement and he agreed during the
38:05trial he would testify that within 20 to
38:0730 minutes of arriving at the rootier
38:09home he developed a strong suspicion
38:11that the crime scene had signs of being
38:13staged and that their primary suspect
38:16was likely Darley herself crime scene
38:19analysts began to survey the scene
38:21taking into account the verbal
38:23statements that Darley had provided the
38:25911 operator as well as the law
38:27enforcement officers who had arrived
38:29shortly thereafter initially Crown would
38:32noticed that the living room coffee
38:33table appeared to have been moved that
38:36there was broken glass on the kitchen
38:37floor as well as a vacuum cleaner that
38:40was now laying on its side but he would
38:43eventually come to the conclusion that
38:45coupled with the blood evidence found
38:46underneath these items that they could
38:49not have occurred without purposeful
38:50intent and expressly for the purposes of
38:54staging the scene investigator cronwood
38:57testified that he and his team were
38:58unable to locate the kind of evidence
39:01consistent with the struggle in the
39:03manner that Darley had described
39:05furthermore they had not found blood
39:07evidence in the garage or the kind of
39:09shoe pattern evidence that you would
39:11expect to see from an intruder fleeing
39:13the scene either in the garage Disturbed
39:16dust from the windowsill impressions in
39:18the mulch or blood evidence that they
39:20would expect to find from an intruder on
39:23the gate leading out of the Routier
39:25backyard in the weeks and months
39:27following the crime forensic analysts
39:29for the state would eventually test the
39:31various evidence taken from the crime
39:33scene and they were unable to locate any
39:36foreign DNA from anyone other than the
39:39Routier family during the trial the lack
39:42of evidence supporting darley's claims
39:44was compounded by the fact that her
39:46lawyer failed to provide anything to the
39:48jury that would counter the state's
39:50expert testimony who had provided
39:52forensic evidence that refuted
39:57the forensic evidence found at the
39:59Routier home has largely been viewed as
40:01some of the most compelling brought
40:03forward by the prosecution during
40:05darley's trial I could very easily spend
40:09several hours discussing it in great
40:11detail but for the sake of brevity and
40:14so that this video isn't 14 hours long I
40:16will cover the main points if you recall
40:19when investigator cron arrived at the
40:21scene he noticed a few things that he
40:23believed were out of place Chief among
40:26them was the broken wine glass the
40:28vacuum cleaner and the visible blood
40:30evidence that didn't seem to match
40:32darley's story during the 9-1-1 call
40:34Darley had mentioned that the Intruder
40:36had dropped the knife in their utility
40:38room as he ran out of the house into the
40:41garage but during kron's investigation
40:43he noticed that there wasn't a blood
40:45pattern consistent with a knife having
40:47been dropped from any height let alone
40:49the height of a man who Darley would
40:51later describe as being over six feet
40:53tall furthermore the broken wine glass
40:56would again failed to support darley's
40:58statements she had previously explained
41:01that while running towards the Intruder
41:03she had heard glass break however when
41:05crime scene investigators found the
41:07glass they noticed that it was on top of
41:10the blood evidence which suggested that
41:13the glass was broken after she had
41:15already been injured by what the state
41:17believed was a self-inflicted wound the
41:20same pattern was found by KRON when he
41:22evaluated the evidence around and
41:25beneath the vacuum cleaner which also
41:27had blood evidence and glass underneath
41:29it evidence that would again support the
41:32state's theory that it had been moved
41:34after the fact in an effort to try and
41:36Stage the scene to show evidence
41:39consistent with an intruder but it's
41:41what crime scene analyst found in the
41:44kitchen that brought the prosecution's
41:46primary case against Darley into
41:48overdrive forensic analysts were able to
41:51use luminol around the kitchen sink that
41:54showed trace evidence consistent with
41:56someone in the router home cleaning up
41:59areas of the crime scene prosecutors
42:01would use this as proof that Darley had
42:04intentionally inflicted her own wounds
42:06staged the crime scene and quickly tried
42:09to clean it up before law enforcement
42:11could arrive but easily some of the most
42:14compelling evidence that was presented
42:16to the jury as the indisputable proof of
42:19darley's guilt would come from the
42:20family kitchen knife block analysts for
42:23the prosecution would testify that the
42:25bread knife found within it had tested
42:28positive for trace evidence in the form
42:30of fiberglass rods that prosecutors
42:33would explain to the jury were identical
42:35to the screen window fiberglass rods
42:38found in the family's garage and with
42:41this forensic evidence in hand the state
42:43would assert that this knife had to have
42:46been used to cut the garage screen door
42:48which would completely eliminate the
42:51possibility of an intruder since an
42:53intruder would have needed the bread
42:55knife to gain entry into the rootier
42:57home and as a consequence of this
43:00devastating forensic evidence it by
43:03extension would only further support the
43:05idea that Darley had staged the crime
43:07scene herself while the defense did
43:10cross-examine various State Witnesses
43:12and experts they were largely
43:14unsuccessful in providing any
43:16explanation to the jury that would
43:18explain the enormity of the evidence
43:20against their client but there was still
43:22additional evidence that would become
43:24far more important to the jury an
43:27unstoppable train picking up speed on a
43:30one-way destination headed straight for
43:33Darley Routier
43:37one of the most considerable hurdles the
43:40prosecution laid for the defense was the
43:42differentiation between the catastrophic
43:44injuries sustained by Damon and Devin
43:46and the Fairly minor injuries Darley
43:48suffered the prosecution would call the
43:51various treating medical providers to
43:53the stand who testified to the fact that
43:55darley's neck wound was entirely
43:57superficial the treating providers would
44:00also testify that the depth of her neck
44:02injury was minor enough that would only
44:04require minor stitching to close and was
44:07nowhere near the severity of what the
44:09rootier boys had suffered during their
44:12testimony it was regularly repeated that
44:15her injuries were superficial a term
44:17that was used so frequently in relation
44:19to darley's injuries that nearly 30
44:21years later it is one of the most widely
44:24known facts portrayed about darley's
44:26case additionally experts would testify
44:29at trial that her injuries appeared to
44:31have been self-inflicted when compared
44:34to the evidence at the crime scene
44:35darley's story was the that she had
44:38sustained the injury to her neck while
44:40still laying on the couch but during
44:42trial prosecutors would point out to the
44:44jury the lack of blood evidence on the
44:46couch that in any way supported her
44:48claim when taken in tandem with what
44:51investigators found at the sink which
44:53included extensive amounts of pooled
44:55blood evidence prosecutors explained to
44:57the jury that this was consistent with a
45:00self-inflicted injury over the kitchen
45:02sink that was entirely superficial and
45:06nowhere near the severity of what Damon
45:08and Devin endured now to those of you
45:11who have previously watched my content
45:13you are already likely aware of the fact
45:15that I intentionally steer away from
45:18discussing details that are
45:20uncharacteristically unsafe for young
45:22audiences there are a number of reasons
45:25why I do this but most of all it is to
45:28honor the victims in this case
45:30since beginning this channel late last
45:32year I have received dozens of comments
45:34from mothers and fathers alike who have
45:36thanked me for creating content with
45:38that in mind content that they are often
45:41able to enjoy in the company of their
45:43children and I will continue to make
45:46this my focus for many years to come
45:48here on YouTube now to those who are
45:51already familiar with this case you are
45:53likely already aware of the specific
45:55details of what happened to the Routier
45:57boys which has been discussed at length
46:00by virtually every documentary that has
46:02ever covered this horrific tragedy
46:04frankly I don't want to contribute to
46:07that in this video however to those who
46:10are interested in studying this case
46:12further I will provide additional
46:14resources in the description for your
46:16own personal analysis but I will simply
46:19say this what happened on June 6 1996 is
46:24an unimaginable and horrific tragedy and
46:27before I'm done with this video I will
46:29do my best to honor the lives of Damon
46:33and Devin Routier and the happy joyful
46:36and full lives they lived so with that
46:39said let's continue
46:44one of the most important moments of any
46:48jury trial is the closing arguments a
46:51well-prepared closing can make or break
46:54your case and no one understands that
46:56better than prosecutor Jeff Ashton by
47:00the time he stood in front of the jury
47:02he was so thoroughly convinced that he
47:04had won them over that he had succeeded
47:07in establishing the guilt of the
47:08defendant that he didn't even bother to
47:11try and establish the most important
47:13part of his case guilt proven Beyond any
47:18reasonable doubt many who have watched
47:20his closing arguments have noted that he
47:23appears arrogant overly confident and
47:26even seems to condescend to anyone who
47:29might think that the state had not
47:30succeeded improving their case and I
47:33imagine that was precisely why he was
47:36completely shocked when the jury read
47:38their verdict
47:40as to the charge of first-degree murder
47:42verdict as to count one we the jury find
47:45the defendant not guilty a talented and
47:48experienced prosecutor understands that
47:51a well-constructed case is built on the
47:53foundation of evidence forensics expert
47:56Witnesses and facts but every prosecutor
47:59above all else wants something even more
48:02difficult to achieve winning the hearts
48:05and minds of the jury it is an unspoken
48:09rule I have witnessed in more jury
48:11trials than most people will see in the
48:13entirety of their lives but when a
48:15prosecutor succeeds in captivating the
48:18jury guilt Beyond any reasonable doubt
48:21is sure to follow guilty verdict signed
48:25by the four lady three two twenty three
48:29so when closing arguments began in the
48:32darly Routier case the jury would first
48:34hear from prosecutor Toby shook he took
48:37it upon himself to do the heavy lifting
48:40by summarizing the evidence that the
48:42state had brought against Darley over
48:43the preceding five weeks he reminded the
48:47jury about the changing stories Darley
48:49told law enforcement medical
48:50professionals family members and even
48:53people she barely knew at least eight
48:56different times he explained the
48:58conflicting evidence found at the scene
49:00and the forensic experts who had
49:03testified to finding evidence consistent
49:05with the crime scene having been staged
49:07prior to law enforcement's arrival he
49:10reminded them of the testimony that
49:12established darley's pension for the
49:14Finer Things in life her tendency to be
49:16materialistic money driven and then told
49:19them that it was the state's opinion
49:21that this blonde bombshell who had paid
49:23two thousand dollars for breast
49:25augmentation had become so blinded by
49:28her pursuit of money
49:29she was willing to do the Unspeakable in
49:32exchange for her freedom and for the ten
49:35thousand dollars in Combined life
49:37insurance policies he recapped the
49:40financial problems the couple had come
49:42upon that they were on the brink of
49:43having their house foreclosed upon that
49:46they were virtually broke and that
49:47Darren's business was seemingly barely
49:50Treading Water he Revisited the stories
49:53of darley's apathy towards her own
49:55children after law enforcement had
49:57arrived at the scene and the stories of
49:59those who testified that she never asked
50:01about the condition of either Damon or
50:03Devin that despite the fact that Darley
50:06had needed surgery that her wounds were
50:08entirely superficial and that she was
50:10only ever in the ICU as a means to keep
50:13her away from the throngs of reporters
50:15and the public who had taken immediate
50:18interest in her case he told the jury
50:21again to remember the testimony from the
50:23medical professionals who had described
50:25Darley as whiny with a flat affect not
50:29acting like a strut and heartbroken
50:31mother who had just lost her two eldest
50:33boys but rather like an uncaring and
50:36disconnected monster who must have been
50:39responsible for the crime prosecutors
50:42shook reminisced with the jury
50:43concerning the testimony that came from
50:45blood expert Tom Beville who had
50:47testified to the blood drops on darley's
50:50shirt that he believed were consistent
50:52with Darley having held the knife during
50:54the commission of the crime he discussed
50:57the fact that the routier's dog who was
50:59known to bark at everyone the moment
51:01they stepped through the door had
51:03remained quiet throughout the entirety
51:05of the vicious attack how the security
51:07light in the backyard was not seen on at
51:10the time First Responders arrived and
51:12would have had to have been if an
51:14intruder had gone through the backyard
51:16since it would stay on for 18 minutes
51:18after it was triggered and how nothing
51:21in the house not even the pile of
51:24jewelry sitting in plain view was ever
51:27touched he again reminded the that
51:30darley's injuries were minor when
51:32compared to those that her children
51:33suffered he discussed the unlikeliness
51:36of an intruder breaking into the Routier
51:38home without bringing a weapon instead
51:41taking one from the routier's kitchen
51:43something that was described as not only
51:45being improbable but virtually
51:47impossible he talked about darley's best
51:51friend of a decade Barbara jovell and
51:53how she testified to how money changed
51:56Darley how she became self-centered
51:58buying an extensive jewelry collection
52:01decorating her home buying boats a spa
52:04cars and that she was the dominant Buxom
52:08blonde who spent thousands of dollars
52:10augmenting her body that she was more
52:13than happy to show off to the world
52:15prosecutors shook reminded the jury of
52:18one of the most damning pieces of
52:19evidence that darley's own defense team
52:22had failed to properly explain her
52:25journal entry where she effectively told
52:27her family goodbye that she just
52:30couldn't keep going anymore apologizing
52:33for what she was about to do and then a
52:36month later the unimaginable however
52:39it's in the final moments of his closing
52:42arguments that prosecutors shook place
52:44the final nail in the outer frame of
52:46darley's coffin when he reminded them of
52:50the now Infamous Silly String video a
52:53video that the jury was about to watch
52:55and re-watch seven different times
52:58during their four hour deliberation a
53:01video that jurors would later admit
53:04carried more weight in their minds than
53:06virtually anything else that had been
53:08presented by the prosecution later on
53:12that same day Prosecutor Greg Davis
53:14would have the opportunity to provide
53:16the jury with his own closing statement
53:18but he wouldn't spend his time regaling
53:21the jury over the minutia of the factual
53:23evidence nearly as much as he would try
53:25to achieve the one thing the state had
53:28wanted from the very very beginning
53:31hearts and Minds in his closing remarks
53:34he compared Darley to the likes of Susan
53:37Smith a case that had also featured a
53:39mother who had initially claimed that
53:41someone else had been responsible for
53:43the Unspeakable acts against her
53:45children only to find out that she had
53:48been responsible all along the Susan
53:51Smith case had inflamed a wildfire of
53:53vitriol and anger from the general
53:55public and prosecutor Davis made certain
53:58to draw that comparison to his defendant
54:01who was still insisting on her innocence
54:03in his closing he also compared her to
54:07the likes of Charles Manson taking time
54:09to remind the jury of darley's failures
54:12as a mother the morning of June 6th
54:14failing to help her children despite
54:17being instructed to do so by First
54:20Responders but it was towards the end of
54:22his impassioned speech that he turned
54:25away from the jury and took aim at
54:27Darley herself in a way that was
54:29designed to get her to respond
54:32prosecutor Davis understood that the
54:35state's case lacked a clear and
54:37uncontestable motive but if he could
54:39somehow get Darley to show the jury a
54:42moment of rage then he could prove that
54:45she was capable of the crimes for which
54:47she now stood trial these are some of
54:50the final words of Prosecutor Greg
54:52Davis's closing statements
54:54quote you know she did it and the
54:57defense keeps saying that I didn't show
54:59you why she did it and I think I did we
55:03have a pretty good snapshot look at what
55:05This Woman's life was like back then it
55:08was so desperate that on May 3rd 1996 in
55:11this beautifully normal American home
55:13with no problems in it this woman is
55:16contemplating ending her own life you
55:19know it wasn't good there you know the
55:22pressures we're building up with the
55:23children
55:24you know she was unhappy that she hadn't
55:26had a girl she was unhappy with her
55:29weight and her appearance
55:31and she's unhappy that she's not getting
55:33the attention from her husband that she
55:35wants to get and she is unhappy about
55:37their financial situation
55:40unquote in his final words he described
55:43what the state believed happened that
55:45night in the Routier home in graphic and
55:48painstaking detail after describing for
55:51the jury what the state believed Darley
55:54had done he took aim and fired his most
55:56direct shot telling the jury that she
55:59was the one who was responsible for
56:01everything that happened to Devin and
56:03Damon Routier that morning and after 45
56:06minutes of listening to his Onslaught
56:09against her Darley broke in an
56:11uncontrolled Outburst shouting back liar
56:15you are a liar I did not end the lives
56:18of my children
56:19and with that Outburst prosecutor Davis
56:22had won he had succeeded in ringing a
56:26bell that could not be unrung it was
56:29then that he looked at the jury having
56:31shown them her anger in a way that no
56:33amount of evidence could and in that
56:36moment he achieved everything he could
56:39have wanted in the prosecution of darlie
56:42Lynn Routier the hearts and minds of the
56:46jury this was one of the very last
56:49things I read in the trial record of
56:51darley's case and I can still remember
56:53when I read this interaction between
56:55Darley and prosecutor Davis it made
56:58sense to me in that moment why so many
57:00people who have studied the details
57:02surrounding this case hear the evidence
57:05that we just covered and are absolutely
57:07convinced of darley's guilt it does it
57:10makes sense why so many people believe
57:12that there is no need to go beyond this
57:15because the case the state brought
57:17against Darley at trials seems truly
57:19independent defensible in fact you won't
57:22find any large True Crime creators on
57:24this platform who have covered her case
57:26that will even attempt to
57:28comprehensively discuss the claims of
57:30her innocence but I wanted to go there I
57:33needed to go behind this criminal's mind
57:36so that I could see for myself what if
57:39anything I would find because when I
57:42started this I like so many of you
57:44believed that she was guilty but I also
57:48had nearly 30 years of legal experience
57:50that had taught me to never assume what
57:53I know until I fairly evaluate the
57:56entirety of any defendant's case from
57:59the perspective of the governing rules
58:01of criminal procedure the case law and
58:04all of the available evidence and it's
58:07precisely because of that experience
58:09that I learned about the abundance of
58:11cases where people who were once found
58:14guilty Beyond any reasonable doubt were
58:17then later determined to be innocent
58:19after the discovery of new evidence
58:21people who were once condemned convicted
58:24and sentenced to death row by the
58:26justice system only later to find that
58:29they were telling the truth all along it
58:32taught me to find the highest degree of
58:35certainty in a case before I make my own
58:38determination of guilt or innocence so
58:41now that we have evaluated the evidence
58:44brought forth by the state we will now
58:46review the defense of darlie Routier
58:53one of the most inescapable realities
58:56for any criminal defense attorney in a
58:58high-profile criminal trial is the
59:01unavoidable impact of the Public's
59:03perception in a highly media saturated
59:06case this problem is often compounded
59:09when that defendant has already received
59:12widespread negative media attention and
59:14as a consequence The public's opinion
59:16now leans heavily towards their guilt it
59:19is one of the main reasons why juries
59:21are regularly instructed by the
59:23presiding judge on the laws that govern
59:25their decisions specifically their
59:28inherent biases and the importance of
59:30their objectivity however even with
59:33these instructions and rules it is not
59:35uncommon to find that jurors will
59:37subvert the governing guidelines upon
59:39them and allow their biases to dictate
59:42how they will ultimately rule
59:45orenthal Jane Simpson not guilty of the
59:47crime of murder in violation of penal
59:49code section 187 a a felony upon Nicole
59:53John Simpson a human being as charged
59:55and count one of the information
59:57over the years we have become more aware
59:59of the impact that the media and public
1:00:02perception can have in a criminal action
1:00:04simply by virtue of the shared number of
1:00:07people who have been exonerated and
1:00:09found to have been innocent of the
1:00:11crimes for which they were previously
1:00:12convicted
1:00:14since 1973 at least
1:00:17190 people have been exonerated from
1:00:20Death Row due to Newfound evidence
1:00:22advancements in forensics and the
1:00:25discovery of new technologies that have
1:00:27led to Scientific breakthroughs like DNA
1:00:31190 people who were placed on death row
1:00:34for a crime they did not commit is an
1:00:38absolutely staggering number and yet
1:00:41within the capital punishment system of
1:00:43our country there is a far darker
1:00:46reality an ominous truth that is
1:00:48inextricably linked to those
1:00:50exonerations in a way that for me is
1:00:53simply impossible to reconcile
1:00:56in 2021 lawyers from the Innocence
1:00:58Project went public with a story that
1:01:01did not receive the press or attention
1:01:03that it deserved for 22 years Ladell Lee
1:01:07maintained his innocence a man who had
1:01:09been convicted of first-degree homicide
1:01:12and was now in his final days on death
1:01:14row his lawyers had done everything in
1:01:17their power to petition the court to
1:01:19conduct testing on the primary evidence
1:01:22that led to his conviction evidence that
1:01:25had never been DNA tested but the state
1:01:28and judicial authorities refused his
1:01:30appeals claiming that it was merely a
1:01:33stall tactic and as the final seconds
1:01:35ran off the clock Liddell Lee's death
1:01:38warrant was signed and the state ended
1:01:41his life normally that is where these
1:01:43cases end people don't usually advocate
1:01:46for convicted felons who have already
1:01:48been executed by the state but his
1:01:51family and lawyers from both the ACLU
1:01:53and the Innocence Project refused to
1:01:55give up but their request for testing of
1:01:58the murder weapon was eventually granted
1:02:01and what that testing revealed was and
1:02:05is completely devastating the DNA taken
1:02:09from the murder weapon did not belong to
1:02:11Liddell Lee evidence that was never
1:02:14tested that could have proved his
1:02:16innocence definitively showed that the
1:02:18state had executed the wrong man an
1:02:22innocent man and that for the 22 years
1:02:25that Liddell Lee insisted that he was
1:02:27innocent that in fact he had been
1:02:30telling the truth all along the day
1:02:33before his execution he spoke with the
1:02:35BBC in an interview he expressed his
1:02:38exasperation with what he had been
1:02:40forced to endure liking it to the
1:02:42Twilight Zone and most tragic of all was
1:02:45that even though he knew what he was
1:02:48about to face his deepest concern in
1:02:50that moment wasn't himself but rather
1:02:53his family and the pain that he knew
1:02:56knew that they would suffer because of a
1:02:58crime that he did not commit but of all
1:03:01the tragedy that came from this case it
1:03:04was his final words to the BBC that will
1:03:06stay with me for many years to come
1:03:09he said my dying words will always be as
1:03:13it has been I am an innocent man the
1:03:18tragic case of Liddell Lee helped to
1:03:20reveal an unimaginable reality that
1:03:23defendant standing trial are far too
1:03:25often believed to be guilty until proven
1:03:28innocent many including the jury often
1:03:32assume that they wouldn't be their
1:03:34standing trial if they hadn't done
1:03:36something to Merit the charges in the
1:03:38first place and once someone is believed
1:03:41to be guilty especially after a
1:03:43conviction then the criminal justice
1:03:45system the appellate courts and the
1:03:48general public tend to dismiss claims of
1:03:50unfairness we tend to ignore the
1:03:52assertions that mistakes were made by
1:03:54law enforcement at trial or by
1:03:57overzealous prosecutors and far too
1:04:00often we as a whole err on the side that
1:04:03the system must have gotten it right and
1:04:05as a consequence we simply throw away
1:04:08the key but even a defendant as heinous
1:04:11as Charles Manson if they are not
1:04:14afforded a proper defense at trial then
1:04:16as a consequence of that failure to
1:04:19adequately defend even the likes of him
1:04:21then those mistakes open up a Pandora's
1:04:24box of appeals and delays that last for
1:04:28decades so even if you're of the opinion
1:04:31that the person standing trial is a vile
1:04:34odious and Despicable monster who does
1:04:36not deserve to breathe air you want that
1:04:39person to have the most competent and
1:04:42thorough representation possible
1:04:44precisely because of the fact that a
1:04:46failure to do so will virtually
1:04:48guarantee that their case will remain
1:04:51stuck in the appeals process for the
1:04:53entirety of their natural life but
1:04:56that's the thing about capital murder
1:04:58cases that involve the death penalty
1:05:00there are no do-overs once the death
1:05:03warrant has been signed and carried out
1:05:05there is no opportunity to go back to
1:05:09apologize and to get it right and it's
1:05:12for that very reason that I went into my
1:05:15assessment of darley's Innocence
1:05:16open-minded willing to critically
1:05:19evaluate each of the claims of her
1:05:21innocence on their merits and without my
1:05:24own personal bias and my hope is that as
1:05:27I take you through her defense you'll
1:05:30understand exactly why I believe that
1:05:32there is more to this case than what was
1:05:34brought forth at trial so without
1:05:36further Ado this is the defense of
1:05:39darlie Routier
1:05:41one of the very first things I learned
1:05:43as a Junior law clerk at my very first
1:05:45law firm was the overwhelming importance
1:05:48of a comprehensive understanding of your
1:05:51client's case and ensuring that you have
1:05:54all the time needed in order to be amply
1:05:57prepared for trial over the years I
1:06:00would learn many important Tools in an
1:06:03effective and competent lawyer's Arsenal
1:06:05that would provide every client with the
1:06:08best possible chance at a successful
1:06:10outcome
1:06:11but as anyone who has ever worked in the
1:06:13legal Community knows there are vitally
1:06:16important things that you should do in
1:06:18the defense of your client and equally
1:06:21important things that you should not do
1:06:23one of the first and most glaring
1:06:25problems that I noticed in darlie
1:06:27routier's case was the overwhelming
1:06:29evidence that her defense team failed in
1:06:32spectacular fashion to provide the
1:06:34representation expected of counsel
1:06:37defending their client against the death
1:06:40penalty but in order to properly
1:06:42understand these issues we need to
1:06:44evaluate each of the critical mistakes
1:06:46that were made in darley's defense
1:06:53in the days following darley's arrest
1:06:55the court would assign public defender
1:06:58attorney Douglas Parks to represent
1:07:00Darley in her upcoming jury trial over
1:07:03the course of the next four months
1:07:05attorney parks would proceed with the
1:07:07preparation of his client's case but in
1:07:10early October he would discover that
1:07:12darley's family were in the final stages
1:07:14of firing him choosing instead to
1:07:17replace him with the exceedingly more
1:07:19popular and well-known criminal defense
1:07:22attorney Douglas Mulder attorney Mulder
1:07:25was a very well respected criminal
1:07:27defense lawyer known throughout the
1:07:29entire state of Texas Early in his
1:07:32career he became a prosecutor whose
1:07:34tenacious nature would earn him the
1:07:36nickname Mad Dog Mulder and his
1:07:39conviction rate was so high that he
1:07:41would send two dozen people to death row
1:07:44in his time at the District Attorney's
1:07:46office but eventually he would switch
1:07:49sides and would go on to represent some
1:07:51of the most widely publicized criminal
1:07:54cases throughout the entire state of
1:07:56Texas by the time that attorney Mulder
1:07:59would take the lead in darley's case he
1:08:01was already down to the wire now it
1:08:04cannot be overstated just how
1:08:05considerable of a problem he would have
1:08:07with only nine weeks to prepare for the
1:08:11month-long jury trial in fact over the
1:08:14last few months I have consulted with
1:08:16former colleagues who are still
1:08:18practicing criminal defense litigation
1:08:20many of whom are some of the best
1:08:22litigators in their field men and women
1:08:25who have defended people facing similar
1:08:27charges and all of them have agreed
1:08:30unanimously that nine weeks for a
1:08:33capital murder case of this magnitude is
1:08:35not only insufficient but virtually
1:08:38guarantee an inadequate defense for any
1:08:41client let alone the already despised
1:08:44and reviled defendant of Rowlett Texas
1:08:47darlie Routier most experienced criminal
1:08:51defense lawyers often require fire no
1:08:54less than 18 months to adequately
1:08:56prepare for a jury trial in a case of
1:08:59this size and scope nine weeks is
1:09:02absolutely Unthinkable and his lack of
1:09:05preparation was about to become
1:09:07glaringly apparent after reviewing the
1:09:11totality of pleadings filed in darley's
1:09:13case I cannot locate anywhere in the
1:09:15court record where her defense attorneys
1:09:18requested additional time to prepare for
1:09:21trial and to ensure his client received
1:09:24a rigorous defense and this brings me to
1:09:27an important point that I need to
1:09:29address before we go any further there
1:09:32is a real and seemingly unavoidable
1:09:34Temptation whenever we hear of a
1:09:36criminal defense lawyer failing in their
1:09:38duties especially when it's tied to a
1:09:41criminal case where the general public
1:09:43already largely believes the defendant
1:09:45to be guilty we tend as a whole to blame
1:09:48the person standing trial and ignore
1:09:50claims of ineffective assistance of
1:09:52counsel the unfortunate reality for most
1:09:55people is that whether you are charged
1:09:58with a minor misdemeanor or capital
1:10:00murder your future largely depends on
1:10:03whether or not your attorney does their
1:10:05job attorneys who often have massive
1:10:08caseloads and have limited bandwidth to
1:10:11comprehend retain and prepare for a case
1:10:14as massive as Charlie routieres it has
1:10:17been my experience that the general
1:10:19public and appellate courts tend to
1:10:22punish the person who was charged for
1:10:24the mistakes of their attorney a
1:10:26pervasive view that can be seen
1:10:28throughout the entirety of the justice
1:10:30system far too often the uneducated
1:10:33person standing trial who never went to
1:10:36law school and has no formal training in
1:10:39the law is somehow responsible for the
1:10:42failures of their own attorney simply
1:10:45put you would think if you hired a
1:10:47lawyer who cost you ninety thousand
1:10:49dollars that you would be in good hands
1:10:52but the sad real quality is not
1:10:55necessarily in fact I have seen many
1:10:58prosecutors take advantage of these
1:11:00missteps and failures by new or
1:11:02overworked defense attorneys or in
1:11:05darley's case a wildly overconfident yet
1:11:08experienced lawyer who failed at one of
1:11:11the most fundamental and foundational
1:11:13aspects of a competent criminal defense
1:11:16attorney
1:11:17rigorous preparation and sufficient time
1:11:24by October of 1996 public defender
1:11:27attorney Parks had learned of his
1:11:30replacement by darley's newfangled and
1:11:32flashy defense lawyer and he was still
1:11:35very much aware of the fact that trial
1:11:37was looming mere weeks away attorney
1:11:40Parks had already retained two
1:11:43well-respected and experienced forensic
1:11:45experts Terry labor and Bart Epstein to
1:11:49counter the state's evidence against
1:11:50Darley at trial experts who had already
1:11:53conducted tests that supported darley's
1:11:56claims of an intruder Terry labor would
1:11:58later provide an affidavit in connection
1:12:01to darley's appeals that would confirm
1:12:03the testing they had conducted and what
1:12:05it had revealed the following is just
1:12:08one of the important claims made in
1:12:11Labor's affidavit to the Appellate Court
1:12:13quote based on the analysis that I
1:12:16performed on this case it is my
1:12:18professional opinion today that there
1:12:21were numerous pieces of physical
1:12:22evidence we reviewed that were not
1:12:25consistent with the staged crime scene
1:12:27unquote in that same affidavit he
1:12:31offered specific examples of the test
1:12:33that they had conducted prior to
1:12:35attorney Mulder's involvement tests that
1:12:38countered the state's experts that had
1:12:40testified against Darley during her
1:12:42lengthy trial and these experts had
1:12:45found the following one an initial
1:12:48assessment of the vacuum cleaner showed
1:12:50that it had not been pushed around by
1:12:52someone who was bleeding but instead the
1:12:55bleeding occurred once the vacuum had
1:12:58already been knocked down
1:13:002. an examination of shards of broken
1:13:02glass indicated that the wine glass that
1:13:05had been broken was not consistent with
1:13:08the stage crime scene because it
1:13:10appeared as though the glass had been
1:13:12broken while still in the wine rack this
1:13:15did not match the theory that Darley had
1:13:18purposefully broken the glass to make it
1:13:21appear as though an intruder had entered
1:13:23the home additionally one of the most
1:13:26important statements made by labor in
1:13:28his affidavit spoke to the very heart of
1:13:31the state's entire forensic case that
1:13:33was critical in securing darley's
1:13:36conviction it read as follows in my
1:13:39professional opinion scientific testing
1:13:42of the physical evidence would have been
1:13:44critical to Darley Lynn routier's
1:13:46defense
1:13:47independent testing of that physical
1:13:49evidence was crucial to properly
1:13:52evaluate the state's case there were
1:13:56numerous potential holes in the state's
1:13:58case that required testing to conform or
1:14:01refute the state's presentation of the
1:14:04evidence and to provide evidence that
1:14:06could have well refuted the state's
1:14:08forensic testimony the statements that
1:14:11expert Terry labor just made are
1:14:14incredibly important to understand one
1:14:17of the most common misconceptions that I
1:14:19routinely dealt with in my career was
1:14:21having to explain to clients the
1:14:24difference between a primary care
1:14:25physician that treats their regular
1:14:27Health Care needs and an expert that has
1:14:30been hired to evaluate them either by
1:14:32the state or by an adverse party for
1:14:36several years I helped support my law
1:14:38firm's Workers Compensation Division and
1:14:40during that time I worked on many
1:14:42hundreds of cases and without fail no
1:14:45matter how severe our clients injuries
1:14:47were the moment they met with the
1:14:49physician who was hired by the insurance
1:14:51company to testify against them that
1:14:54physician would always find that our
1:14:57client was somehow perfectly healthy and
1:14:59fully functional somehow able to return
1:15:02to work with limited or no restrictions
1:15:05this would even happen to clients who
1:15:07had suffered catastrophic injuries that
1:15:10they had sustained on the job many who
1:15:12were still in wheelchairs or even
1:15:14bedridden and in extreme cases
1:15:17completely disabled despite a mountain
1:15:20of Records countless surgeons treating
1:15:23providers and other supporting evidence
1:15:25somehow the insurance company's doctor
1:15:27would always find that our clients were
1:15:30now fully able to return to their
1:15:32construction or manual labor jobs all
1:15:35that to say that it has been my
1:15:37experience that no matter how clear a
1:15:40case may seem you will likely find an
1:15:42expert willing to testify against that
1:15:45case
1:15:46for a fee in fact there are experts who
1:15:49will only testify for one side or the
1:15:52other in that kind of expert shopping
1:15:55runs rampant throughout the entirety of
1:15:58the American judicial system and it's
1:16:01precisely because of that problem within
1:16:04our courts that you often have to look
1:16:06at the veracity of the experts testing
1:16:09methods and in Terry Labor's affidavit
1:16:12he explains that a very real problem
1:16:14existed within the state's evidence the
1:16:17fact being that independent material and
1:16:20compositional testing was not conducted
1:16:23to verify the state's primary evidence
1:16:25testing that has increasingly become the
1:16:28accepted standard to ensure a scientific
1:16:31certainty of any experts findings most
1:16:35especially for cases involving the death
1:16:38penalty now you might be wondering like
1:16:41I was why Terry Labor's affidavit came
1:16:44after darley's trial and and not during
1:16:47well strap in because the answer is both
1:16:49shocking and for me nearly impossible to
1:16:52believe or even comprehend after the
1:16:55state had shown the jury all of their
1:16:58forensic evidence who do you think
1:17:00attorney Douglas smulder the high-priced
1:17:03big shot defense lawyer put in the
1:17:05witness stand to counter any of the
1:17:08state's experts claims because I would
1:17:10assume that it would be some other
1:17:12high-priced expert who specialized in
1:17:15these kinds of difficult and complex
1:17:17capital murder cases or maybe even
1:17:20someone who had testified in other media
1:17:22frenzy trials that had years of forensic
1:17:25experience who then refuted the claims
1:17:27made by the state using the breadth of
1:17:29their experience to clearly establish
1:17:32Reasonable Doubt because surely attorney
1:17:35Mulder knowing that his client is facing
1:17:38the death penalty would have hired the
1:17:40foremost experts in the state to ensure
1:17:43the best possible representation for his
1:17:46client I mean right because that is the
1:17:49bare minimum expectation in a case of
1:17:52this magnitude and anyone who has ever
1:17:54spent a modicum of time as a trial
1:17:56attorney knows that you cannot allow the
1:17:59state's expert to testify in front of
1:18:02the jury unanswered most especially when
1:18:06you consider that there were already two
1:18:08previous experts hired by darley's
1:18:11former public defender that had already
1:18:13started their own testing and had found
1:18:16evidence in support of darley's claims
1:18:19of an intruder because it would be
1:18:21absolutely absurd for a lawyer of
1:18:24attorney Mulder's caliber going mach 10
1:18:27into one of the most highly contentious
1:18:29jury trials the city of roulette had
1:18:32ever seen with only nine weeks to
1:18:34prepare to then not even bother to hire
1:18:37any expert to defend the very life of
1:18:40his client that had just shelled out
1:18:42ninety thousand dollars to literally
1:18:45save her life
1:18:46I mean right he he wouldn't do that
1:18:48would he well I'm sure by now you
1:18:51realize that is precisely what attorney
1:18:53Douglas Mulder did he allowed the state
1:18:56to present their forensic evidence
1:18:58without so much as a peep from any
1:19:01defense expert whatsoever and I simply
1:19:05cannot stress enough the unmitigated
1:19:08failure that that was and is to any
1:19:12client regardless of how you may feel
1:19:15about them and here's the thing that
1:19:17isn't even the worst part of attorney
1:19:20Mulder's failure as darley's
1:19:22representative in a trial involving life
1:19:25or death so hold on because it's about
1:19:28to get much worse
1:19:32in the months prior to being fired by
1:19:35the routers public defender Parks had
1:19:38already developed a theory that involved
1:19:40darley's husband Darren as the
1:19:42perpetrator of the crime now this is a
1:19:45very common tactic in any criminal
1:19:47defense case but even more so in the
1:19:49case of darlie Routier because the
1:19:52allegation had teeth as well as evidence
1:19:54to support it most especially when you
1:19:57consider that years after the trial
1:19:59Darren would produce an affidavit
1:20:01wherein he would admit that he had been
1:20:03telling virtually everyone he knew about
1:20:06his financial woes he would admit that
1:20:09he had even approached several people to
1:20:12ask them to come to his house and Stage
1:20:14a robbery for the purposes of collecting
1:20:17insurance money not to mention the fact
1:20:20that Darren had a life insurance policy
1:20:22on Darley worth a quarter of a million
1:20:25dollars let me say that just one more
1:20:28time the policy that was on the life of
1:20:32Darlene in Routier a policy that would
1:20:35have been payable to her husband Darren
1:20:37was worth a quarter of a million dollars
1:20:41and that information is compounded by
1:20:44the fact that Darren had spent much of
1:20:46the preceding months prior to the
1:20:48attacks telling everyone and anyone to
1:20:51come to his house and effectively stage
1:20:54a home invasion now attorney Parks was
1:20:56not aware of this information in the
1:20:58beginning of his work on darley's case
1:21:00but he knew what every good defense
1:21:03attorney understands that he had to give
1:21:05the jury evidence that supported
1:21:07reasonable doubt that he had to give
1:21:10them an alternative someone other than
1:21:12his own client so when attorney Parks
1:21:15learned that his replacement was not at
1:21:17all interested in involving Darren in
1:21:20the crime he was completely dumbfounded
1:21:22now it goes without saying that most
1:21:24attorneys who have just been fired
1:21:26especially overworked public defenders
1:21:29would simply cut their losses and move
1:21:31on but attorney attorney Parks was not
1:21:34most attorneys in fact the decision by
1:21:37attorney Mulder to not involve Darren in
1:21:40darley's defense was so concerning to
1:21:42him that he wrote attorney Mulder a
1:21:45letter directly expressing his concerns
1:21:47but his efforts would ultimately fall on
1:21:51deaf ears as darley's new attorney would
1:21:53respond to his concerns by saying that
1:21:55he did not believe Darren had any
1:21:57involvement in the crime and in the same
1:22:00breath admitted that he had not reviewed
1:22:02any of the evidence against Aaron from
1:22:05the public defender's office but the
1:22:08real motivations for his refusal to
1:22:10involve Darren was about to come into
1:22:13Focus since darley's trial it has been
1:22:16revealed that attorney Douglas Mulder
1:22:18was hired by Darren and Darley kirutir
1:22:21in connection with a show cause hearing
1:22:23where the state alleged that both had
1:22:25violated the gag order concerning
1:22:27discussions with the media a violation
1:22:30that could have potentially landed
1:22:31Darren in jail according to court
1:22:34records attorney Douglas Mulder had
1:22:36heard of the public defender's intent to
1:22:39implicate Darren in the crime as part of
1:22:41darley's Defense but in what can only be
1:22:44described as an underhanded and
1:22:47unethical maneuver attorney Mulder told
1:22:49Darren of the plan to blame him but
1:22:52promised him that if he was hired to
1:22:54represent Darley that he would not argue
1:22:57to implicate him in any way and to
1:23:00absolutely no one's surprise that same
1:23:03day Darley fired her public defender and
1:23:06attorney Douglas Mulder became her lead
1:23:09counsel with only nine weeks to spare
1:23:11before her trial would commence attorney
1:23:14Park's concerns fell on deaf ears and
1:23:17darley's future was now firmly in the
1:23:20hands of a man representing the
1:23:22interests of both her and her husband
1:23:24but public defender Parks was not the
1:23:28only one troubled by the obvious
1:23:29conflict of interest the state had also
1:23:32become serious concerned and on November
1:23:3512 1996 the prosecutor's office filed a
1:23:39notice of possible conflict of interest
1:23:40into the judicial record I simply cannot
1:23:44stress enough how uncommon and unusual
1:23:47it is for the prosecutor's office to
1:23:50involve themselves in the technical
1:23:52blunders of a defense lawyer seemingly
1:23:54writing a foul of the rules and ethics
1:23:57that govern all practicing attorneys and
1:24:00yet somehow the state was more concerned
1:24:02about protecting darley's Sixth
1:24:04Amendment rights to conflict-free
1:24:06counsel then her own attorney was but
1:24:10it's what the state said in their filing
1:24:12with the court that I found very
1:24:14interesting at this moment in time still
1:24:17weeks before the commencement of
1:24:19darley's trial even the state believed
1:24:21that Darren had been involved in the
1:24:23crime and they said as much in their
1:24:25filing it read as follows investigations
1:24:29are ongoing with regards to the analysis
1:24:32of physical evidence and recent analysis
1:24:34of the physical evidence suggests that
1:24:37Darren Routier may have participated and
1:24:41if that wasn't bad enough attorney
1:24:43Mulder had all of the following evidence
1:24:45available to him one he knew that
1:24:49Darren's hair had been found on the
1:24:51murder weapon found at the crime scene
1:24:53two he had evidence that showed law
1:24:56enforcement had found the blood-stained
1:24:59sock in the alley that contained fibers
1:25:01from Darren's bloodstained sneakers
1:25:04three he was also aware of Darren's
1:25:07inconsistent statements concerning his
1:25:09blood-stained genes four he knew that
1:25:13blood was also found on Darren's
1:25:15underwear and five attorney Mulder was
1:25:18completely aware of Darren's
1:25:20inconsistent statements and suspicious
1:25:23behavior that occurred at the crime
1:25:25scene and at the hospital so now after
1:25:28both sides had expressed their concerns
1:25:30to the court and to attorney Mulder
1:25:32concerning his wildly inappropriate
1:25:34conflicts of interest and his promise to
1:25:36Darren to not accuse him despite all of
1:25:39the credible and forensic evidence what
1:25:42do you imagine his response to the
1:25:44state's Court filing was because I'd be
1:25:46willing to bet my oceanfront property in
1:25:49Arizona that you probably wouldn't guess
1:25:51that after the innumerable reasons he
1:25:54had to include Darren in darley's
1:25:56defense he simply didn't say anything at
1:25:59all but even more disconcerting than all
1:26:02of that evidence that was known or
1:26:04should have been known to attorney
1:26:06Mulder was the fact that Darren himself
1:26:08would later admit in a sworn affidavit
1:26:11that in the spring of 1996 he had spoken
1:26:14with darley's stepfather and in that
1:26:16conversation he asked him quote if he
1:26:19knew of anyone who had agreed to
1:26:21burglarize his home as part of an
1:26:24insurance scam unquote in Darren's own
1:26:27sworn affidavit he also stated that
1:26:30quote he and his family would be gone on
1:26:33from the house and that the burglar
1:26:35would come to the house with a U-Haul
1:26:36truck and remove gobs of stuff from the
1:26:39house which he would then retrieve after
1:26:41the insurance company paid off and that
1:26:44this wasn't the only time that Darren
1:26:46had had similar schemes two years prior
1:26:49he had arranged to have his Jaguar
1:26:51stolen to collect the insurance money
1:26:53and said that that crime went off
1:26:56without a hitch this was more than a
1:26:59simple misstep by an overconfident
1:27:01defense attorney who had engaged in
1:27:04wildly unethical and inappropriate
1:27:06behavior between two clients with
1:27:09competing interests this was a
1:27:11Monumental failure to aggressively and
1:27:14competently defend his client who at
1:27:17that moment in time was facing being
1:27:19executed on death row and by the time
1:27:22all of these facts would reach the
1:27:24Appellate Court in the form of darley's
1:27:26Habeas petition it was far too little
1:27:29way too late
1:27:35there is often a massive Chasm between
1:27:38what the general public believes should
1:27:40happen to a person standing trial and
1:27:42what the law actually allows this is
1:27:45best demonstrated in the explosive media
1:27:48attention surrounding the Brian coburger
1:27:50case despite the fact that very little
1:27:52empirical evidence has been made
1:27:54available to the public you don't have
1:27:56to go very far to find media Outlets
1:27:58True Crime content creators podcasters
1:28:01and the like who have already deemed him
1:28:04guilty and who have already begun
1:28:05discussing what his likely punishment
1:28:07will be at sentencing now I want to be
1:28:10clear Brian kohlberger may end up being
1:28:12found guilty and he very well may have
1:28:15been responsible for the heinous crimes
1:28:17that were committed against those four
1:28:19innocent people but we cannot allow the
1:28:23justice system to become an echo chamber
1:28:25of assumed guilt unfortunately this very
1:28:28same issue of guilty until proven
1:28:31innocent seem to haunt the case of
1:28:33darlie Routier from the very beginning
1:28:34beginning and this Assumption of guilt
1:28:37was demonstrated in virtually every
1:28:39aspect of the case that the state
1:28:41brought against Darley but more
1:28:43specifically how the state portrayed her
1:28:45character to the jury sadly most people
1:28:48do not know that when you are a criminal
1:28:50defendant there are very specific rules
1:28:54that prosecutors must follow specific to
1:28:57their claims and discussions of your
1:29:00character one of the most fundamental
1:29:02elements of those guidelines precisely
1:29:05speaks to how criminal actions are to be
1:29:07conducted in front of a jury and
1:29:10specifically States the following that a
1:29:13defendant's bad character cannot be used
1:29:16to argue that the defendant committed
1:29:19the crime for which he or she is being
1:29:22tried or that they had the propensity to
1:29:25commit the crime further noting that a
1:29:28prosecutor who dwells on a defendant's
1:29:30alleged bad character in this prohibited
1:29:33manner may be found to have engaged in
1:29:37prosecutorial misconduct simply put a
1:29:40defendant must be tried on the facts of
1:29:42the case stemming from the crime itself
1:29:44not on claims made by prosecutors
1:29:47concerning their assumed guilt due to
1:29:50allegations of their faulty or
1:29:52problematic character so I began to dig
1:29:55through the statements made by the
1:29:56prosecutors during darley's trial and I
1:29:59didn't have to look far to find the
1:30:01first of many clear violations of these
1:30:05important guidelines because legally
1:30:07speaking what I found in the pages of
1:30:10these Court transcripts is completely
1:30:13unbelievable these are the words of
1:30:15Prosecutor Greg Davis spoken to the jury
1:30:18about defendant darlie Routier
1:30:21the evidence will show you that the real
1:30:24darly root here is in fact a
1:30:26self-centered woman a materialistic
1:30:29woman a woman cold enough in fact to
1:30:32murder her own two children and we sat
1:30:35through four and a half weeks seeing the
1:30:38evil displayed before us and today that
1:30:41evil goes by the name of darlie Lynn
1:30:44Routier she sits here crying before you
1:30:47as she did on Saturday we know what
1:30:50she's all about at this point of the
1:30:51trial don't we
1:30:53he is not like us don't get into that
1:30:56game about she is like me she ain't
1:30:59there's just no way that she is we do
1:31:02know that at times we are dealing with
1:31:05the principalities of evil in this world
1:31:07and a delegate sits Among Us right now
1:31:10of that evil and her name is darlie Lynn
1:31:14Routier
1:31:16when I first read those words I almost
1:31:18couldn't believe that they were spoken
1:31:21by any lawyer let alone a prosecutor
1:31:25inside of a courtroom during trial in
1:31:29front of an actual jury because even if
1:31:33the person that those words were spoken
1:31:35to was someone who had already admitted
1:31:38to committing this crime the fact of the
1:31:40matter is they fly in the face of
1:31:43everything that our judicial system is
1:31:46founded upon the rules that I quite
1:31:49literally just read prohibit this exact
1:31:53kind of behavior now I understand that
1:31:56we may not like that but there is an
1:31:58expectation that if you are standing
1:32:00trial for a capital offense facing life
1:32:03or death that the religion of the jury
1:32:06cannot be weaponized against you while a
1:32:09prosecutor places into the minds of that
1:32:11jury that you are a literal delegate of
1:32:15evil and even if the words of prosecutor
1:32:18Davis had been spoken concerning the
1:32:21likes of Charles Manson or Ted Bundy or
1:32:23Jeffrey Dahmer I would be equally as
1:32:26impassioned in my response predicated on
1:32:29the foundation that they are the
1:32:31definition of an unethical and willful
1:32:34violation of the rules of ethics and
1:32:37criminal procedure that governs all
1:32:40lawyers irrespective of how we may feel
1:32:43about the person's standing trial and it
1:32:47is precisely for this reason why our
1:32:49courts do not allow these kinds of
1:32:51character attacks from prosecutors it's
1:32:54very simple prosecutors and all
1:32:57practicing lawyers are held to a higher
1:33:00standard and the thing is attorney Greg
1:33:03Davis did exactly this kind of thing
1:33:05throughout the entirety of darley's
1:33:07trial asking Darley when she testified
1:33:10if she regularly took her children to
1:33:13church what in the world does that have
1:33:15anything to do with the crime that she
1:33:18was accused of other than to establish
1:33:20in the minds of this wildly conservative
1:33:22jury firmly in the middle of the Bible
1:33:24Belt that she is not a good God-fearing
1:33:28church-going woman who clearly lacks
1:33:30moral fortitude and by extension must
1:33:33have been responsible for this crime
1:33:35that is not evidence and whether we like
1:33:38it or not prosecutors are strictly
1:33:41prohibited from this kind of
1:33:42characterization of any defendant
1:33:45regardless of what the general public
1:33:47thinks of that person and never mind the
1:33:51fact that he regularly spoke about her
1:33:53being overweight repeatedly brought up
1:33:55her breast augmentation as well as the
1:33:58cost of it then brought on non-medical
1:34:00Experts to testify that she did not
1:34:02grief correctly then had people tell the
1:34:05jury about the times that she was a
1:34:07questionable or even abusive mother
1:34:09excessively disciplining her children
1:34:11was shouting in curse words and even
1:34:14putting a piece of cake in her own son's
1:34:17face when he squirted her with water all
1:34:20of which are the epitome of what the
1:34:22previous rules State a prosecutor cannot
1:34:24do and even if we believe these issues
1:34:27are relevant as a society the law states
1:34:30that a defendant must be prosecuted and
1:34:33found guilty on the evidence stemming
1:34:36from the crime because again prosecutors
1:34:40and criminal defense attorneys are held
1:34:43to a higher standard than the general
1:34:45public and that isn't simply my opinion
1:34:47or how I feel it is a fact and a
1:34:51governing rule upon which the entirety
1:34:53of the Criminal Justice System stands
1:34:57but time and time again Prosecutor Greg
1:35:00Davis attacked darley's character in
1:35:02front of the media at press conferences
1:35:04in interviews and virtually every single
1:35:07chance he has ever had to speak about
1:35:10her case but even worse than the clear
1:35:13and obvious signs of prosecutor Davis's
1:35:15his attempts to Prejudice the jury
1:35:17against his defendant was the
1:35:20unforgivable sin of darley's criminal
1:35:22defense attorney Douglas Mulder failing
1:35:26time after time to object and realign
1:35:29the train that was barreling towards his
1:35:31client but even after evaluating the sum
1:35:35total of her defense team's failures to
1:35:37adequately defend her at trial I
1:35:40recognized that there was still
1:35:42insufficient evidence to demonstrate
1:35:45indisputable Reasonable Doubt
1:35:47speaking strictly from a legal
1:35:49standpoint these issues satisfied the
1:35:52requirements needed to have granted
1:35:54Darley a new trial and yet sadly the
1:35:56Appellate Court completely disregarded
1:35:58the Litany of evidence that proved her
1:36:01defense attorney failed in his duties to
1:36:04provide effective representation at
1:36:06trial but even with these egregious
1:36:09missteps by her defense attorney and the
1:36:12state I realized that they were still
1:36:14inadequate in providing a reasonable
1:36:16explanation for what transpired on June
1:36:196 1996 but just as I was getting ready
1:36:23to throw in the towel after countless
1:36:26hours of Investigation I came across
1:36:28evidence that would radically change how
1:36:31I viewed Darley routier's case evidence
1:36:34that forever altered how I see capital
1:36:37punishment throughout the entirety of
1:36:40the American criminal justice system
1:36:45after many weeks of studying the case
1:36:48against Darley reading through the trial
1:36:51records and devouring every form of
1:36:53public media available covering her
1:36:56trial I came to the realization that at
1:36:59the center of her defense was a Mount
1:37:01Everest problem that simply could not be
1:37:04traversed or ignored even as I began
1:37:07reading through the claims of her
1:37:08innocence it always remained in the back
1:37:11of my mind reminding me that it was
1:37:13there and that it would have to be
1:37:16overcome before I could accept the
1:37:18notion of Reasonable Doubt at its base
1:37:21was darly and the fact that she had
1:37:24claimed to be asleep that night and at
1:37:26its Summit was a seemingly impossible
1:37:29problem to overcome it was the Stark
1:37:31reality that in order to accept that her
1:37:34story was true she somehow slept through
1:37:37the brutal crime committed against her
1:37:39children who were mere feet away it
1:37:43didn't make sense and the various
1:37:45defense claims of ether or chloroform
1:37:47being administered by an intruder were
1:37:50not based in the physical evidence and
1:37:53no matter what I found in her defense
1:37:55they could not Rectify this ever a size
1:37:58problem for me
1:38:00I would eventually come to the
1:38:01conclusion that I would have to relent
1:38:04and admit that no matter how much
1:38:06evidence existed in her defense
1:38:08concerning failures by her attorneys or
1:38:11counter evidence to the state's case
1:38:13that this was a mountain that I simply
1:38:15could not climb when I came to this
1:38:18realization I remember that I finished
1:38:20reading for the day and began Auto
1:38:22playing old video clips from the 90s
1:38:25that had covered darley's trial it would
1:38:28eventually land on an old episode of the
1:38:30daytime talk show the Lisa Gibbons show
1:38:33in that episode members of the Routier
1:38:36family a juror from the trial and other
1:38:38participants had been invited as a panel
1:38:41to discuss darley's case most of the
1:38:44recording was evidence that I had
1:38:46already heard and yet some of it was
1:38:48very revealing in one of the more
1:38:50interesting segments a juror from
1:38:52darley's trial spoke about Darley
1:38:54directly
1:38:57absolutely
1:39:05that if if my children were feet away
1:39:08from my head the first child may have
1:39:10gotten stabbed but the second one he
1:39:13wouldn't have gotten near without
1:39:14getting through me
1:39:18I couldn't help but notice how she spoke
1:39:21about her with such a seething hatred
1:39:23unlike anything I had seen in recent
1:39:25history it was obvious to me how much of
1:39:28an impact the prosecution statements
1:39:31concerning darley's character had on the
1:39:33jurors but as the episode went on the
1:39:37panel became more contentious and
1:39:39quickly devolved into a Jerry
1:39:40springer-like chaos and just as quickly
1:39:43I stood up to turn it off but before I
1:39:46could I overheard surilda Routier say
1:39:49something that caused me to literally
1:39:51stop in stunned disbelief you guys said
1:39:55that
1:39:58but then you said that she was taking
1:40:00medication after the boys before she was
1:40:03taking that pill yeah
1:40:06at that point of my investigation I had
1:40:09read a considerable part of the trial
1:40:11record but I had not yet completed it
1:40:14and until that moment I was not aware of
1:40:17something critical that the former
1:40:19mother-in-law of darlie Routier had just
1:40:22said it was one of the only moments in
1:40:25my entire life that I can recall having
1:40:28a literal flashback to one of the most
1:40:30formidable periods of my legal career in
1:40:34a Flash memories from that time of my
1:40:36life flooded back into Focus nearly a
1:40:40decade of my career where I had been
1:40:42recruited for One Singular litigation
1:40:44wherein my Law Firm would represent
1:40:46nearly thirty thousand clients across
1:40:49the entire United States that to that
1:40:51point would become the single largest
1:40:53mass tort litigation in American history
1:40:56I began to remember the countless
1:40:59clients I had met with face to face
1:41:01people who I would get to know
1:41:03personally over the course of nearly
1:41:05eight years learning every aspect of
1:41:08their lives and how they had been
1:41:10affected it brought me back to the
1:41:12thousands of clients that I would speak
1:41:14with on the phone meet with in person
1:41:16logging hundreds of thousands of hours
1:41:19into their individual Case Files people
1:41:22who would become more than just a number
1:41:24but very much like family regularly
1:41:27calling to provide important updates
1:41:29about their lives their daily struggles
1:41:31and most importantly all of the side
1:41:34effects and the injuries they had
1:41:37sustained now I am not intentionally
1:41:39being vague for the sake of suspense on
1:41:42the contrary from the moment I realized
1:41:44what I had just come across in darley's
1:41:46case I also realized that it would be
1:41:49virtually impossible to explain the
1:41:51history that I had experienced for such
1:41:54a large part of my life without the
1:41:57weight of that lived experience behind
1:41:59it I realized that in order for me to
1:42:02properly explain to you why this
1:42:04directly impacts darley's case I would
1:42:07need to show you that evidence from my
1:42:09own vantage point because if I hadn't
1:42:12lived it I don't know if I would have
1:42:14believed it but rest assured by the time
1:42:17I'm done it's my hope that you will
1:42:20understand exactly why I believe that
1:42:22this information is vital to
1:42:25understanding the arrest the trial and
1:42:28the conviction of darlie Lynn Routier
1:42:35I still remember where I was when I got
1:42:37the news that the litigation had finally
1:42:40ended and that we had reached a
1:42:42record-breaking settlement for our
1:42:43clients for most of the preceding eight
1:42:46years our clients had suffered in
1:42:48silence as our Law Firm pursued a
1:42:50painstaking litigation against the
1:42:53makers of the now banned diet pill
1:42:55phenfloramine and its counterpart Dex
1:42:58fenfloramine more popularly known as
1:43:01fenfen the settlement was unprecedented
1:43:04and while it would guarantee some form
1:43:06of justice for the horrific crime that
1:43:09had been perpetrated against the
1:43:11unsuspecting American public I couldn't
1:43:13help but feel a sense of sadness a
1:43:16feeling of despondency because while we
1:43:18were settling their cases for the
1:43:20injuries covered by the litigation there
1:43:22were countless clients who believed that
1:43:25there were additional injuries that they
1:43:26had sustained in connection to the diet
1:43:29pills injuries that were unable to be
1:43:31included in the litigation fenfin was
1:43:34pulled off the the market on September
1:43:3615 1997 largely due to the overwhelming
1:43:40evidence that showed damage to the heart
1:43:42valves and lungs of its users the fda's
1:43:46ban of the drug would eventually result
1:43:47in a subsequent Nationwide action
1:43:50against the makers of the diet drug
1:43:52specifically for users who had sustained
1:43:55injuries primarily to their heart valves
1:43:57but also included authority to cover
1:44:00their lung and respiratory injuries to
1:44:02those who had sustained them but in
1:44:04order to qualify for the settlement
1:44:06clients would have to undergo an
1:44:08ultrasound of their heart in order to
1:44:10establish the degree of damage they had
1:44:13suffered from taking the diet pills this
1:44:15requirement would pose a very serious
1:44:18problem for our Law Firm mostly because
1:44:20our clients could not afford the cost of
1:44:22an echocardiogram that was not deemed
1:44:25medically necessary by their health
1:44:26insurance and many of our clients did
1:44:29not have health insurance to speak of so
1:44:32we quickly devised a plan to go around
1:44:34the woes of the the American Health Care
1:44:36system and instead we hired an
1:44:38ultrasound company who would conduct
1:44:40these tests for us and on behalf of our
1:44:42clients this required us to test every
1:44:45single one of our clients in almost
1:44:47every single state across the country
1:44:49over the course of several years and it
1:44:52was a task that I and a few other legal
1:44:54representatives in my firm were tasked
1:44:57to complete in addition we would conduct
1:44:59in-person depositions that would allow
1:45:01us to gain a deeper understanding of our
1:45:03clients medical history and to preserve
1:45:06their rights for any future settlements
1:45:07that they were entitled to over the next
1:45:10few years I would eventually travel to
1:45:12nearly every state in the union meeting
1:45:14with hundreds and eventually thousands
1:45:17of clients in person and it was during
1:45:19those in-person meetings that I first
1:45:22began to notice a reoccurring Problem by
1:45:25the time our clients came to us to have
1:45:27their echocardiogram conducted they were
1:45:30already well aware that we would be
1:45:32pursuing their case on the basis of the
1:45:34injuries they had sustained to their
1:45:36heart or lungs but from my very first
1:45:39trip I would be confronted by an
1:45:41entirely unexpected set of problems
1:45:44clients began continuously telling me
1:45:47about the neurological problems that
1:45:49they were having from taking the diet
1:45:50pills from the very first day I began
1:45:54hearing clients complain of short-term
1:45:56memory loss depression drastic sleep
1:45:59pattern changes and other neurological
1:46:01issues that were not the basis for our
1:46:04representation
1:46:05over and over I would sadly be forced to
1:46:09explain to each person that while these
1:46:11issues were horrible that we were not
1:46:13able to pursue them as part of our case
1:46:15against the makers of fenfen I wouldn't
1:46:18learn until much later that the reason
1:46:20we weren't pursuing it was because the
1:46:22drug makers had intentionally never
1:46:24published the neurological effects on
1:46:26humans in their clinical trials and this
1:46:29was despite the fact that other studies
1:46:31had already demonstrated neurological
1:46:34damage from the drug towards the end of
1:46:37the litigation we discovered that the
1:46:39pharmaceutical companies who had made
1:46:40fenfen appear to intentionally avoid
1:46:43financially supporting any of the
1:46:45studies on the human brain precisely
1:46:47because they already knew their drug to
1:46:49be neurotoxic and much of this
1:46:51information was not made public due to
1:46:55non-disclosure agreements arising from
1:46:57the eventual settlements but for nearly
1:47:00eight years of my career I was the
1:47:02primary contact for thousands of clients
1:47:05who would call in periodically to
1:47:07provide medical updates and the number
1:47:09of times that I heard each of them tell
1:47:11me about how they were affected
1:47:13neurologically was simply staggering
1:47:16people who would sometimes scream and
1:47:19yell in frustration Furious that we were
1:47:22unable to sue the makers of the diet
1:47:24drug because of their inability to
1:47:26function normally these conversations
1:47:29happen so frequently that the managing
1:47:31partners of my Law Firm began sending
1:47:34letters explaining to each client that
1:47:36we were unable to pursue cases on the
1:47:39basis of neurological damage alone a
1:47:42decision that I never supported but was
1:47:45entirely out of my hands in 2003 I met a
1:47:48young woman in her late 20s in Grand
1:47:51Rapids Michigan during one of my trips
1:47:53to conduct client echocardiograms and
1:47:56the story she told me that day is one
1:47:58that I will truly never forget she had
1:48:01been in her final year of her master's
1:48:03degree program when she decided to start
1:48:05taking fan to help lose the weight that
1:48:08she had gained during her previous year
1:48:10of schooling she sat there in tears as
1:48:13she explained how she wasn't the same
1:48:14anymore how despite being at top of her
1:48:17class in high school and her undergrad
1:48:19always maintaining a 4.0 that after she
1:48:23took fenfen she had failed out of every
1:48:25class in her program because as she said
1:48:28I just couldn't retain anything anymore
1:48:31we talked for an hour that day 59
1:48:34minutes of which was about the
1:48:36neurological and short-term memory
1:48:38problems that she had suffered in less
1:48:40than a week later when I called her to
1:48:42provide her the results of her
1:48:44ultrasound she barely remembered
1:48:46speaking with me just days before
1:48:49completely unable to recall any of the
1:48:52details we had spoke about that day she
1:48:55took the diet drug fenfen for just 45
1:48:58days during the many years of our
1:49:01litigation we learned that phenfloramine
1:49:03and dexfinfloramine was linked to
1:49:05neurotoxicity a primary symptom of which
1:49:08is short-term memory loss the evidence
1:49:11of the catastrophic neurological damage
1:49:13due to fenfen is not a widely reported
1:49:16symptom of the drug but when I heard
1:49:19cerilda Routier tell the audience that
1:49:22Darley had been on fenfen for months
1:49:24prior to the night of June 6th after
1:49:27those words left her mouth for me
1:49:29everything came into Focus I feverishly
1:49:33went back through the records and the
1:49:35entirety of darley's case and it became
1:49:37a puzzle piece that now began to match
1:49:39areas of her case that had previously
1:49:41never made any sense I now realized the
1:49:45full weight of attorney Douglas Mulder's
1:49:47failure at darley's trial because all of
1:49:50this information was available to him at
1:49:53that time information that could have
1:49:55provided a reasonable explanation for
1:49:58some of the most challenging and
1:49:59previously damning elements of darley's
1:50:02case and so I Revisited many of the
1:50:05Hallmarks of the prosecution's case
1:50:07against Darley from the vantage point of
1:50:09the one thing darlie never had at trial
1:50:12a competent criminal defense attorney
1:50:15and a rigorous defense events the
1:50:18question of how Darley could have slept
1:50:20through the attacks of her children
1:50:21almost immediately I remembered my
1:50:24client from Oklahoma who had called us
1:50:26after an F3 tornado had blown through
1:50:28her community to inform us that she was
1:50:31okay a woman who had been in the
1:50:33military for 12 years who had three
1:50:36children and was always the first to
1:50:38wake up at the sound of a pin dropping
1:50:40had somehow slept through a tornado
1:50:42nearly blowing her entire house down she
1:50:46would become just one of the hundreds of
1:50:49people who told a similar experiences
1:50:51about their drastic sleep pattern
1:50:54changes after weeks of using the diet
1:50:56drug I remember darley's changing
1:50:59stories and how they shifted or were
1:51:01amended as time went on again I sat
1:51:04there recalling the countless times I
1:51:06would speak with our clients who would
1:51:08tell me something one day call back days
1:51:10later and say something entirely
1:51:12different one day they thought they had
1:51:15taken the drug for three weeks and just
1:51:17days later they called and now it's six
1:51:19it was one of the primary reasons we had
1:51:22to start requesting Pharmacy records
1:51:24because of this reoccurring problem it
1:51:27was then I remembered how the makers of
1:51:29fenfen even acknowledged to the FDA that
1:51:32their drug interacted with our brain
1:51:34serotonin system I remembered how I
1:51:37learned about the serotonergic system
1:51:39during our litigation a system which
1:51:42regulates the brain's ability to store
1:51:45and recall memories and then I
1:51:48remembered how the state had used
1:51:50darley's journal entry as proof of her
1:51:52intent to end her life and the lives of
1:51:55her children for me that was one of the
1:51:58most profound moments of realization in
1:52:00the entirety of this investigation
1:52:02remembering how many times I spoke with
1:52:05clients on the phone who would call
1:52:07crying pouring their hearts out telling
1:52:09me that they had never had depression
1:52:11before taking fenfen people who at the
1:52:14beginning of taking the diet pills were
1:52:16for a time happy and full of joy and
1:52:19then all of a sudden out of nowhere it
1:52:21was as though their ability to even
1:52:23experience happiness just went away and
1:52:27all of these were a Hallmark symptom of
1:52:29a serotonin deficiency which was a
1:52:31common daily discussion with fenfen
1:52:34clients from across the entirety of the
1:52:37United States of America and now with
1:52:40this knowledge in hand a journal entry
1:52:43that once brought suspicion and the
1:52:45Assumption of guilt now had an entirely
1:52:47different meaning all of these memories
1:52:50began having a cascading effect because
1:52:52I remembered the innumerable times I
1:52:54would talk to clients as they would get
1:52:56further and further away from their use
1:52:58of the diet pills and how their
1:53:00neurological systems over time would
1:53:02start to recover and how memories that
1:53:04were once blurred and hazy would become
1:53:07more and more clear over time I realized
1:53:11how something that had a physiological
1:53:13neurological and rational explanation in
1:53:17the medical world would instead have the
1:53:19appearance of deceitful and criminal
1:53:22behavior when viewed against the
1:53:24backdrop of a heinous crime a vast
1:53:27majority of the clients we represented
1:53:29during the nearly decade-long litigation
1:53:31took the diet pills for between four and
1:53:34eight weeks over time we learned that
1:53:37the longer a client took the drug the
1:53:40more likely they would sustain severe
1:53:42cardiac respiratory and neurological
1:53:45problems we would represent clients that
1:53:48only took the drug for as little as
1:53:50three weeks some who were in their early
1:53:53twenties men and women who had otherwise
1:53:56been healthy but were now facing a
1:53:58horrific diagnosis called primary
1:54:01pulmonary hypertension a diagnosis that
1:54:04at the time was a death sentence a
1:54:08disease that could only be cured with a
1:54:10dual heart and lung transplant and many
1:54:14of the people who were diagnosed with
1:54:16that disease only took fenfen for three
1:54:20to four weeks digging through darley's
1:54:23case records I was stunned when I came
1:54:25across the documents that told me
1:54:27exactly how long she had been on this
1:54:30cardiac respiratory and neurotoxic
1:54:33pharmaceutical drug that would ravage
1:54:35the lives of hundreds of thousands of
1:54:38people and when I saw it I almost
1:54:40couldn't believe the words on the page
1:54:43darlie Routier had taken fenfen for four
1:54:47months by the morning of June 6 1996 so
1:54:51it was at that moment that I resolved to
1:54:54go back through the entirety of darley's
1:54:56case to see if there was evidence that
1:54:58could support her claims of Innocence
1:55:00firmly establishing Reasonable Doubt and
1:55:03allow me to make that impossible climb
1:55:06up that mountain and to finally answer
1:55:09the questions that I had started out
1:55:11with from the very beginning is darlie
1:55:14Routier guilty Beyond any reasonable
1:55:16doubt and does she deserve to be on
1:55:19death row and what I was about to find
1:55:22would allow me to answer those questions
1:55:28by the time darley's defense was
1:55:30presented to the jury it was evident to
1:55:33anyone watching that her team would need
1:55:35to put forward believable evidence to
1:55:37counter the Litany of claims that had
1:55:39been presented by the prosecution but as
1:55:42I read through the court transcripts I
1:55:44was amazed at the consistent failures by
1:55:46her defense team to do exactly that
1:55:49usually when you evaluate a case that
1:55:52has already gone through the trial
1:55:53process you can very easily find the
1:55:55evidence that was presented from both
1:55:57the prosecution and the defense and as
1:56:00we already know this didn't happen in
1:56:02darley's trial in one of the most widely
1:56:04discussed areas by those who support her
1:56:07guilt the forensic evidence due to this
1:56:10catastrophic error the Assumption tends
1:56:12to be that since evidence wasn't
1:56:14presented to the jury it either didn't
1:56:16exist or was incredible well thankfully
1:56:19forensic experts Terry labor and Bart
1:56:21Epstein have since provided the
1:56:23appellate court evidence that did
1:56:25support darley's claims despite the fact
1:56:27that they were never allowed to finish
1:56:29their work but let's evaluate the
1:56:32primary issues brought against darlia
1:56:34trial and see if in fact there are any
1:56:37signs of Reasonable Doubt
1:56:42the prosecutions claimed that darley's
1:56:45injuries were entirely superficial has
1:56:47to be one of the most widely repeated
1:56:49statements that I have heard from every
1:56:52single documentary I have ever seen in
1:56:54darley's case in fact it is repeated so
1:56:58often that by the time you arrive at the
1:57:00physical evidence of her injuries you
1:57:02already believe that she had to have
1:57:04inflicted these injuries upon herself
1:57:06and that despite the appearance of their
1:57:08severity they were little more than a
1:57:11minor scratch that required a handful of
1:57:13stitches but as usual I didn't take
1:57:16those claims at face value and what I
1:57:19found in the records was nothing short
1:57:22of unbelievable one of the incredible
1:57:26breakthroughs of modern science over the
1:57:28last 50 years is how effective it is in
1:57:31painting a picture for us a picture that
1:57:34we wouldn't otherwise have using our
1:57:36eyesight alone so it was incredibly
1:57:39shocking to me when I looked at her
1:57:41medical records and after all these
1:57:43years sitting there in plain sight was
1:57:46proof positive that all of the claims
1:57:48about darley's superficial injuries are
1:57:51completely incorrect the treating
1:57:53physician from Baylor Medical Center
1:57:55testified during darley's trial that her
1:57:58hemoglobin dropped by two grams in the
1:58:01hours following her hospitalization now
1:58:04to the average layperson that may seem
1:58:06like an entirely inconsequential fact
1:58:09however I assure you it is not because
1:58:12in order for your hemoglobin to drop by
1:58:15two grams you would need to lose 2 000
1:58:18cc's of blood and courtesy of darly's
1:58:20shirt and the crime scene we can see
1:58:23evidence that supports that very fact
1:58:25now it may surprise you to know but 2000
1:58:28cc's is nearly half of the blood that
1:58:31Darley had in her body so then the next
1:58:34logical question is how much blood can a
1:58:37human body lose before we die from blood
1:58:39loss
1:58:41and there it is in black and white and
1:58:45indisputable medical fact that disproves
1:58:48one of the primary claims made against
1:58:50Darley since day one all this time we
1:58:54have been told time and time again that
1:58:56her injuries were always entirely
1:58:58insignificant and superficial and that
1:59:01they were never at any point
1:59:03life-threatening while everyone has
1:59:05spent decades arguing about the depth of
1:59:08the injury and the millimeters from her
1:59:10carotid sheath no one bothered to pay
1:59:12any attention to the fact that she was
1:59:15quite literally on the brink of death
1:59:17all this time through every documentary
1:59:20podcast YouTube video Forensic Files
1:59:23episode and everyone who has claimed
1:59:25that darley's injuries were minor at
1:59:27best every single one of them got it
1:59:31wrong now you may be tempted to think
1:59:33that maybe the hemoglobin is somehow
1:59:35inconsequential well I'll prove to you
1:59:38that it isn't because do you want to
1:59:40know what else we know that night Darley
1:59:42was diagnosed with acute post
1:59:44hemorrhagic anemia which only happens in
1:59:47the body after you have lost a
1:59:50considerable life-threatening amount of
1:59:52blood additionally Darley was in surgery
1:59:55for an entire hour and I can tell you as
1:59:58someone who has gone through 20 plus
2:00:00surgeries in my lifetime superficial
2:00:03injuries do not take an entire hour to
2:00:05repair in surgery but if all you had
2:00:08ever seen are the countless
2:00:10documentaries that have deemed darly
2:00:12guilty from the beginning you might
2:00:14incorrectly believe that she barely
2:00:16suffered a scratch a flesh wound but
2:00:19while officer Waddell testified in front
2:00:22of the jury chastising darly for not
2:00:24providing Aid to her children something
2:00:27he himself was trained to do the reality
2:00:30was that she was literally fighting for
2:00:32her life while applying pressure to her
2:00:35hemorrhaging wound on her neck and the
2:00:37whole time she was literally on the
2:00:40verge of bleeding to death death and to
2:00:42those who claim that her blood pressure
2:00:44was normal when she got into the
2:00:45ambulance that is less than meaningless
2:00:47because the body does a strange thing
2:00:49when it's fighting for survival it
2:00:51releases adrenaline to keep your heart
2:00:54pumping as a result of the loss of blood
2:00:56volume as a means to keep you alive
2:00:59which by extension temporarily raises
2:01:02your blood pressure and while everyone
2:01:04has repeatedly blamed Darley for not
2:01:06asking about her children they all
2:01:09ignored the fact that she can clearly be
2:01:11heard on the 9-1-1 call over and over
2:01:14repeatedly saying my babies are dead my
2:01:18babies are dead because in fact they
2:01:21were a woman who herself was in the
2:01:24process of losing nearly half of her
2:01:26blood volume a woman with no medical
2:01:28training whatsoever was blamed for not
2:01:32rendering Aid to children who were
2:01:34already Beyond saving a fact that was
2:01:38confirmed at trial by the EMTs who
2:01:40arrived Within minutes of her call that
2:01:43Devin was already gone and that by the
2:01:45time they put Damon into the back of the
2:01:47ambulance he never once showed any signs
2:01:50of Life breathing heartbeat or otherwise
2:01:53and both boys injuries were severe
2:01:56enough that nothing anyone could have
2:01:58done absent of an operating room in
2:02:00darley's kitchen would have saved either
2:02:03child's life and the fact is plain and
2:02:06simple that Darley was severely injured
2:02:09and likely came within minutes of losing
2:02:12her own life that night during the trial
2:02:15darley's defense put on their own
2:02:17medical expert that testified that her
2:02:19injuries were consistent with an attack
2:02:21from an intruder including defensive
2:02:23wounds to her arm and fingers and in
2:02:27fact there was evidence in the form of
2:02:29damage to the necklace she was wearing
2:02:31at the time that was consistent with her
2:02:33laying on her back at the moment she
2:02:35sustained the injuries to her neck and
2:02:39there is also blood evidence on on the
2:02:41couch that supports that she in fact
2:02:43bled while she was still laying down
2:02:45asleep sadly one of the many things that
2:02:48wasn't properly addressed in darley's
2:02:50trial by the defense is the claim that
2:02:52there should have been more blood on the
2:02:54couch if in fact that was the location
2:02:56of the attack but that is simply not how
2:02:59the human body works when we sleep our
2:03:02blood pressure and heart rates plummet
2:03:04and it is not uncommon for some people
2:03:06to have resting heart rates that dip
2:03:09into the 30s and 40s so it makes perfect
2:03:12sense that while she's still sleeping
2:03:14she doesn't bleed excessively precisely
2:03:17because of the fact that no major artery
2:03:20was severed by the Intruder which was
2:03:22her story from day one and then once she
2:03:26got up to take chase after the Intruder
2:03:29now that her blood pressure and heart
2:03:31rate have risen that is when the blood
2:03:33loss increased exponentially but easily
2:03:36one of the most divisive parts of
2:03:38darley's case surrounds the bruising on
2:03:40her arms the claim by the prosecution at
2:03:43trial is that Darley must have
2:03:44self-inflicted the bruises after she
2:03:46left the hospital because no one from
2:03:48the medical staff seemed to have recall
2:03:51ever seeing them during her
2:03:52hospitalization but never mind the fact
2:03:54that darley's family testified that they
2:03:56did see the bruises on her arms while
2:03:58she was still in the hospital but let's
2:04:00look at some of the only available
2:04:02pictures taken of Darley while she was
2:04:05still hospitalized now because of the
2:04:07incredibly poor quality of this picture
2:04:10I have adjusted the brightness and
2:04:12nothing else all this adjustment does is
2:04:15increase the colors in a spectrum that
2:04:17allows us to see her skin clearly as it
2:04:20was with more clarity and now because of
2:04:24that Clarity we can see all of the
2:04:26purple bruises that were under her arm
2:04:28before she ever left the hospital now
2:04:32the claim by the prosecution and
2:04:34countless others is that the bruising
2:04:36was so much worse days later when Darley
2:04:38arrived at the police station to take
2:04:40pictures and by extension this must have
2:04:43meant that they were all self-inflicted
2:04:45but all this does is speak to the level
2:04:48of medical ignorance that is rampant
2:04:50throughout the entirety of this jury
2:04:52trial but when bruising of this
2:04:54magnitude seen in this picture happens
2:04:57it often continues to expand over time
2:04:59but allow me to demonstrate in these
2:05:03pictures of a totally random person
2:05:05taken from the internet you can see a
2:05:07day by day view of how the bruising
2:05:10progresses from day one until day 14 and
2:05:14yet somehow bruising that looked one way
2:05:16on day one progressively worsens
2:05:18multiple days later so using the
2:05:21prosecutor same line of thinking that
2:05:23must mean that this woman who had her
2:05:25nose job must have gone home and had her
2:05:28significant other hit her in the face
2:05:29with a baseball bat because as you can
2:05:31see her bruising continues to worsen
2:05:34somehow despite no signs of the bruising
2:05:37in those areas days before you know I
2:05:40think we must have some kind a
2:05:41conspiracy happening of people being
2:05:43viciously assaulted shortly after their
2:05:45cosmetic surgery someone needs to
2:05:47contact the FBI we have a Serial
2:05:50attacker on our hands are you seeing how
2:05:52absurd this is now or or should I keep
2:05:54going because the fact of the matter is
2:05:57when dealing with traumatic subcutaneous
2:05:59bruising and injuries of this magnitude
2:06:02the human body demonstrates a healing
2:06:04process with a very similar Progressive
2:06:07pattern so when you take those facts
2:06:10into consideration then the bruising on
2:06:12darley's arm was consistent with having
2:06:15been inflicted in the early morning of
2:06:17June 6 1996 because as we can plainly
2:06:21see in this picture the bruising was
2:06:24already there long before she ever left
2:06:27the hospital and was allowed the
2:06:29opportunity to inflict those injuries on
2:06:32herself and I'll be honest with you the
2:06:35fact that I haven't heard any of these
2:06:37things in any of the major documentaries
2:06:39I've seen is nothing short of
2:06:41infuriating to me especially because so
2:06:45many of these things are simple medical
2:06:46science things that the defense should
2:06:49have known and most importantly the
2:06:51state should have known but this is not
2:06:53the first time in my career where I've
2:06:55come across cases where a prosecutor
2:06:57made claims about things that they knew
2:06:59nothing about and then the world runs
2:07:01off on a tangent with that
2:07:02misinformation and before you know it
2:07:05someone's life is completely ruined but
2:07:08I knew that I had to continue to do my
2:07:11very best to maintain my own personal
2:07:13objectivity throughout the entirety of
2:07:15my evaluation so at this moment in time
2:07:17I hadn't come to any conclusions about
2:07:20the evidence yet but what I had
2:07:22concluded is that the claim that she was
2:07:24only superficially wounded is medically
2:07:27and factually Incorrect and that is
2:07:30supported by the evidence
2:07:33however I continued to press onward up
2:07:36the mountain and to allow that evidence
2:07:38to continue to guide me
2:07:43from the opening statements made by the
2:07:46prosecution they would tell the jury the
2:07:49media and anyone who would listen that
2:07:51Darley was a vain materialistic wealth
2:07:54obsessed and abusive mother who is
2:07:56determined to get money at any cost even
2:07:59to the point of taking her own
2:08:01children's lives and it's important to
2:08:04remember that this claim is the state's
2:08:06primary argument for darley's motive to
2:08:09commit this crime but let's really look
2:08:12at the state's claim concerning the
2:08:13alleged financial problems that the
2:08:15routers were supposedly in one year
2:08:18before the crime in 1995 Darren Routier
2:08:22made
2:08:23264 thousand dollars which adjusted for
2:08:26inflation would be the equivalent of
2:08:28making 506
2:08:32952.76 in today's money
2:08:36now the claim by the prosecution was
2:08:38that he had experienced a downturn in
2:08:40his business which was true but how much
2:08:43money had Darren made by the time June 6
2:08:45rolled around well here's what we know
2:08:48Darren had already made 111 thousand
2:08:52dollars in the first five months of 1996
2:08:55and if again we adjust for inflation
2:08:57that is the equivalent of two hundred
2:09:00and thirteen thousand three hundred and
2:09:02sixty three dollars present day
2:09:04additionally during the trial we learned
2:09:07that Darren had twenty thousand dollars
2:09:09in outstanding receivables for the
2:09:11business that he would later receive and
2:09:138 000 in his business checking account
2:09:15and out of that 8 000 were monies that
2:09:18he had not yet delineated to himself for
2:09:21his own paycheck now during the trial we
2:09:24also heard claims that the routers were
2:09:25mere moments away from foreclosure which
2:09:28was compounded by the five thousand
2:09:30dollar loan that they were denied days
2:09:32prior however the claim that there were
2:09:35mere moments away from foreclosure is
2:09:37simply not true how do I know well for a
2:09:41period of a few years in the 2000s I
2:09:43worked two jobs one at a law firm and
2:09:45the other as a self-originating mortgage
2:09:48loan officer for a Fortune 500 bank and
2:09:51Banks do not foreclose after two months
2:09:54of non-payment that's not how any of
2:09:56this works at all it's a fairly lengthy
2:09:59process that usually takes a minimum of
2:10:02four months to initiate and usually no
2:10:05less than six months of non-payment
2:10:06before the foreclosure process is
2:10:09finalized and if you've ever listened to
2:10:11financial shows like the Dave Ramsey
2:10:13Show you've probably heard people who
2:10:15call in regularly to tell the host about
2:10:18how they make well over 300 Grand and
2:10:20yet they are somehow in unimaginable
2:10:22amounts of debt it happens to millions
2:10:25of Americans every single day people who
2:10:28make great money and yet still somehow
2:10:31lift paycheck to paycheck and those same
2:10:34people often resort to doing things
2:10:36things like selling their jewelry
2:10:37looking for debt consolidation loans or
2:10:40whatever is needed to ensure that they
2:10:42can continue to make ends meet but the
2:10:45idea that the routers Were Somehow on
2:10:47the doorsteps of foreclosure and
2:10:49insolvency is neither accurate nor even
2:10:52remotely true especially when you
2:10:54consider the fact that just a few months
2:10:56later Darren was able to pay the ninety
2:10:59thousand dollar retainer for his wife's
2:11:01new attorney Douglas Mulder and the
2:11:04claim of the routers insolvency was
2:11:06continuously repeated by the prosecution
2:11:08at trial as one of the primary motives
2:11:11for the crime but when you consider the
2:11:13fact that the boy's funeral costs
2:11:15through tears over 10 grand it is absurd
2:11:18to suggest that the crimes were
2:11:19motivated by their life insurance
2:11:21policies which were nullified by the
2:11:24cost of the crime itself at this point
2:11:27of my investigation I realized that I
2:11:29was making strides of this massive
2:11:31Mountain that was the case against
2:11:33Darley Routier but it was at this moment
2:11:36that I realized that I needed to get
2:11:38into the meat of the prosecution's case
2:11:40against her because while these claims
2:11:42are easily countered with the truth I
2:11:45needed to know just how far this would
2:11:47go
2:11:50one of the very first things that I
2:11:53always look for when I investigate a
2:11:55case is how law enforcement evaluated
2:11:58all of the available evidence from the
2:12:00crime and from the onset of my analysis
2:12:03of darley's case it was crystal clear to
2:12:05me that law enforcement never seriously
2:12:08considered that an intruder had been
2:12:10responsible and that they made up their
2:12:13minds within the first few hours after
2:12:15the crimes were committed before having
2:12:17any of the forensic evidence in their
2:12:19possession the numerous reports of
2:12:22neighbors and Friends of the family who
2:12:24had seen a black car stalking the
2:12:26rootier home multiple times before June
2:12:296 were seemingly ignored and law
2:12:31enforcement never provided evidence that
2:12:34they investigated any leads related to
2:12:37those sightings or anyone else for that
2:12:39matter in fact during darley's trial
2:12:42James cron testified that after a 20 to
2:12:4430 minute walk through of the crime
2:12:46scene he formed the belief that and I
2:12:49quote there had not been an intruder
2:12:52entry through the window unquote during
2:12:54the trial he was asked why he formed
2:12:57that opinion and he said it's sort of a
2:12:59big picture it's not any one thing it
2:13:02was the overall scene which primarily is
2:13:05the lack of evidence in many cases many
2:13:08who have defended James Cron's views
2:13:10over the years claimed that his initial
2:13:12view didn't end his investigation that
2:13:14he continued to evaluate the evidence at
2:13:16the scene but he also testified that it
2:13:19was his opinion that the broken wine
2:13:21glass quote looks to me like it had been
2:13:24broken there to simulate or stage an
2:13:26offense that a member of the household
2:13:28broke it and planted it there unquote
2:13:31and he made this statement despite the
2:13:34fact that he hadn't completed any
2:13:36forensic testing at that early stage of
2:13:38his investigation that could in any way
2:13:41scientifically support his opinion
2:13:43because he had already arrived at the
2:13:46conclusion that the crime scene was
2:13:48entirely staged and that Darley was
2:13:50response principle and sadly we now know
2:13:53that Terry labor and Bart Epstein
2:13:55differed in their analysis of the wine
2:13:57glass and believed that it had been
2:13:59broken while still in the wine rack we
2:14:02also know that upon arriving crime scene
2:14:04investigators would notice that the
2:14:06coffee table next to the couch where
2:14:08Darley claimed that she was attacked
2:14:10showed signs that it had been moved
2:14:12consistent with the struggle near the
2:14:15couch one of the Hallmarks of the
2:14:17prosecution's claims was that an
2:14:19intruder could not have committed the
2:14:21crime due to the lack of blood evidence
2:14:23leading out of the house and into the
2:14:25garage but just for a moment let's think
2:14:28about that logically and just for now
2:14:31let's assume that an intruder was
2:14:33responsible for this crime so the
2:14:35Intruder attacks the boys then darly and
2:14:38eventually Darley wakes up and he runs
2:14:41off dropping the knife as he leaves
2:14:43since that would mean that Darley was
2:14:45injured on the couch and ran after the
2:14:47Intruder then there is no reason to
2:14:49believe that he would have left shoe and
2:14:51prints in blood throughout the kitchen
2:14:53utility room or the garage since he was
2:14:57always in front of her before she could
2:14:59have even left any blood for him to step
2:15:02in but the prosecution also claimed that
2:15:05Intruder would have left evidence in the
2:15:07backyard and while fleeing would have
2:15:08turned on the security light that would
2:15:10have stayed on for 18 minutes but in the
2:15:131990s I also owned several different
2:15:16types of security lights that were very
2:15:18commonly used during the time and one
2:15:21thing I learned about them is that they
2:15:23were controlled by an external on and
2:15:25off switch so if an intruder had been
2:15:28casing the house for several days as was
2:15:30reported by several witnesses who saw a
2:15:33man in a black car sitting across from
2:15:35the rootier home then he would have
2:15:37likely known about the light prior to
2:15:39entering or exiting the rootier home
2:15:42additionally Darley would later describe
2:15:45him as being very tall so scaling the
2:15:47routier's back wall wouldn't have been a
2:15:49challenge but the claims that he would
2:15:52have had to have Disturbed the mulch in
2:15:53the backyard are also exaggerated
2:15:55because as an avid Gardener myself for
2:15:58the last 40 years and as a man who was
2:16:016'3 and built like a linebacker I can
2:16:04very easily stand jump or even break
2:16:07dance on my Mulch and not leave any
2:16:09significant Impressions on it whatsoever
2:16:11and all of these details that have
2:16:14always been characterized as
2:16:15indisputable incontrovertible facts are
2:16:18simply subjective viewpoints adopted by
2:16:21the state precisely because they want to
2:16:23utilize these as details that are a
2:16:26means to establish guilt but they are
2:16:29not empirical scientific facts that do
2:16:31not have any possible viable
2:16:34explanations whatsoever later on in the
2:16:37trial one of the other claims made by
2:16:39the prosecution was that there had not
2:16:41been evidence consistent with an
2:16:43intruder dropping the knife as there was
2:16:45no pattern shown by the blood evidence
2:16:47that supported darley's version of
2:16:49events but expert labor would later
2:16:52explain that blood coagulates very
2:16:54quickly outside of the body and it is
2:16:57not a scientific certainty that if an
2:17:00intruder had dropped the knife that
2:17:02there would have to have been an
2:17:03evidentiary pattern of the blade itself
2:17:05left behind but I do have a bone to pick
2:17:09that I am absolutely tired of hearing
2:17:11whenever I listen to anyone discuss this
2:17:14case because another one of the most
2:17:16frequently repeated claims that has been
2:17:18made by the prosecution and every single
2:17:21person who has covered this case in
2:17:23favor of their evidence is the claim
2:17:25that the windowsill dust wasn't
2:17:27Disturbed and that somehow proved that
2:17:29an intruder could not have gone through
2:17:31that window and this is despite the fact
2:17:34that two decades ago Darren was able to
2:17:36demonstrate how a tall man just like him
2:17:39is easily able to get in and out of that
2:17:42windowsill without disturbing any of the
2:17:45Dust but again this outright
2:17:48misinformation is repeated time and time
2:17:50again touted as gospel truth and in
2:17:54reality it's just lazy because it's not
2:17:57scientific evidence of any kind and yet
2:18:00it is portrayed as though it is and the
2:18:02more I looked into the state's evidence
2:18:04I continued to find that their absolute
2:18:06assertions were not as rock solid as
2:18:09they had been portrayed during darley's
2:18:11trial and yet no matter how many times I
2:18:14saw clear moments that could have easily
2:18:16been corrected by an attentive defense
2:18:18lawyer what I saw instead was the
2:18:20apparent absence of attorney Douglas
2:18:22smolder who failed to do what he had
2:18:24been hired to do from the very beginning
2:18:27to competently defend his client but it
2:18:32was at this moment that I realized that
2:18:34it was time to address the elephant in
2:18:36the room from the very beginning of
2:18:38darley's trial the state told the jury
2:18:40the media and the world that it would
2:18:42have been impossible for an intruder to
2:18:44have perpetrated this crime and not
2:18:47leave behind any forensic evidence
2:18:49whatsoever and and after the
2:18:51presentation of the state's evidence it
2:18:53would have been difficult for anyone to
2:18:55surmise anything else but I needed to
2:18:58know was it possible for an intruder to
2:19:00have committed this crime and have left
2:19:03no forensic evidence behind the answer
2:19:06just might surprise you on March 2nd
2:19:092008 a horrific crime was committed
2:19:12ending the lives of six innocent people
2:19:15in Memphis Tennessee thankfully one of
2:19:18the children who was present during the
2:19:20brutal attack survived but in the days
2:19:22following the attack law enforcement
2:19:25were completely baffled by the crime
2:19:27scene forensic analysts would cover the
2:19:29entirety of the house where the crime
2:19:31took place and eventually they came to
2:19:34the realization that they were unable to
2:19:36find any evidence DNA or otherwise that
2:19:40established the identity of the
2:19:42perpetrator
2:19:43law enforcement was bewildered despite
2:19:46the brutality and the viciousness of the
2:19:48crime they had found no forensic
2:19:51evidence thankfully the child who
2:19:53survived would eventually recover and
2:19:55was able to tell law enforcement exactly
2:19:58who had committed the Unspeakable acts
2:20:00and investigators were shocked by who he
2:20:03named as the culprit it was a man the
2:20:05boy had loved and respected his whole
2:20:08life he named his Uncle Jesse Dotson but
2:20:12what was more alarming to law
2:20:14enforcement was that Dodson had been in
2:20:16the home for many hours prior to the
2:20:19vicious attack and yet somehow had not
2:20:22left any forensic evidence that
2:20:24definitively connected him to the crime
2:20:26scene despite the lack of material
2:20:28evidence against Dodson he would not
2:20:30Escape Justice and eventually receive
2:20:33six death sentences for his crimes one
2:20:36for each of the lives he stole that
2:20:38night but what surprised me the most
2:20:40about this story may already be of
2:20:43obvious to you now somehow a man who had
2:20:46spent the whole day in that house who
2:20:48then committed vile and horrendous acts
2:20:51against his own family had managed to
2:20:53not leave any forensic evidence in his
2:20:56wake someone who knew nothing of law
2:20:59enforcement procedures crime scene
2:21:01analysis or even how to cover up a crime
2:21:03was the same man who had been in that
2:21:06house the entire day and somehow did not
2:21:09leave a speck of forensic evidence
2:21:12proving that he was there and this very
2:21:15issue speaks to the ongoing problem that
2:21:17we have discussed on this very channel
2:21:20in the past the CSI effect where we
2:21:23often wrongly believe that DNA or other
2:21:26forensic evidence must be present if or
2:21:29when a crime is committed and yet as we
2:21:32now know that is often not the case so
2:21:35the absence of forensic evidence is not
2:21:38definitive proof of the absence of an
2:21:40intruder because if it was Jesse Dotson
2:21:44might still be free but I understood why
2:21:47so many people myself included in the
2:21:50beginning dismissed the idea of an
2:21:52intruder because of the lack of forensic
2:21:54evidence but the fact remains that a
2:21:57crime involving an intruder breaking
2:21:59into a home taking a weapon from inside
2:22:02of the victim's property and using it to
2:22:05commit unspeakable crimes that these
2:22:07seemingly random crimes do happen and to
2:22:10the families who have been devastated by
2:22:12them they are not a work of fiction but
2:22:15at this point of my investigation I knew
2:22:18that I could not stop here I was more
2:22:20than halfway up the mountain and I would
2:22:23not be satisfied until I knew if there
2:22:26was a truly insurmountable problem in
2:22:28her defense but it was what I was about
2:22:31to find within the pages of her trial
2:22:34record that would definitively answer my
2:22:36questions concerning the veracity of
2:22:39darlie routier's conviction
2:22:46you don't have to spend much time
2:22:48studying darley's case before you are
2:22:51confronted by the infamous bread knife
2:22:53evidence evidence that has ostensibly
2:22:55been described as the forensic
2:22:58equivalent of a Smoking Gun but as usual
2:23:01I needed to know that for myself so
2:23:04again I read the trial transcripts and I
2:23:07almost couldn't believe the words that I
2:23:09was reading on the page in Prosecutor
2:23:12Greg Davis's closing statements to the
2:23:14jury he would summarize the forensic
2:23:16evidence brought against Darley during
2:23:19the expert testimony of Charles Lynch
2:23:21concerning the bread knife the following
2:23:24are the exact words of Prosecutor Greg
2:23:27Davis and when Charles Lynch tested that
2:23:31bread knife he looked at it under the
2:23:33microscope and what did he find glass
2:23:36rods the same type of rubber material
2:23:38seen on the bread knife and the same
2:23:40type of rubber debris with the glass
2:23:43meshed in the same type of stuff that
2:23:46happens when you cut the screen and it
2:23:48adds up that bread knife was used to cut
2:23:51that screen and that tells you that they
2:23:54were trying to fake the crime scene now
2:23:56I try to imagine how I would have felt
2:23:59hearing those words from a prosecutor
2:24:01who spoke with such conviction about the
2:24:04testimony surrounding the bread knife I
2:24:06imagine that the jurors were compelled
2:24:08by this evidence because it seems
2:24:10obvious that what Charles Lynch found is
2:24:12beyond reproach and is indisputable so I
2:24:16went back to Charles Lynch's testimony
2:24:19reading the words from the transcript
2:24:21and I just sat there in complete and
2:24:24utter disgust because this is what
2:24:27Charles Lynch actually said during his
2:24:30testimony concerning the testing of the
2:24:32bread knife question bottom line from
2:24:36this comparison of the black rubbery
2:24:38material and the glass rods on the
2:24:41window screen and on this knife what
2:24:43does that say to you as a traced
2:24:45evidence analyst answer I couldn't tell
2:24:49the difference between this debris and
2:24:52the debris found on the knife and
2:24:54therefore this knife could have been
2:24:58used to cause the cut defect now you may
2:25:01already notice the Stark difference
2:25:03between expert Lynch's statement that
2:25:05they'll cut window screen could have
2:25:07been caused by the bread knife and
2:25:09prosecutor Davis's closing statements
2:25:11that said that the bread knife was used
2:25:14to cut that screen these are two
2:25:17entirely different statements with
2:25:20completely different meanings and yet
2:25:22somehow in every iteration of every
2:25:24documentary ever created that claims
2:25:27Darley is guilty guilty guilty I have
2:25:30never once ever seen anyone make this
2:25:33distinction
2:25:34and surprise surprise there's more
2:25:36because prior to conducting his tests
2:25:38the bread knife was dusted using a
2:25:40fiberglass brush composed of similar
2:25:43material as the fiber found on the knife
2:25:45and neither the state nor the defense
2:25:48ever conducted definitive testing on the
2:25:51fibers to determine their chemical or
2:25:53structural composition that would have
2:25:55conclusively determined if those fibers
2:25:57were in fact from the window screen and
2:26:00if I'm playing the role of the Devil's
2:26:02Advocate then I couldn't help but notice
2:26:04that the state's expert Charles Lynch
2:26:06was relying on his eyesight to make an
2:26:09absolute determination that was not
2:26:11scientifically possible without
2:26:13additional conclusive testing and the
2:26:16claims that the fiberglass rods found on
2:26:18the fingerprinting brush were not the
2:26:20same size is not science and this is
2:26:24because of the fact that fibers on
2:26:26fingerprinting brushes often vary in
2:26:28size throughout the entire brush but did
2:26:31lynch offer any scientific analysis of
2:26:34of the fibers or how about a report that
2:26:37showed the exact size of the fibers and
2:26:39compared them to each of the fibers in
2:26:41the fingerprinting brush which again
2:26:43vary in size a scientific analysis which
2:26:46could have easily been completed in any
2:26:49one of their several Labs well in fact
2:26:52he did none of those things what he
2:26:55offered on the stand is the literal
2:26:57definition of a subjective opinion by
2:26:59someone who has been hired by the state
2:27:01to testify against their defendant
2:27:04especially when you consider what I'm
2:27:06about to tell you about his previous
2:27:08experience and other problematic issues
2:27:11arising from his other analysis of key
2:27:15evidence prior to darley's trial
2:27:17strap in because this is about to be a
2:27:20wild ride at the time of darley's trial
2:27:23Charles Lynch wasn't even a certified
2:27:26fiber analysis expert in this specific
2:27:28field of forensic science he had
2:27:31previously exclusively worked as a
2:27:34microscopic hair analyst that requires
2:27:36different certification entirely in the
2:27:40state star expert Charles Lynch hadn't
2:27:43even taken the proficiency test expected
2:27:45of an expert in hair and fiber analysis
2:27:48which is the very minimum expectation of
2:27:52a forensic expert in his field because
2:27:55if we just think about his testimony
2:27:57logically he has predicated his opinion
2:28:00of the evidence entirely based on what
2:28:03he sees and that's the thing about trace
2:28:06evidence we now know after Decades of
2:28:09wrongful expert testimony concerning
2:28:11fingerprint evidence that it is not the
2:28:13Pinnacle of forensic science that it was
2:28:16always purported to be and I would think
2:28:19that before we execute someone for a
2:28:21crime that we collectively would want a
2:28:24degree of scientific certainty that
2:28:26doesn't rely on the eyesight of a man
2:28:28Charles Lynch who was previously
2:28:31involuntarily committed to a mental
2:28:33institution for alcoholism and
2:28:35depression in the Years leading up to
2:28:38darley's trial an irrespective of your
2:28:41belief of darley's guilt or innocence I
2:28:43would hope that each of us would want
2:28:45empirical testing that can definitively
2:28:48prove the evidence that is sending
2:28:50someone to death row why that is the
2:28:53exception and not the rule is absolutely
2:28:56Beyond me and again it still doesn't
2:28:59even end there either because in August
2:29:03of 1996 during darley's bond hearing
2:29:05Charles Lynch would testify in court
2:29:08that a hair microscopically similar to
2:29:11Darley routieres was found in the same
2:29:13windowsill that she had set an intruder
2:29:15had entered at the time the this was
2:29:18absolutely damning evidence evidence
2:29:21that the state used to prevent Darley
2:29:23from bonding out of jail evidence that
2:29:26was going to be one of the pillars of
2:29:28the prosecution's case against Darley
2:29:30and I want to be very clear Charles
2:29:33Lynch the state's expert had looked
2:29:35under a microscope and told the court
2:29:37that the state had evidence of her hair
2:29:40similar to darlies found in the Windows
2:29:43screen that implicated her in the crime
2:29:46and his testimony kept her in jail but a
2:29:50few short months later guess what the
2:29:53state found out the DNA test results of
2:29:56the hair that the state had already
2:29:57confidently declared to the judge was
2:29:59darlies came back and surprise surprise
2:30:03it didn't belong to Darley at all it
2:30:06belonged to a female Rowlett police
2:30:09department officer who had contaminated
2:30:11the crime scene with her own hair and
2:30:15you already know what I'm gonna say
2:30:16because it still does doesn't end there
2:30:18because the expert testimony of Charles
2:30:21Lynch also helped to convict and
2:30:24incarcerate four people that we know of
2:30:26who were later exonerated for crimes
2:30:29that they did not commit convictions
2:30:31that were predicated on the testimony of
2:30:34the same man who was the star trace
2:30:37evidence expert for the state at Darley
2:30:39routier's trial now just try to imagine
2:30:42what the jury would have thought had
2:30:44they heard the whole and complete story
2:30:46a story that the prosecutors
2:30:48conveniently never bothered to tell them
2:30:50and a similar problem existed with the
2:30:53blood spatter evidence in darley's trial
2:30:55evidence that was presented by expert
2:30:58Tom Beville as irrefutable fact has
2:31:00since been shown to be inconsistent with
2:31:03the state's own theory of the crime in
2:31:05fact in this video we can plainly see
2:31:08Tom Beville demonstrating the state's
2:31:10explanation for how the boy's blood
2:31:12ended up on darley's shirt but do I even
2:31:15need to explain how odd this is because
2:31:18he's saying that the evidence found on
2:31:21the back of darley's shirt was dropped
2:31:23there during this motion but I noticed
2:31:26in the trial record that prior to law
2:31:28enforcement arriving Darley had rushed
2:31:30over to help Darren with the boys Darren
2:31:33explained during trial that Darley was
2:31:34holding Damon's wounds closed as he
2:31:37continued with CPR and air could be
2:31:39heard coming out of his wounds so once
2:31:42again it only takes a modicum of logical
2:31:45thinking to see how CPR compressions
2:31:47which are literally causing air to
2:31:50rapidly leave the open wounds could have
2:31:53easily resulted in the blood evidence
2:31:55that ended up on darley's shirt and
2:31:58after months of reading every imaginable
2:32:00record I could find on her case I had
2:32:02yet to come across any evidence that
2:32:04convinced me that the state had
2:32:06succeeded improving their case but at
2:32:09this point I had made it so far up the
2:32:12mountain and yet I was about to find
2:32:14exactly what had convinced the jury and
2:32:17what I found there was completely
2:32:20heartbreaking
2:32:24in the days after June 6 Darley would
2:32:27eventually leave the hospital and begin
2:32:29to prepare for Damon and Devin's funeral
2:32:32by this point in time the Rowlett Police
2:32:34Department a law enforcement agency that
2:32:36had never previously dealt with the
2:32:38homicide case of this magnitude had
2:32:41begun to surveil the routers at every
2:32:43possible opportunity while they were
2:32:46already thoroughly convinced that Darley
2:32:48was the culprit they still needed more
2:32:50evidence to support their suspicions
2:32:52normally when a law enforcement agency
2:32:55is attempting to build a case against a
2:32:57criminal defendant they petitioned the
2:32:59presiding judge for the warrants they
2:33:01need in order to obtain the evidence
2:33:02needed to support their case and for the
2:33:05most part judges will grant these
2:33:07warrants with very few exceptions but it
2:33:10would seem that darlie routier's case
2:33:12was built on a foundation of exceptions
2:33:15exceptions that even the roulette Police
2:33:17Department would be forced to reckon
2:33:19with normally wiretap warrants requested
2:33:22within the framework of the law are
2:33:24given to law enforcement at their
2:33:26request and without many exclusions
2:33:29there are however certain times Congress
2:33:32stations and locations that are
2:33:34considered sacrosanct even during a
2:33:36criminal investigation involving capital
2:33:38murder charges those exceptions
2:33:40typically vary but for the most part
2:33:42they include important places where the
2:33:44privacy of the defendant is absolute but
2:33:48it would seem that the Rowlett Police
2:33:49Department would not be deterred by the
2:33:52law the Constitution or the rules that
2:33:54govern their ability to surveil Darley
2:33:57Routier so lead homicide detective Jimmy
2:33:59Patterson decided that he would
2:34:01supersede the need for a judge's
2:34:03permission to wiretap the routers and
2:34:06chose instead to Simply break the law
2:34:08detective Patterson would ask permission
2:34:11of the cemetery owner to install a
2:34:13recording device at the location where
2:34:15the routers were about to hold the
2:34:17funeral for their boys Damon and Devin
2:34:19confident that he would catch Darley in
2:34:21a stunning confession proving her guilt
2:34:24and sealing up their case against the
2:34:26unsuspecting mother but when the day of
2:34:28the funeral arrived and the Rowlett
2:34:30Police Department retrieved the
2:34:32recording they realized that they had
2:34:34less than nothing on that tape what they
2:34:37had were the sobs of a grieving mother
2:34:39and family saying goodbye to their
2:34:42eldest boys far too soon so when it came
2:34:45time for darley's trial for once the
2:34:48defense wisely cross-examined detective
2:34:50Patterson in an effort to ascertain why
2:34:53he had crossed the line and so clearly
2:34:55broken the law but it was his response
2:34:58that left the jury the defense and the
2:35:01media stunned he simply pled the fifth
2:35:04and despite the unprecedented debacle by
2:35:07law enforcement the judge summarily
2:35:10denied the request for a mistrial now I
2:35:13have tried to recall a moment in time
2:35:14when I had encountered anything that
2:35:17even comes close to this kind of
2:35:18misconduct by a lead investigator in a
2:35:21capital murder case in fact in the
2:35:24combined history of all the cases I have
2:35:27ever touched or worked on I have never
2:35:29once heard of a lead investigator
2:35:31pleading the fifth in connection to a
2:35:34case that he or she investigated and the
2:35:38claim that he pled the fifth so as not
2:35:40to incriminate himself is often said as
2:35:42though it somehow excuses his unlawful
2:35:45Behavior law enforcement does not get to
2:35:48break the law regardless of their intent
2:35:51or whom it is aimed at the fact remains
2:35:54that the actions of detective Patterson
2:35:56were not simply unprecedented or
2:35:59uncommon his actions represented a
2:36:02department seemingly hell-bent on the
2:36:04conviction of a defendant that they had
2:36:06already deemed guilty and they were
2:36:09willing to go to any lengths even
2:36:11breaking the law to ensure her
2:36:13conviction and it is my view that this
2:36:16issue alone should have been weighed
2:36:18more substantially by both darley's
2:36:20trial judge and the Appellate Court but
2:36:23the problem of an overzealous law
2:36:25enforcement agency would not end there
2:36:28in fact a bloody footprint was found in
2:36:31the garage of the rootier home and James
2:36:33cron would later state that he
2:36:35identified the footprint belonging to
2:36:37none other than a member of the Rowlett
2:36:40Police Department so by this point we
2:36:42now have a second time that we know of
2:36:45where the Rowlett police department has
2:36:47contaminated their own crime scene and
2:36:50every time they present evidence to the
2:36:52court that they insist is beyond
2:36:54reproach they expect the jury the media
2:36:57and everyone else to ignore their
2:36:59mistakes and believe without question
2:37:01that their mistakes begin and end there
2:37:04but unfortunately the failures by law
2:37:07enforcement and the state would not end
2:37:09after a few bungled crime scene mishaps
2:37:12in fact their mistakes persisted and
2:37:14would culminate in one of the most
2:37:16egregious and prejudicial examples of
2:37:19prosecutorial misconduct that I have
2:37:22seen in my career leading up to the
2:37:24trial prosecutors would call the entire
2:37:27medical staff who treated Darley people
2:37:29who were still set to testify in her up
2:37:31coming trial and they were asked to come
2:37:34to a local hotel for a pre-trial meeting
2:37:37upon arriving each of the medical staff
2:37:40were then sat down in a conference room
2:37:42as a group it was at this time that the
2:37:45prosecutor showed each of the medical
2:37:47personnel graphic crime scene photos
2:37:49from the aftermath of June 6th the
2:37:52photos included detailed and horrifying
2:37:55pictures of each of the Routier boys
2:37:57including detailed pictures from the
2:37:59crime scene and to absolutely no one
2:38:02surprised the medical staff left that
2:38:05meeting and eventually each one would
2:38:07testify in Virtual Unison at trial they
2:38:11would all describe Darley to the jury as
2:38:13uncaring detached even using the same
2:38:16words to describe her words that they
2:38:18had never used in their own medical
2:38:20records notations at the time of her
2:38:23hospitalization including routinely
2:38:25referring to her as being whiny and this
2:38:28was despite the fact that their own
2:38:31handwritten medical notes stated that
2:38:33Darley had been seen excessively crying
2:38:36asking why someone would do this to her
2:38:38boys including notes stating that she
2:38:41was inconsolable but now all of a sudden
2:38:44at trial the medical staff is testifying
2:38:47that they hadn't seen Darley demonstrate
2:38:49any signs of crying sadness or evidence
2:38:52indicative of a mother grieving a tragic
2:38:54loss you know it's almost like the
2:38:57meeting that they had with prosecutors
2:38:59drastically impacted and Prejudiced each
2:39:02of them against a woman standing trial
2:39:04for crimes that they had been shown in
2:39:07graphic detail because the fact of the
2:39:10matter is one of two things must be true
2:39:12that they were either all lying in their
2:39:15own medical records before they knew
2:39:17anything about her alleged involvement
2:39:19in the crime or they were all
2:39:21exaggerating or committing outright
2:39:23perjury during darley's trial
2:39:26both cannot be true at the same time now
2:39:30over the years people who have defended
2:39:32the prosecutor's decision to meet with
2:39:34the medical staff have claimed that
2:39:36these pre-trial meetings are the norm
2:39:38within the criminal justice system but I
2:39:41contend that the norm can and clearly
2:39:44does have a deleterious impact on the
2:39:47mindset of anyone set to testify against
2:39:49any defendant especially when you show
2:39:53those people pictures of what that
2:39:55defendant who still has the presumption
2:39:57of innocence is accused of doing it is
2:40:01human nature that when we see evidence
2:40:03of a heinous crime to do whatever we can
2:40:06to protect innocence so while I don't
2:40:08necessarily blame the medical staff
2:40:10whose testimony magically changed from
2:40:13their own records at trial I do blame
2:40:16the prosecutors for underhanded behavior
2:40:18that flies in the face of a fair and
2:40:21objective Judiciary that assumes that a
2:40:24defendant is innocent until proven
2:40:26guilty and just because something is the
2:40:29norm does not make it right because the
2:40:32fact of the matter is that numerous
2:40:35people did testify to having seen Darley
2:40:37devastated and distraught over the loss
2:40:40of Damon and Devin including the medical
2:40:43staff who treated her courtesy of their
2:40:47own handwritten medical records but the
2:40:50Prejudice that stemmed from the improper
2:40:52use of evidence was only the beginning
2:40:54because the prosecution was about to
2:40:57show the jury the Ace of their sleeve
2:40:59that would guarantee that they would
2:41:01convict darlie Lynn Routier Beyond any
2:41:04reasonable doubt
2:41:08Prosecutor Greg Davis knew from the
2:41:11moment he stepped through the courtroom
2:41:13doors exactly who he needed to convince
2:41:16of the state's case it wasn't the media
2:41:19it wasn't the judge or even the Routier
2:41:22family he knew that he had a 12 panel
2:41:25jury comprised of some of the most
2:41:27socially and politically conservative
2:41:29people in the country he knew that he
2:41:32was in a county that regularly boasted
2:41:35their 95 percent conviction rate
2:41:37comprised of people who took their faith
2:41:40very seriously it was precisely why he
2:41:43didn't hesitate to quote the Bible and
2:41:46speak of Darley as the literal
2:41:48incarnation of evil because he knew that
2:41:51he wouldn't need to convince an
2:41:52appellate court to ignore his
2:41:54prosecutorial misconduct he already knew
2:41:57they would because it's a well-known
2:42:00unspoken rule that the courts in that
2:42:02region of the United States regularly
2:42:05uphold the convictions of defendants
2:42:07regardless of the mayor it's or
2:42:09wrongdoing that created them and it's
2:42:12precisely the reason why the United
2:42:14States of America is number one in a
2:42:17category that no one else comes even
2:42:20close in comparison the statistical fact
2:42:23that we have the highest incarceration
2:42:26rate in the entire world prosecutor
2:42:29Davis was only ever interested in a
2:42:32campaign designed to enrage the jury to
2:42:35prey on their predilections and to
2:42:37achieve something even more important
2:42:39than all of the forensic evidence
2:42:41combined more than anything he wanted
2:42:44the hearts and minds of the jury and the
2:42:47evidence that he succeeded in that
2:42:49effort can still be found in the words
2:42:51of the jurors from darli routier's trial
2:42:54to this very day five years ago juror
2:42:58number eight Kerry Paris participated in
2:43:01a documentary about darley's Trial
2:43:03created by ABC called the last defense
2:43:06in it she said something truly
2:43:09remarkable about her experience as a
2:43:12juror in darley's trial she said and I
2:43:15quote I just knew that she was young and
2:43:18that she killed her boys
2:43:20what a remarkably honest thing to say
2:43:23and such an insightful look into the
2:43:25travesty that is the justice system for
2:43:28far too many people because from the
2:43:31very moment she sat in that seat as a
2:43:34juror she already assumed that Darley
2:43:36had committed the crime
2:43:38she didn't say I just knew that she was
2:43:40young and that she was accused of
2:43:42killing her boys her statement seemed to
2:43:45be a declaration of what she already
2:43:47believed about Darley but I'll relent
2:43:50that maybe it's possible that my
2:43:52assessment is in overly analytical
2:43:55argument over semantics
2:43:57but then again maybe not listen to what
2:44:00juror Carrie Paris said when she was
2:44:02asked about the testimony of friends and
2:44:05family of Darley who told the court
2:44:07about darley's love and affection for
2:44:09her boys quote I don't think she was as
2:44:12doting as people said she was I don't
2:44:15she's not so much doting on her kids as
2:44:18she is doting on herself who goes out
2:44:21and spends two thousand dollars on a set
2:44:23of breasts that was one of the things
2:44:26that really caught our attention
2:44:28pictures that we saw the clothes she was
2:44:31wearing very flashy expensive clothes
2:44:34jewelry I don't buy any of that stuff
2:44:36but she bought a lot of that stuff end
2:44:39quote now you may be tempted to think
2:44:42well that was just one of the jurors
2:44:44they certainly didn't all have such
2:44:46wildly judgmental and subjective things
2:44:48to say about darley's character that had
2:44:51nothing whatsoever to do with the crime
2:44:52that she was accused of well let's see
2:44:55Rina way was also a juror during
2:44:58darley's trial and during the same Lisa
2:45:01Gibbons episode that I previously
2:45:03mentioned she would say the following
2:45:05about Darley during the taping of the
2:45:07show I believe that Devin kicked the
2:45:09crap out of her
2:45:11[Applause]
2:45:16the only way that he's going to get a
2:45:18wound on his butt if he is being stabbed
2:45:20in the chest is if he has his feet up
2:45:22and he is kicking
2:45:25since the trial we've learned that
2:45:27jurors paid special attention to One
2:45:30Singular thing something that was so
2:45:32convincing that it could easily be
2:45:34argued was the actual Smoking Gun in the
2:45:37state's case against Darley and now we
2:45:40have finally arrived at the most
2:45:42important moment of the state's entire
2:45:45case against darlie Routier evidence so
2:45:48moving and Powerful that Jared Charles
2:45:51Samford has since stated in a sign
2:45:53affidavit that it was precisely because
2:45:55of the fact that the prosecution showed
2:45:58this evidence so many times during the
2:46:00trial that it was the main reason that
2:46:03he voted to convict Darley but yours
2:46:06Samford would also say in his affidavit
2:46:08that if he had seen the complete funeral
2:46:11footage from that day that he would have
2:46:13not voted to convict her so it wasn't
2:46:16the forensic evidence or the
2:46:18circumstantial evidence or a bread knife
2:46:21or Rags or a sock or changing stories
2:46:24about the crime or even the testimony by
2:46:27people claiming Darley was a bad mother
2:46:29or anything else brought by the state
2:46:31during her trial that convinced the jury
2:46:34but it was this VHS tape evidence that
2:46:37they would watch seven different times
2:46:39during their four-hour jury deliberation
2:46:42that would ultimately convince them to
2:46:45convict darlie Lynn Routier Beyond any
2:46:48reasonable doubt
2:46:54I still remember the moment like it was
2:46:57yesterday when I got the call that my
2:46:59grandfather had died he wasn't like a
2:47:02father to me
2:47:04he was a father to me and when the
2:47:07cancer finally took him
2:47:09it broke me I knew that he wasn't gonna
2:47:11live forever but a childlike part of me
2:47:14wished he had because from the day I was
2:47:17born he was there he had always been
2:47:20there for me from my early adolescence
2:47:22every summer I would go and stay with
2:47:25him at his house every day was an
2:47:27adventure filled with stories and
2:47:30laughter for hours into the night
2:47:32spending days getting lost in the
2:47:34Arroyos spending nights learning from
2:47:36him what it meant to be a man so when
2:47:40the day came to have his funeral I
2:47:42remember just how much my heart hurt
2:47:45standing outside of that church I
2:47:48couldn't muster the courage to go inside
2:47:50mainly because I had lost all control
2:47:52over the grief I don't ever recall
2:47:55crying like that in my entire life
2:47:58but later that day when we got together
2:48:01as a family despite our hurt we
2:48:04celebrated because we knew that was what
2:48:07he would have wanted that was the way we
2:48:10chose to honor him not because of his
2:48:13death but because of his life and if
2:48:17there had been news crews and cameras
2:48:19recording that moment and you had seen
2:48:21it for yourself it may not have made any
2:48:24sense to you a family grieving the loss
2:48:27of someone we loved more than life
2:48:29itself and yet we were dancing laughing
2:48:32remembering the life that he lived in
2:48:35the profound impact of that life on each
2:48:38of us to many people it may have seemed
2:48:41disrespectful or even inappropriate and
2:48:44to any who would have thought that all I
2:48:47would say is this
2:48:48you didn't know him the way I did
2:48:50because you would not have been able to
2:48:53see with your eyes the heaviness of my
2:48:55heart in that moment but if it were
2:48:58possible for you to have felt the weight
2:49:00of that loss then there would have been
2:49:02no doubt the whole his absence left
2:49:05behind and how much I will always miss
2:49:08and love that man and the truth is I
2:49:11don't need to defend darlie Routier and
2:49:14I don't need to come up with
2:49:15explanations for how she chose to grieve
2:49:18because they very well may not be the
2:49:21things that you or I would do but for me
2:49:24judging her guilt or innocence and
2:49:27sending her to death row based on how
2:49:30well she grieved that is beyond the pale
2:49:32a few months before I was born my
2:49:35grandmother died from complications
2:49:37arising from her lifelong battle with
2:49:40COPD asthma she would leave us at just
2:49:4345 years old as a teenager I had never
2:49:47seen my grandfather cry the same Man Who
2:49:50Loved To Dance who always had a smile
2:49:53and Who Loved fiercely had experienced a
2:49:57life-altering tragedy that he hid behind
2:50:00a wall of strength growing up he rarely
2:50:03spoke of her he never seemed to show any
2:50:05significant outward appearance of his
2:50:08grief but I always knew that he missed
2:50:10her dearly years later when I became an
2:50:13adult there was a time when I brought my
2:50:15guitar to his house I had always heard
2:50:18that he was a prolific guitarist so I
2:50:20asked him to play he looked at me and
2:50:24doing his best to compose himself he
2:50:27explained that on the day that my
2:50:28grandmother passed he put down his
2:50:31guitar car an instrument that he had
2:50:33always used to sing to her something
2:50:35that was a part of their love story and
2:50:38that very day
2:50:40he chose to never play again that was
2:50:43the day I saw my grandfather cry a day
2:50:46that I learned a very important lesson
2:50:49about loss I learned to never assume
2:50:53that you know someone's pain based on
2:50:55their expressions alone because
2:50:57sometimes the person smiling and
2:51:00carrying on is the same person who is
2:51:02caring for their remaining loved ones by
2:51:05staying strong
2:51:07because the reality is that they are
2:51:10actually carrying the weight of the
2:51:11world on their shoulders and they are
2:51:14doing everything in their power to hide
2:51:16it
2:51:22when I had finally reached the end of my
2:51:25journey I looked back down the mountain
2:51:27seeing the months of reading scouring
2:51:31court records and combing through every
2:51:33imaginable detail I could find on
2:51:35darley's case but before I could Summit
2:51:38the final few steps of this seemingly
2:51:41impossible climb I had to be certain
2:51:43that I could make it the rest of the way
2:51:45so I began my final Ascent taking my
2:51:49first step I found within the record
2:51:51statements from family members who
2:51:54discussed darley's condition in the days
2:51:56after she came home from the hospital
2:51:58they explained how she had refused to go
2:52:01anywhere by herself that she was
2:52:04absolutely terrified of being alone of
2:52:07being attacked again she even asked
2:52:10family members to follow her to every
2:52:13room of the house because of how
2:52:15gripping that fear had become another
2:52:18step as the summit becomes more clear I
2:52:21listened to all of the character
2:52:22characterizations of darley's breast
2:52:24implants over and over again the
2:52:27countless times that she was accused of
2:52:29being vain materialistic and
2:52:32money-hungry something that today would
2:52:34be dismissed as ignorant hate speech but
2:52:38I persisted listening to the claims of a
2:52:40motive that did not fit the evidence and
2:52:43attacks on her character that had
2:52:45nothing legally to do with the charges
2:52:47against her I listened as the prosecutor
2:52:51attacked her as a failed abusive and
2:52:53degenerate mother who did not love her
2:52:55children then watching Darley in
2:52:58countless Home Videos loving on her boys
2:53:01and in interviews after her
2:53:03incarceration taking every chance she
2:53:06had to send messages to her only
2:53:08remaining child Drake completely
2:53:11unfocused on herself but on the needs of
2:53:14a child who grew up without his mom
2:53:17seemingly desperate to remind him that
2:53:19even though she couldn't be there for
2:53:21him that she loves him seemingly more
2:53:24than life itself and then I tried to
2:53:27imagine what it would have been like if
2:53:29my own mother had been judged so harshly
2:53:32at her worst moments another step and
2:53:35I'm nearly there now I read the
2:53:37innumerable times Darley was mocked by
2:53:40prosecutors by the media and even
2:53:43YouTube content creators people calling
2:53:46her a dangerous and deranged psychopath
2:53:49without so much as a qualified
2:53:50assessment from any of her treating
2:53:53Mental Health Providers agreeing with
2:53:55that characterization whatsoever
2:53:57observing as these same people laugh and
2:54:01mock her as she sings to her son a son
2:54:04that she was forced to watch suffer with
2:54:07leukemia after he was diagnosed at the
2:54:10age of 17 unable to comfort him or touch
2:54:14him through the thick glass desperate to
2:54:16soothe her child as he fought for his
2:54:18life during chemotherapy trying to
2:54:21comprehend how I would feel if any one
2:54:24of my daughters or my fiance was
2:54:26scrutinized that same way where somehow
2:54:29it's appropriate and even acceptable to
2:54:32discuss a woman's weight her body her
2:54:35clothing or how she chooses to live her
2:54:38life I could see that the Summit is feet
2:54:41away now and I look out into a world
2:54:43that so many women have been forced to
2:54:46live in where they are often not
2:54:48believed assumed to be lying presumed
2:54:51that if they wear certain clothes or act
2:54:54a certain way or worst of all if they
2:54:57are not religious and don't attend
2:54:59church regularly then whatever happened
2:55:01to them is somehow their fault where if
2:55:05they don't emulate the expectations of
2:55:07their conservative community and
2:55:09demonstrate the life of a good and
2:55:11virtuous Christian woman then guilt is
2:55:14virtually assumed I see a world my loved
2:55:18ones live in where women are routinely
2:55:20fearful of going out by themselves
2:55:22ourselves where men decide what they can
2:55:24or cannot do with their own bodies where
2:55:28they are afraid of being attacked or
2:55:30assaulted and then blamed by the world
2:55:32for bringing it on themselves and shamed
2:55:35for the crimes committed against them
2:55:37and by the time I stepped onto the
2:55:40summit I remembered hearing about when
2:55:42the state took Drake away from his
2:55:45family when CPS went to the home of
2:55:48Darley and Darren Routier and took Drake
2:55:51from Darren and not because he had
2:55:53failed at his duties as a father or
2:55:55because of allegations of wrongdoing by
2:55:57either parent but because Darren had the
2:56:00audacity to continue to support his wife
2:56:03Darley and as a consequence of that
2:56:07support CPS took darley's child from her
2:56:10from Darren and told him to his face
2:56:13that a man that could still support
2:56:15Darley was not fit to be a parent it was
2:56:19so clear that the justice system had
2:56:21made up their mind from the beginning
2:56:24forming a vendetta against the routers
2:56:26and that you would have to ignore the
2:56:29literal mountain of evidence that I was
2:56:31now standing on in order to not see that
2:56:34that's so much of the reason why people
2:56:37believe her to be guilty is because the
2:56:40state never bothered to look anywhere
2:56:42else and the cold harsh reality is that
2:56:46law enforcement the prosecutors and
2:56:48ultimately the jury did not convict
2:56:51Darley based on empirical scientific
2:56:54evidence but by the jury's own admission
2:56:57chose to send her to death row because
2:57:00of a video that in their four hour
2:57:02deliberation they would watch and
2:57:05re-watch seven times over a jury who
2:57:09chose to cast judgment on Darley for her
2:57:12perceived failure to appropriately
2:57:14grieve the loss of her sons a jury that
2:57:18was never shown the rest of that day at
2:57:20the funeral site where Charlie had spent
2:57:23the preceding hours at the boys
2:57:25gravesite shattered broken and sobbing
2:57:29standing there on top of the mountain
2:57:31that became darley's trial and
2:57:33conviction I remembered how I felt in
2:57:36the beginning because I truly never
2:57:38thought I would be able to reach the top
2:57:41and find my own answers to the questions
2:57:44that darley's jury had answered so
2:57:47quickly a case that took me months to
2:57:50read and fully understand was somehow
2:57:52decided in a handful of hours by a jury
2:57:55who had not been told the whole truth I
2:57:58stood there realizing that I had found
2:58:00answers that I never intended on finding
2:58:03answers that weren't based on unprovable
2:58:06conjecture or obscure conspiracy
2:58:09theories but just the available facts
2:58:12facts that told me everything I needed
2:58:15to know but more importantly than what I
2:58:18found was the realization that it wasn't
2:58:20time for me to answer those two
2:58:23questions
2:58:24it was time for you to answer them
2:58:27several months ago I asked our community
2:58:29which case they wanted me to investigate
2:58:31next the resounding answer was the case
2:58:35and trial of darlie Routier but I could
2:58:38not have imagined where my investigation
2:58:40would eventually lead a journey that
2:58:43began with such certainty and
2:58:45determination would take an unexpected
2:58:48turn that would call into question my
2:58:50most fundamental beliefs of the entirety
2:58:53of the Criminal Justice System but while
2:58:56I may have narrated my own journey
2:58:58through this case the story is
2:59:00incomplete without you so I would like
2:59:03to ask you to answer those questions we
2:59:06started with from the very beginning to
2:59:09write in the comments section your
2:59:11answers and as a juror cast your vote
2:59:14for the following questions we began
2:59:17with one do you find that darlie Lynn
2:59:21Routier is guilty Beyond any reasonable
2:59:24doubt and two does Charlie Routier
2:59:28deserved the death penalty now I
2:59:31realized that it would be very easy to
2:59:33see this exercise as a fruitless
2:59:35Endeavor without any real world impact
2:59:38but I assure you it's not because one
2:59:42day months or even years from now you
2:59:45may be called upon as a juror to be one
2:59:48of those 12 people who are given the
2:59:50awesome responsibility of deciding
2:59:53whether or not someone lives or dies and
2:59:57my hope is that when that time comes and
3:00:00it's you that has to make that choice
3:00:02that you will remember this moment and
3:00:05that most of all you will have the
3:00:07courage to follow your convictions and
3:00:10to allow the truth to guide you
3:00:18I want to take a moment to thank those
3:00:21of you who have taken the time to listen
3:00:23to this entire episode and for affording
3:00:26me such an incredible amount of your
3:00:28time and for the patients as I worked
3:00:31over the last several months to put this
3:00:33together I know that going through this
3:00:35case has not been easy and it isn't the
3:00:39jovial and lighthearted Journey that we
3:00:41are often accustomed to taking together
3:00:43some of you may be surprised to learn
3:00:45that it was not my intent to try and
3:00:48convince you of darley's Innocence today
3:00:50but if I'm being honest more than
3:00:52anything my goal was to passionately
3:00:55advocate for all of the victims of this
3:00:58case by now it's likely already obvious
3:01:01but I will always advocate for Equity
3:01:04within our justice system regardless of
3:01:07the case or how that defendant is
3:01:09perceived because from the very moment I
3:01:12realized that darley's case meant all of
3:01:15the criteria of someone who at the very
3:01:18least deserved a re-trial I also
3:01:20realized that my view of her case would
3:01:23likely be wildly unpopular with a large
3:01:25demographic of people who will always
3:01:28believe that Darley is guilty no matter
3:01:30what they are shown to disprove it I
3:01:34realize that this video would likely
3:01:36mean that I would be on the receiving
3:01:38end of angry people who are not
3:01:40interested in the legal ethical and
3:01:43evidence eventually reasons that support
3:01:45my view but I don't create these videos
3:01:48for likes or followers or because I want
3:01:51to be the next popular True Crime
3:01:54Creator the reality is that it would
3:01:56have been far easier for me to Simply
3:01:58say that she was guilty just like a
3:02:01majority of people have to this point to
3:02:03Simply ignore everything I saw in the
3:02:05trial record and simply go with the flow
3:02:08it would have been much simpler for me
3:02:10to come down on Darley to be one of the
3:02:13many people along the way who claim that
3:02:16her perceived failures and everything
3:02:18presented at trial was sufficient
3:02:20evidence to establish guilt Beyond any
3:02:23reasonable doubt and then send her off
3:02:25to death row without another thought but
3:02:28I simply could not do that not knowing
3:02:31what I now know even if it meant losing
3:02:34followers or the good graces of this
3:02:37community because that would require me
3:02:39to ignore the blatant misconduct the
3:02:42legal and ethical wrongdo doing the
3:02:44mountain of contrary evidence to the
3:02:46state's case and the fundamental
3:02:49violations of the rules that govern the
3:02:51entirety of our judicial system and for
3:02:54me no amount of internet clout is worth
3:02:57my integrity
3:02:58truthfully and I mean this I don't think
3:03:02I'm special but I do think that this is
3:03:05long overdue and if we have any hope of
3:03:08giving our children a better world than
3:03:11the one we found we cannot allow or
3:03:14continue to ignore an injustice of this
3:03:17magnitude for me the bottom line is very
3:03:21simple because it doesn't matter who the
3:03:24person is if we are not willing to
3:03:26fairly evaluate both sides of a criminal
3:03:29action honestly sincerely and with
3:03:32veracity then we will continue to
3:03:35witness headlines of posthumously
3:03:37exonerated death row inmates for decades
3:03:40to come a Crimson Stain that I believe
3:03:43we will never wash away no matter how
3:03:46much time passes over it at the onset of
3:03:50my analysis I understood why so many
3:03:52people believe Darley is guilty and
3:03:55deserves the punishment that was levied
3:03:57against her but now having read every
3:04:00page of every document that came from
3:04:02her trial her appeals and then listening
3:04:05to every iteration from every story that
3:04:08has covered her case podcasts included a
3:04:12question kept creeping up in the back of
3:04:14my mind even when I was still convinced
3:04:17that she was responsible and by the time
3:04:20I finished studying the totality of her
3:04:23case that question was the only thing
3:04:25that remained because no matter how many
3:04:28times I've listened to or watched media
3:04:31that has discussed her case far too few
3:04:34people have ever considered the weight
3:04:36of this question in fact I can guarantee
3:04:40you that despite everything I just
3:04:42shared with you there will still be
3:04:44countless people who will completely
3:04:46disregard all of it because one of the
3:04:50most difficult parts of our Humanity to
3:04:52overcome is when we are faced with
3:04:55evidence that challenges fundamental
3:04:57beliefs that we have held from many
3:04:59years when we are told that something we
3:05:02believe
3:05:03may be wrong but when you look out into
3:05:07the world around us and see the current
3:05:09state of our justice system an
3:05:12institution That was supposed to be
3:05:13built on a foundation of Presumed
3:05:16innocence it calls out to us to right
3:05:18the wrongs of the past and to be willing
3:05:21to ask these questions a question that
3:05:25for me was the last and final piece of
3:05:28the puzzle that I found buried
3:05:31underneath the weight of darley's
3:05:33conviction a question that I believe we
3:05:37cannot afford not to ask so I'll go
3:05:41ahead and ask the question what if for
3:05:44the last 27 years darlie Lynn Routier
3:05:49has been telling the truth this whole
3:05:52time and what if she did not commit this
3:05:57crime
3:06:04because if we really allow ourselves to
3:06:07ask that question taking into
3:06:10consideration everything we just learned
3:06:12the weight and pain of the answer it's
3:06:17unfathomable because it would mean that
3:06:20every single time that people have
3:06:22labeled her a monster a liar a sociopath
3:06:26a family killer it would mean that every
3:06:30single one of those people were wrong
3:06:32and that she has spent the last 27 years
3:06:36of her life on death row for a crime
3:06:39that someone else perpetrated against
3:06:42her and her children and I categorically
3:06:46refuse to be one of the many people who
3:06:49have cast stones at a woman who
3:06:51continues to maintain her innocence
3:06:54knowing what I now know and I believe
3:06:57that question is one that Liddell Lee
3:07:00wished prosecutors appellate judges and
3:07:03the jurors who sentenced him to death
3:07:06row had asked sincerely before they
3:07:09signed off on his death warrant but the
3:07:12truth is no matter how you answer that
3:07:15question the fact Still Remains that the
3:07:19accused convicted and sentenced to death
3:07:22row prisoner number
3:07:25999-220 Darley Lynn Routier she is an
3:07:30inmate but she is also a friend a mother
3:07:34and a woman whose story that I believe
3:07:38and she is quickly running out of time
3:07:56[Music]
3:08:14[Music]
3:08:18foreign
3:08:24[Music]
3:09:00it's almost hard to believe that
3:09:02creating this video took as much time as
3:09:05it did but for me getting to this point
3:09:09was worth every minute of every hour
3:09:12that it took but even still I want to
3:09:15thank each of you for taking the time to
3:09:18allow me to share that Journey with you
3:09:20today
3:09:21now I understand that some of you will
3:09:23passionately disagree with me and that's
3:09:26okay we can disagree but I do want to
3:09:29say one last thing concerning this case
3:09:32my belief in darling routier's innocence
3:09:35is absolute especially now that I have
3:09:39seen the trial records for myself
3:09:42please understand that I encourage every
3:09:45person to review the case and make their
3:09:47own determination but my perspective is
3:09:50my own and I will continue to advocate
3:09:53for Devin Damon and Darley for as long
3:09:57as I have breath but I do want to thank
3:09:59each of you for granting me an audience
3:10:02even though some of us will inevitably
3:10:04not see eye to eye I still want to thank
3:10:07you for your time and for your
3:10:09thoughtful consideration concerning a
3:10:11case that for me has been transformative
3:10:15in more ways than one
3:10:17now as many of you may already know the
3:10:20last several months also brought some
3:10:22unique challenges to my life in early
3:10:25February I became very ill and I am
3:10:28still in the process of trying to manage
3:10:30my ongoing health problems however it
3:10:34was during that time that so many of you
3:10:36went out of your way to express support
3:10:39posting kind messages and offering words
3:10:42of encouragement and to each of you I
3:10:45just want to say thank you for helping
3:10:47renew my faith in humanity and for
3:10:49reminding me how truly exceptional so
3:10:52many of you in this community truly are
3:10:56concerning new content on the channel
3:10:58for the foreseeable future I am going
3:11:00back to making shorter videos that don't
3:11:03take well over 600 hours to create which
3:11:07means we will be returning to a regular
3:11:10upload schedule starting next week also
3:11:13I have seen the many requests for
3:11:15follow-up videos to Prior series I've
3:11:17already covered so in the next few weeks
3:11:19I will be doing exactly that
3:11:21additionally I will be adding a new
3:11:24focused to this channel to start
3:11:26highlighting cases like darlies which I
3:11:28believe need to be brought to the
3:11:30Forefront of the entire True Crime
3:11:32community so expect to see new and
3:11:35follow-up cases coming in the next few
3:11:37weeks now I want to take a moment to
3:11:40personally and profusely thank my
3:11:42patreon and YouTube supporters the fact
3:11:45that so many of you continued to believe
3:11:48in me as I worked on this case during my
3:11:51recovery is nothing short of remarkable
3:11:54this content is a reflection of my
3:11:56gratitude and my way of saying thank you
3:11:59for your kindness and support it is
3:12:02because of each of you that I am able to
3:12:05do what I truly love I also want to take
3:12:09a moment to thank my fiance for her love
3:12:12and support over the last several months
3:12:14it is not an exaggeration to say that
3:12:17you continue to help me through a very
3:12:20painful and challenging time thank you
3:12:23for being the woman that you are I love
3:12:25you endlessly and I am truly a better
3:12:28man because of you now before we close I
3:12:32have one final request as trite as it
3:12:36may seem please consider liking
3:12:38commenting and subscribing each of those
3:12:41things are profound ways for you to show
3:12:43support for this Channel and so that
3:12:45more people can have the opportunity to
3:12:48hear this story so thank you from the
3:12:51bottom of my heart for being a part of
3:12:53the BCM Community for supporting me and
3:12:56this Channel and most of all for the
3:12:59gift of your time it is a gift that I
3:13:02will truly never cease being grateful
3:13:05for so as always
3:13:07this has been behind Criminal Minds
3:13:10we'll see you next time
3:13:13[Music]

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