Dying For Justice! The Wrongful Conviction Of Darlie Routier - Episode 4 Part 1 — Transcript
Full transcript
- 0:06hello everyone and welcome back to True
- 0:09Crime with mystery Maverick I'd like to
- 0:11start by saying a huge thank you to my
- 0:14viewers and subscribers it takes a lot
- 0:17of time and research to present my
- 0:19content and your patience and support
- 0:22Spurs me on to continue if you haven't
- 0:25been here before and want to know the
- 0:27full details of the Routier case you
- 0:29have come to the right place you can
- 0:32also visit the amazing rjp podcast for
- 0:35more in-depth discussions where I am a
- 0:38guest host along with people who know
- 0:40darly and are well versed in the case on
- 0:43a less lighter note if you have come
- 0:46here to harass or insult me my viewers
- 0:50or dar's family then this is not the
- 0:53channel for you remember they are the
- 0:56victims not you we cannot possibly
- 0:59fathom the pain pain and the heartache
- 1:01these people have suffered losing Devon
- 1:04and Damon to innocent beautiful boys and
- 1:08losing a daughter mother sister wife and
- 1:11friend in this multi-part episode we
- 1:14return to Texas and we traveled to Kerr
- 1:18County I will take you inside the
- 1:20courtroom of dar's capital murder trial
- 1:23where I will examine analyze and debunk
- 1:27the evidence brought against her as we
- 1:30continue to unravel the mystery Dying
- 1:33For Justice the wrongful conviction of
- 1:36darly
- 1:38Routier it was the end of November
- 1:411996 when a jury of seven men and five
- 1:44women from kville was selected to serve
- 1:47their civic duty in the capital murder
- 1:50trial of darly lim rutier previously
- 1:54refused Bond darly had sat in a Cell in
- 1:57a Dallas County Jail awaiting her chance
- 2:00to prove her innocence once and for
- 2:02all after all she didn't do it so she
- 2:06knew the evidence would show that the
- 2:07police had got it wrong in an interview
- 2:10for the documentary waiting for a
- 2:12miracle Dary
- 2:14stated I believed that when you walked
- 2:17into a courtroom if you were innocent
- 2:19you would be found innocent if you were
- 2:22guilty you'd be found guilty that's not
- 2:26the truth all the time that's not the
- 2:28way it work 's trial would arrive sooner
- 2:31than anyone could imagine less than 2
- 2:33months after jury selection and 6 months
- 2:37after her arrest Dary would stand trial
- 2:40in kville County Courthouse in the book
- 2:43dine Purgatory Kenneth the husband of
- 2:46dar's close friend Melanie weit stated
- 2:49that the state had sped the trial up and
- 2:52that dar's attorneys did little to slow
- 2:54it down he recalled that even dar's
- 2:57family were fine with a speedy trial too
- 3:00their reasoning being the sooner the
- 3:02trial was over the sooner they would
- 3:04have darly home B further supports the
- 3:07fact that the family and daring knew
- 3:09little about the criminal justice system
- 3:12and even less about capital murder
- 3:14trials on an episode of the last defense
- 3:17dar's original state appointed attorney
- 3:20Doug Park said dary's trial had been set
- 3:23for the first Monday after January so we
- 3:26had 6 months I typically find that it's
- 3:29hard to be ready for a death penalty
- 3:31case in less than a year and a half it
- 3:34was going to be quick there's no
- 3:36question about it moreover Parks had
- 3:39been replaced by Moulder who had only
- 3:42been appointed to the case in October at
- 3:45the same time as jury selection which
- 3:48meant he had even less time to prepare
- 3:51an unimaginable challenge considering a
- 3:53woman's life was on the line on the
- 3:56first weekend of January Dary was
- 3:59transferred from Dallas to kville County
- 4:01Jail in anticipation of her
- 4:04trial family and friends took up
- 4:07lodgings nearby in a rental property and
- 4:10Court officials booked into local hotels
- 4:13While others sought accommodation closer
- 4:16to the interstate
- 4:18highway on the morning of the trial the
- 4:20weather was unusually cold as an arctic
- 4:23cold front swept in from the
- 4:26Northwest this did not make the
- 4:28temperature inside the court room
- 4:30comfortable for anyone not least because
- 4:32the heating was on the
- 4:34blink nevertheless the trial would
- 4:37commence even if it meant attendees
- 4:40needed to layer up for warmth outside
- 4:43the courtroom reporters would approach
- 4:45darly key and ask her how are you
- 4:48feeling today I feel great first day of
- 4:51the truth she replied A confident molder
- 4:55further added we're here to
- 4:58win although darly was initially
- 5:00indicted for the murder of both her sons
- 5:03the prosecution decided to only try her
- 5:06for Damon's murder at the time Damon's
- 5:09murder had qualified for the death
- 5:11penalty as a child under the age of six
- 5:14however it has been further speculated
- 5:17that this was a legal maneuver to
- 5:19guarantee dar's conviction by loading up
- 5:22a double barreled shot gun therefore if
- 5:25Dary was found not guilty of Damon's
- 5:27murder they could try her again for
- 5:29devans so on the 6th of January
- 5:331997 at 9:30 a.m. in Kerr County
- 5:36Courthouse the capital murder trial of
- 5:39Dary LM Rua would begin outside the
- 5:43presence of the jury Dary was arraigned
- 5:46lead Prosecutor Greg Davis would first
- 5:49read the grand jury indictment before
- 5:51the court as
- 5:52follows the defendant honor about the
- 5:55sixth day of June 1996 in the county of
- 5:59Dalles and said state did unlawfully
- 6:02then and there intentionally and
- 6:05knowingly cause the death of Damon
- 6:07Christian Routier an individual here and
- 6:11after called the deceased by stubbing
- 6:14said Damon Christian Routier with a
- 6:17knife and the deceased was at the time
- 6:20of the offense under six years of age
- 6:22against the peace and dignity of the
- 6:25state the judge asked how the defendant
- 6:28pleads to which Dary replied not guilty
- 6:32this was followed by some other motions
- 6:34brought before the court of most
- 6:36salience was the request by the defense
- 6:39for a continuance of a day and a half to
- 6:41review all the
- 6:43evidence second J on dar's defense
- 6:46Richard mosty said to the court on the
- 6:49subject the second part of the motion
- 6:51for continuance is that we have that the
- 6:54evidence has been at various places the
- 6:57District Attorney's Office the rowlet PD
- 7:00Swifts Jun screen various places and Mr
- 7:04Douglas and Mr Harold went up last week
- 7:07to look at that and they weren't able to
- 7:09look at all of the evidence even some of
- 7:12it was being put together to be moved
- 7:14down here so presumably all of the
- 7:17evidence is here now I think it came in
- 7:20on the second so we need one day or part
- 7:23of a day to examine all the evidence
- 7:26that the state has down here which we
- 7:28have not had that opportunity to do up
- 7:31to this
- 7:32time additionally leading up to the
- 7:35trial the state had ordered further DNA
- 7:37testing on dar's night shirt and the
- 7:40results had not yet come in giving the
- 7:43defense no time to evaluate or review
- 7:45the results Sher Wallace from the
- 7:48prosecution team had gone off to call
- 7:50them for the results and when she had
- 7:52returned revealed that the samples were
- 7:55all dar's blood this clearly exposed the
- 7:58issues that came with a rush trial which
- 8:01added to the unpreparedness of the
- 8:03defense team which further hindered
- 8:06their ability to adequately defend their
- 8:10client in fact documents show that Davis
- 8:13had only written to Moulder on the 17th
- 8:16of December offering access to some of
- 8:18the evidence just weeks before the
- 8:21trial nevertheless to denied the motion
- 8:25for continuance the defense had further
- 8:27requested that Swift and rowlet PD
- 8:30provide contact sheets related to the
- 8:33crime scene and evidence to distinguish
- 8:35where and when in which sequence the
- 8:38crime scene photos were taken
- 8:41subsequently Davis would reveal that
- 8:43nether organization used contact sheets
- 8:46this among other failures showed the
- 8:49lack of appropriate procedures used at
- 8:51the crime scene particularly as items
- 8:54had been moved
- 8:55around according to the book Hush little
- 8:58babies the trial was delayed for a short
- 9:01while as one of the jurors had gone
- 9:03awall and had been found sitting in the
- 9:06audience instead of being sequestered
- 9:08the juror had seen the preliminaries
- 9:11they were not supposed to see regardless
- 9:14they were reunited with the other 11
- 9:16jurors sworn in and the trial would
- 9:20commence the trial began like most of
- 9:23criminal trials with the prosecution's
- 9:26opening statement a telling piece that
- 9:28would perh APS foreshadow the direction
- 9:31of things to come Davis would launch a
- 9:3316 minute long tiod of defamatory
- 9:36remarks against dar's personal character
- 9:40despite the reading of the indictment
- 9:42only referring to the murder of Damon
- 9:45Davis constantly mentioned both boys
- 9:47murders throughout the trial he told the
- 9:50court that the evidence would show how
- 9:52the boys were murdered who murdered them
- 9:55and why he proceeded to tell the jury
- 9:58that darly was a self-centered
- 10:01materialistic and cold woman quote cold
- 10:05enough to kill her own two
- 10:07children he described Darren as a hard
- 10:09worker whose wife was living a lavish
- 10:12lifestyle beyond their means while he
- 10:15admitted that the couple was still doing
- 10:17well financially in
- 10:191996 that it was the birth of the
- 10:21couple's third child Drake that had
- 10:23changed the Dynamics at 5801 Eagle
- 10:27Drive on top of that the fact that darly
- 10:30was struggling to lose the baby weight
- 10:32she had gained which resulted in her
- 10:35turn into diet pills he further went on
- 10:38to say that Darren's business had
- 10:40started to quote flatten out as the year
- 10:43began he painted darly as a depressed
- 10:46attention seeking person whose kids were
- 10:49taking up too much of her time and
- 10:52further suggested that the lifestyle she
- 10:54had become accustomed to was slipping
- 10:56away which made her very angry
- 11:00he said that the couple had no savings
- 11:03no retirement fund and very little money
- 11:06in the bank and that they had been
- 11:08turned down for a loan just days before
- 11:10the
- 11:11murders he stated that darly had
- 11:14orchestrated the crime by sleeping
- 11:16downstairs with the two boys before
- 11:18stabbing them to death while they
- 11:21slept he went on to say there was no
- 11:23Intruder in the home that night and that
- 11:26Dary had inflicted deep wounds on the
- 11:29boys before inflicting superficial
- 11:31wounds on herself and staging the crime
- 11:35scene he said the evidence would show
- 11:38that the knife was not dropped on the
- 11:40floor of the utility room and that
- 11:43fibers from the screen found on a bread
- 11:45knife from a butcher block inside the
- 11:47home would show it was used to cut the
- 11:49window screen in the garage as part of
- 11:52the
- 11:54staging he ended by saying that the
- 11:57evidence would show Beyond any reason
- 11:59reasonable doubt that she is guilty of
- 12:01the capital murder of her 5-year-old son
- 12:03Damon
- 12:05Routier next up was the defense opening
- 12:08statement made by second chair Richard
- 12:11Moy he started by reminding the jury
- 12:14that the reading of the indictment was
- 12:16not evidence of
- 12:19guilt he told them that statements made
- 12:22by Dary whom was traumatized by seeing
- 12:24her children die and having her own
- 12:27throat slip were also not proof Beyond a
- 12:29reasonable doubt he said the couple were
- 12:32young and starting to make a successful
- 12:35life for themselves he said that life
- 12:37revolved around the three children and
- 12:40that various Child Focus items in and
- 12:43around the home suggested that he said
- 12:46that dar's life in particular revolved
- 12:48around her children and that friends and
- 12:51family and neighbors would all testify
- 12:53to
- 12:54that he further questioned the state's
- 12:57logic that a doating and loving mother
- 13:00would turn into a psychotic killer in
- 13:02the blink of an eye he further added
- 13:05that she did not only turn into a
- 13:07psychotic killer but also a forensic
- 13:10expert such that she could stage a whole
- 13:14crime scene too he said that the
- 13:16evidence of dar's wounds would show that
- 13:19they were defensive in nature and not
- 13:22self-inflicted as the state would
- 13:24suggest he further stated that the
- 13:27prosecution had failed told to mention a
- 13:29sock found 75 yards down an Alleyway
- 13:33behind the Routier home with both boys
- 13:36blood on
- 13:37it he further suggested it was
- 13:39ridiculous to think she had run down the
- 13:42alleyway to plant the sock he said that
- 13:45the evidence would show that from 6:00
- 13:47a.m. in the morning police had focused
- 13:50on darly they ignored any evidence
- 13:53pointing away from her including several
- 13:56reports about a black car seen around
- 13:58around the area on the night of the
- 14:01crime that had not been followed up and
- 14:04they had failed to identify it to this
- 14:06day he pointed to the states evidence
- 14:09and suggested that their Theory had
- 14:11changed several times they kept going
- 14:15back to the crime scene and conducted
- 14:18additional testing to fit their Ever
- 14:20Changing theories which were all focused
- 14:23on darly as the
- 14:25perpetrator he further suggested that
- 14:28the states interpretation of the
- 14:30evidence such as the mulch outside the
- 14:32cut screen and dust undisturbed on the
- 14:36window sill were false conclusions
- 14:38considering the placement and size of
- 14:40the window perhaps the most chilling
- 14:43part of the defense opening statement
- 14:46was when mosty stated to the court the
- 14:50true murderer is still on the streets
- 14:53day one of the trial was not going to be
- 14:56an easy day for anyone in the courtroom
- 14:58not least for Dary who had to relive the
- 15:01horrifying night her boys were murdered
- 15:04in the most graphic
- 15:06way the first witness called with the
- 15:09state were the medical examiners Janice
- 15:12towns imp parchment and Dr Joanie
- 15:15mlan according to the book Hush little
- 15:18babies this testimony was accompanied
- 15:21with Grizzly autopsy photos which were
- 15:25passed around the jury and when darly
- 15:27caught a glimpse she had grimaced and
- 15:30turned away Dr Joanie mlan had carried
- 15:34out the autopsy on Devon Routier in
- 15:37heartbreaking testimony she described
- 15:40receiving Devon's body wearing Power
- 15:42Ranger shorts along with a Power Ranger
- 15:45pillowcase and
- 15:47blanket she said that Devon weighed 46
- 15:51and measured 46 in a little under 4T
- 15:55tall he had suffered four sharp force
- 15:58injures injuries which she described in
- 16:00detail alongside a video depicting each
- 16:03wound she said that the mechanism of
- 16:06death was blood loss and he would have
- 16:08died within a few minutes up to 5
- 16:11minutes after his injuries were
- 16:14inflicted wound one was a stab wound to
- 16:16the upper left chest and went between
- 16:19the fourth and fifth ribs and went
- 16:21through the pulmonary artery the right
- 16:24lobe of the lung and perforated the
- 16:27right posterior chest between the
- 16:29posterior seventh and eighth ribs the
- 16:32wound penetrated 5 in and all the wounds
- 16:36went from front to back left to right
- 16:38with no up or down
- 16:40deviation she further noted that on
- 16:43wound one there was a sharp and a blunt
- 16:46angle that suggested to her that a
- 16:48single-edged blade had been used to
- 16:50inflict this wound mlan said that due to
- 16:54the child's ribs being softer because
- 16:56they had more cartilage than and adults
- 16:59that it wouldn't take much force to
- 17:01inflict the wounds to the
- 17:03chest wound two was another Stab Wound
- 17:07slightly lower on the chest and
- 17:09penetrated 2 and 1/2 in and went through
- 17:12the right e rib and right intercostal
- 17:15muscle and went into the right lung
- 17:18wound free was an incise wound to the
- 17:21left forearm and was 1 and 1/4 in in
- 17:24length with an estimated penetration of
- 17:271/8 of an inch wound four was a stub
- 17:31wound 1 and 1/2 in into the left midline
- 17:34of the left leg the wound was 3/4 of an
- 17:38inch in length and 3/4 of an inch
- 17:41penetration when asked by the
- 17:43prosecution if Devon could have made a
- 17:46noise after receiving those stab wounds
- 17:49the doctor said that it was possible and
- 17:51that his wounds would not have precluded
- 17:54him from doing so she further estimated
- 17:57that Devon would have survived no longer
- 18:00than 5 minutes after his injuries were
- 18:03inflicted under cross examination Dr
- 18:06mlan said that she could only determine
- 18:09that one of the wounds were inflicted
- 18:11with a single-edged knife and that a
- 18:13double-edge knife could not be ruled out
- 18:16in the three other
- 18:18wounds she conceded that she could not
- 18:20say with certainty all the injuries were
- 18:24caused with the same
- 18:27instrument addition only Dar and Damon's
- 18:30blood was found on the
- 18:32knife which could indicate that a second
- 18:35weapon was used however as only four
- 18:39samples were taken from the knife it is
- 18:42possible that the testing was not far
- 18:44enough to find it she concluded that
- 18:48there was no way to tell in which order
- 18:50the wounds were inflicted she further
- 18:52added that a determination could not be
- 18:55made on either the width or the length
- 18:57of the knife refused to inflict the
- 19:00wounds she explained that this was due
- 19:03to the lines of ler and the loosening of
- 19:05the skin tissue on the
- 19:07surface therefore the only conclusions
- 19:10that can be made is the depth the knife
- 19:12had penetrated the body which is not an
- 19:15accurate measurement of the size of the
- 19:18knife
- 19:20used under redirect she said that the
- 19:23knife in question States exhibit number
- 19:2667 could have been used used to inflict
- 19:29wounds one and two and there was nothing
- 19:32to exclude it from being the murder
- 19:34weapon however under recross she said
- 19:38that although it was a possibility she
- 19:40could not say it was the knife used just
- 19:43that it was
- 19:46consistent she went on to say that she
- 19:48had been asked by investigators to look
- 19:51for previous signs of child abuse she
- 19:55admitted that Devon was a good weight
- 19:57for a boy of his age
- 19:58she found no broken bones or healing
- 20:01wounds or any signs of previous injury
- 20:04besides the wounds that caused his
- 20:07death she concluded that she did not
- 20:10find any signs of child abuse this was
- 20:13also true for Damon and a subject we
- 20:16will return to later in the series when
- 20:18we look at filicide
- 20:21research it was the state's contention
- 20:23that Devon was stabbed by darly and died
- 20:26where he lay sleeping
- 20:29there are several physical Clues at the
- 20:31crime scene and autopsy that debunk this
- 20:33notion if we look at the position of
- 20:36Devon's pillow it is facing towards the
- 20:39television which is where Darren said he
- 20:41was positioned when he had last seen him
- 20:44the evening
- 20:45before however Devon's body was found
- 20:49lying face up with his feet towards the
- 20:51sofa darly was sleeping
- 20:54on moreover the blood pattern down the
- 20:57front of Devon's short shorts slows down
- 20:59the front towards his feet and towards
- 21:01the ground meaning when he was bleeding
- 21:05he was in an upright
- 21:07position it has been speculated that the
- 21:10blood on his shorts came about through
- 21:12Darren's attempts at
- 21:15CPR however Darren testified that blood
- 21:18spurted out of his chest which would
- 21:21have created a spatter or cast off
- 21:23pattern we see on Devon Short's
- 21:26saturation of blood and the flow
- 21:29indicating blood was running for a
- 21:31period of time down the front of his
- 21:33shorts furthermore I believed that if
- 21:36Devon was on the carpet he would have
- 21:39some scrapes or marks to his back
- 21:43additionally there were no defects in
- 21:45Devon's comforter and none of the fibers
- 21:48found on the knife belonged to the
- 21:50comforter on the contrary both fibers
- 21:53from dar's night shirt and from Damon's
- 21:56t-shirt were found on the murder weapon
- 21:59further indicating the possibility of a
- 22:02second weapon and even a second
- 22:05perpetrator let us look at the angles of
- 22:07Devon's wounds for darly to have stabbed
- 22:10him lying down she would have had to
- 22:13have stood on or aside his left leg and
- 22:16arm and twisted her body over to the
- 22:20left his wounds went front to back left
- 22:24to right with no up or down
- 22:26deviation
- 22:28darly would have needed to lean to her
- 22:30left in an unnatural angle and stubbed
- 22:34at a slight
- 22:35angle a video created by blood spatter
- 22:39expert Tom Beville who would later
- 22:41testify for the state shows him
- 22:44reenacting a stabbing motion to create
- 22:46blood patterns on the shirt he suggested
- 22:49that to achieve the blood patterns on
- 22:51the shirt that she would be standing
- 22:53over him stabbing in a clean front to
- 22:56back stabbing motion
- 22:58how do you get an angled Stab Wound from
- 23:00a straight on stab this was a criticism
- 23:04of blood spatter analysis later
- 23:06mentioned by Dr Deo that it does not
- 23:09consider the different types of wounds
- 23:12the difference between individual people
- 23:14and circumstances of
- 23:17events Darren stated he was blowing into
- 23:20Devon's chest and blood had sprayed out
- 23:23he said that while he was doing this
- 23:25Dary had brought a towel over to Devon
- 23:27and was trying to hold his wounds close
- 23:30where was she when you were blowing into
- 23:32his mouth right over the top of him what
- 23:35was she doing she was trying to stop the
- 23:38bleeding she was trying to hold his
- 23:40chest together many have speculated that
- 23:43this was a lie made up by Darren prior
- 23:46to trial to cover for Dary however
- 23:49according to Larry bford the ENT that
- 23:52rode with Dary to the hospital he
- 23:55recalled Dary telling him she had given
- 23:57SE CPR to one of the boys you've told us
- 24:01about the defendant's comments about
- 24:03when are we going to get to the hospital
- 24:06do you recall her making any other
- 24:08statement or was she relatively quiet on
- 24:11the way down there she had remarked once
- 24:14about doing CPR on one of the boys
- 24:17neither Dary nor Darren knew that Dary
- 24:20was a suspect at this point and had no
- 24:23clue about the state's case how could
- 24:26they preempt such a lie darly further
- 24:30mentioned in her first written statement
- 24:32that she had put a towel on Damon's back
- 24:35however she did not go into detail about
- 24:38wetting towels or her first aid
- 24:41attempts again it is likely that this
- 24:44seemed insignificant to the routiers at
- 24:47the time that they were unaware that the
- 24:49police were looking at darly as a
- 24:52suspect after all bloody towels were
- 24:55strewn all over the crime scene surely
- 24:58they did not need to explain them also
- 25:01if everything that happened their own
- 25:03CPR attempts were the least of their
- 25:06worries in addition they had never been
- 25:08asked or prompted by police or
- 25:11investigators in regards to the tows or
- 25:14the kitchen sink we further see that
- 25:17this is because investigators were
- 25:19forming their own theories and were not
- 25:22attempting to corroborate dar's version
- 25:24of events with the physical evidence
- 25:26that the crime scene
- 25:28the state suggested that darly did
- 25:31nothing to help the boys as they lay
- 25:33dying and that she stayed by the kitchen
- 25:36bar tending to her own
- 25:38wounds however the state's own DNA
- 25:41testing found that both Dar and Devon's
- 25:44blood on Devon's pillow meaning darly
- 25:47was actively bleeding around Devon this
- 25:50further supports dar's account that she
- 25:53had been given Aid to Devon while she
- 25:55herself was actively bleeding
- 25:58which was further confirmed in Darren
- 26:00rouer's later testimony when he
- 26:02described darly running back and forth
- 26:05between the boys with towels on a post
- 26:08tral episode of the Lisa Gibbons show on
- 26:11dar's case juror reene away amongst many
- 26:15other ignorant and bizarre comments
- 26:17claimed that Devon received the wound on
- 26:20the back of his leg when he was quote
- 26:22lying on his back kicking the crap out
- 26:25of her this comment is not only ignorant
- 26:29but it makes no logical sense Devon had
- 26:32no other knife wounds on his lower body
- 26:35or his feet if Devon was soall kicking
- 26:38the crap out of darly as she was
- 26:40stabbing him his defensive wounds would
- 26:43have been present in that area by
- 26:46contrast Devon's defensive wound was on
- 26:48his arm more consistent with him being
- 26:51in an upright position when considering
- 26:54that the arm wound was said to be
- 26:56related to chest wound
- 26:59one a fact further confirmed By Janice
- 27:03Town's EMP parchment when she spoke of
- 27:05the nature of defensive
- 27:07wounds they're also seen on the
- 27:11forearms sometimes if the person winds
- 27:13up essentially fighting off the as
- 27:15salent with his or her legs you'll see
- 27:19them on the feet and the lower legs
- 27:21moreover the single wound to the back of
- 27:24Devon's leg has rounded edges and signs
- 27:27of hemorrhaging around the entrance
- 27:29which indicates blunt force trauma from
- 27:32an object that broke the
- 27:34skin it is common that these types of
- 27:37injuries can be miscategorized due to
- 27:39the fact that they can appear like stab
- 27:42wounds when looking at the crime scene
- 27:45the only item that has a sharp enough
- 27:47Edge to create this type of wound is the
- 27:49glass table Daren said in his earlier
- 27:53police statement that the table was
- 27:55knocked over we further see from the
- 27:58crime scene photos that the glass table
- 28:01is not in line with the base which
- 28:03indicates that someone had placed the
- 28:05glass back onto the base in a halfhazard
- 28:09way this was also confirmed in Darren's
- 28:12later trial testimony when asked about
- 28:14the table he
- 28:16said where was the table the table was
- 28:20completely down it was Fallen the
- 28:22flowers are completely fallen off the
- 28:24table when asked if the table was just
- 28:27slightly a skew Darren reiterated that
- 28:30the tabletop was off the base no it
- 28:34wasn't on its base it was completely
- 28:36down to the ground he further added that
- 28:39the paramedic who attended to Devon had
- 28:42moved the top back onto the base to make
- 28:45room to give him first
- 28:47aid in addition we see blood which was
- 28:51later revealed to be dar's had rolled
- 28:54down the table indicating the table was
- 28:56turned over while Dary was
- 28:59bleeding the table is on the right side
- 29:02of Dary as she got up and her arm was
- 29:04already bleeding considerably at this
- 29:07time the state further contended that
- 29:10darly had knocked the table over as part
- 29:12of the Stag however if Dar was already
- 29:15bleeding when she staged the table there
- 29:18would have been far more blood bloody
- 29:21smears and even dar's bloody
- 29:23fingerprints instead we see the blood
- 29:26had hit the table and his dripping down
- 29:28the
- 29:29tabletop considering this evidence it is
- 29:32more probable that the glass table had
- 29:34been knocked over and it is my belief it
- 29:38occurred during the struggle as Devon
- 29:40had gotten up to go to Dary on the
- 29:43sofa next up to testify was Janice
- 29:46Town's imp parchment who had carried out
- 29:49Damon rouer's autopsy and had inspected
- 29:52dar's wounds at the hospital at the
- 29:55request of the rowet PD
- 29:58she recalled that she only received
- 30:00Damon's body along with the t-shirt that
- 30:03had been cut away with one or more
- 30:06defects however she could not remember
- 30:08if the defects were on the front or the
- 30:10back of the Garment she stated that
- 30:13Damon weighed 40b and measured 43 in in
- 30:17length he had suffered six wounds
- 30:20included four stab wounds and two incise
- 30:23wounds which she also described in
- 30:25detail along with photo phot and videos
- 30:28of the autopsy wound one was an incised
- 30:31wound which measured 1/8 of an inch in
- 30:34depth wound two was another incise wound
- 30:37that measured 3/4 of an inch in depth
- 30:41wound one was a stub wound which
- 30:44perforated the left eighth rib and the
- 30:47left seventh intercostal muscle and
- 30:49penetrated the lung wound two was
- 30:52another Stab Wound which went through
- 30:54the rate rib and into the intercostal
- 30:56muscle and penetrated the lung 3/4 of an
- 31:00inch wound three was a stub wound that
- 31:03went through the eighth intercostal
- 31:05muscle between the right eighth and
- 31:07Ninth ribs and was 1 and 7/8 of an inch
- 31:11wound four was another Stab Wound going
- 31:14through the intercostal musculature
- 31:17through the right lung the diaphragm and
- 31:19into the liver with a max depth of
- 31:21penetration of 3
- 31:23in she testified that Damon's wounds
- 31:26were consistent with a single-edged
- 31:28knife with one sharp edge and one blunt
- 31:31Edge she went on to say that the butcher
- 31:34knife was consistent with the injuries
- 31:37inflicted on Damon she further stated
- 31:40that his wounds would have oozed rather
- 31:42than gushed blood as no major blood
- 31:45vessels were cut she stated that Damon
- 31:48would not have died instantly and that
- 31:51he could have walked 10 to 15 ft after
- 31:54all four stab wounds had been inflicted
- 31:57she conceded that he would also have
- 31:59been able to make noise and that it is
- 32:02not until significant blood loss occurs
- 32:05that a person loses Consciousness until
- 32:07such a time they are still able to move
- 32:10around and make noise she conceded that
- 32:14Damon could have survived as much as 8
- 32:16to 9 minutes when asked if the kitchen
- 32:19knife was consistent with Damon's
- 32:21injuries she said that it could not be
- 32:24ruled out and that it was consistent
- 32:26with the wound
- 32:28however under cross-examination she said
- 32:31that the wounds could also be consistent
- 32:33with several other knives including
- 32:36pocket knives buck knives and kitchen
- 32:39knives she explained that this was
- 32:41because the portion of the blade can be
- 32:44less than the wound tract left behind
- 32:47she further acknowledged that it can
- 32:49also be dependent on motion the motion
- 32:52of the body in addition to the motion of
- 32:54the knife and conceded that Damon's
- 32:57injuries could have been inflicted with
- 33:00a much smaller knife or
- 33:02instrument she went on to say that there
- 33:04was no way of knowing if all the wounds
- 33:07were inflicted with the same instrument
- 33:10or if they were inflicted by the same
- 33:13perpetrator Greg Davis took this
- 33:16opportunity to try and purport the
- 33:18theory that Damon had been stabbed first
- 33:21as he lay asleep and then again when he
- 33:24had reached the hallway where he was
- 33:26found
- 33:27after all how would they explain the
- 33:30sock down the alleyway with both Devon
- 33:32and Damon's blood on it and reconcile it
- 33:35with the 9 Minute upper limit time frame
- 33:37given by the medical examiner darly was
- 33:40on the phone to 911 for over 5 minutes
- 33:43which could give darly but a few minutes
- 33:46to run 75 yds down the alleyway to drop
- 33:49the sock run back to the house another
- 33:5275 yards slick the screen in the garage
- 33:55Put The Knife back in the knife block
- 33:58slit her own throat stub herself in the
- 34:00arm twice once to the Bone make another
- 34:04scrape marks and scratches on her body
- 34:07smash the wine glass on the floor
- 34:09without taking it out of the wine rack
- 34:12cleaning up the kitchen sink but leaving
- 34:14blood all over it throwing over the
- 34:17Hoover turning over the glass table and
- 34:20calling Darren furthermore the
- 34:23prosecution's theory does not consider
- 34:26that if Damon was not mortally wounded
- 34:28at this point he would have been able to
- 34:31go to get help with Darren or even
- 34:33possibly gone out into the street whilst
- 34:36sty was away from the house which begs
- 34:39the question if Dary had stabbed the
- 34:41boys why leave Damon alive when calling
- 34:45911 Jack Colby the paramedic who
- 34:48attended to Damon at the scene said that
- 34:50he saw the light fade in his eyes after
- 34:53working on him for 2 minutes inside the
- 34:55home which was after the 911 call had
- 34:59ended this would leave Dary around a
- 35:02minute to do all the above which is
- 35:05physically impossible even with the
- 35:07prosecution's theory that Damon was
- 35:09stubbed a second time it would only give
- 35:12her an extra minute which again is
- 35:16impossible this was as mostly said in
- 35:19the opening statement a part of the
- 35:21state's Ever Changing Theory to try and
- 35:24make the evidence fit when asked by the
- 35:27prosecution if the wounds could have
- 35:29been inflicted at a separate time she
- 35:32stated that it was possible however
- 35:35under Rec she stated that there was
- 35:37nothing to suggest that the wounds had
- 35:40been inflicted at different times there
- 35:42was really no way of knowing this was
- 35:46just one example of the prosecution's
- 35:48use of speculation and wild theories
- 35:51that were unsupported and ungrounded in
- 35:54fact or physical evidence
- 35:57while we cannot tell from the autopsy
- 35:59whether Damon was attacked in separate
- 36:02locations we can look at whether the
- 36:04physical evidence at the crime scene
- 36:06supports this if we look at the area
- 36:09where Damon was found it is close to a
- 36:12wall meaning if Damon had been stabbed a
- 36:14second time at this location there
- 36:17should be evidence of cast off or signs
- 36:20of a struggle in that area the only
- 36:23blood found on that wall was higher up
- 36:26and that was
- 36:27as she switched on the light once she
- 36:29was already bleeding
- 36:31significantly which further supports her
- 36:33account that after picking up the knife
- 36:36she went back to the family room and
- 36:38turned on the light Damon's blood was
- 36:41not found on the light switch if Dary
- 36:44had stabbed him next to the wall we
- 36:46should see a mixture of both dar's and
- 36:49Damon's Blood on the light switch the
- 36:52perpetrator would likely have the
- 36:54victim's blood at least on their
- 36:56dominant hand Dary would likely have
- 36:58transferred Damon's blood to both the
- 37:01light switch and the knife handle had
- 37:03she been the one who had stabbed him DNA
- 37:06analyst Caroline vanwinkle testified
- 37:09that the handle contained a possible
- 37:11mixture of darly and one of the boy's
- 37:15blood however her DNA report states that
- 37:18dar's blood was the only blood found on
- 37:21the knife handle once again the
- 37:24investigators were trying to collect
- 37:26idence to fit their Theory instead their
- 37:29own DNA testing did little to
- 37:32incriminate Dar and in fact supports
- 37:35dar's recollection of events many social
- 37:38media commentators that believe in dar's
- 37:41guilt have further questioned whether
- 37:43Damon could have even walked at all to
- 37:46where he was
- 37:48found disqualifying the obvious that
- 37:51Damon was found some feet from where he
- 37:53originally lay indicating he walked to
- 37:56where he was found there are several
- 37:59other clues that refute this if we look
- 38:02at Damon's injuries along with the jeans
- 38:05he was wearing we see again just like
- 38:08Devon shorts there is blood that runs
- 38:10down the back of Damon's jeans to the
- 38:12point of
- 38:14saturation meaning that Damon was in an
- 38:16upright position for a period of time
- 38:19whilst he was actively bleeding the
- 38:22first responding officer David wle
- 38:25stated that Damon was laying on the
- 38:27floor by the wall when he arrived at the
- 38:29scene in addition there was a bloody
- 38:32child's handprint in Damon's blood found
- 38:34in the family room in the area where
- 38:37Damon had fallen asleep which indicates
- 38:40that Damon had gotten up after he was
- 38:42already stabbed and bleeding this was
- 38:45further confirmed by Toby Shook on an
- 38:47episode of death R Stories the youngest
- 38:51one put down a bloody handprint in the
- 38:53carpet to help himself
- 38:55up several DNA samples also revealed
- 38:59that Dary was bleeding in the same area
- 39:02at the same time as Damon dar's blood
- 39:05was found on both the front and back of
- 39:07Damon's jeans and both Damon's and dar's
- 39:11blood was found on the couch that darly
- 39:13had slept on and in the area Damon had
- 39:16gone to
- 39:17sleep this supports dar's version of
- 39:20events and further shows that Dary was
- 39:23close to Damon and that she had tried to
- 39:25help her boy
- 39:27as she herself was severely injured and
- 39:30actively
- 39:32bleeding Dr Townson parment went on to
- 39:35say that she had taken and sent blood
- 39:37samples to the top floor criminal
- 39:40investigations lab for
- 39:42analysis she further stated that
- 39:45although she took Damon's Footprints she
- 39:47did not take his fingerprints or Palm
- 39:51Impressions a detail that would become
- 39:53of great importance in relation to the
- 39:55friend IC evidence at the crime scene
- 39:59and more importantly in showing the
- 40:01presence of an intruder and thus
- 40:04supporting dar's claims of
- 40:06Innocence she claimed the reason she did
- 40:09not take fingerprints is because they do
- 40:12not usually take them at such a young
- 40:14age however in one photo we see that
- 40:17Devon's left hand was bagged by the
- 40:20coroners and Damon's hands were also
- 40:23bagged at the
- 40:24hospital victim's hand f are bagged to
- 40:27preserve possible crucial forensic
- 40:29evidence particularly in a close contact
- 40:32to T why would you go to the effort of
- 40:36preserving evidence if you are not going
- 40:38to test it in addition the investigators
- 40:41knew that they had a bloody fingerprint
- 40:43found on a coffee table behind the North
- 40:46End sofa of the family room it would
- 40:49have been their job to request the
- 40:50doctor take the Fingerprints of the boys
- 40:53for comparison
- 40:55purposes this further shows that either
- 40:58they had already made up their minds
- 41:00that Dary was guilty or they were
- 41:02inexperienced in homicide and crime
- 41:05scene investigation or both the defense
- 41:09did not ask if she took any nail
- 41:11scrapings something I would expect would
- 41:14be of particular interest in that the
- 41:16boys were murdered in a close contact
- 41:18attack and there may have been DNA
- 41:21evidence of the perpetrator Left Behind
- 41:24similarly they did not take finger nail
- 41:26scrapings from
- 41:28darly Patterson had claimed at the bond
- 41:31hearing that darly did not have any
- 41:33nails so he did not attempt to take any
- 41:36however fingernail scrapings are taken
- 41:38from underneath the free edge of the
- 41:40nail and can be found even under very
- 41:43short nails Dary had said that she was
- 41:46in a struggle with the suspect again
- 41:48making it a possibility that she had
- 41:50some of the perpetrator's DNA underneath
- 41:53her fingernails Rich prer asked darly
- 41:56about this on a visit to Gatesville she
- 41:59stated that they did take fingernail
- 42:01scrapings but she did not hear of any
- 42:04testing or results relating to the
- 42:07sample this further points to the fact
- 42:10that the investigators were not looking
- 42:12for an intruder and therefore felt they
- 42:15did not need to run the appropriate
- 42:17tests that would be carried out in any
- 42:19other homicide case it has been reported
- 42:23by many over the years that Devon was
- 42:25stabbed all the way through his body
- 42:28however neither boy had any Exit Wounds
- 42:30which completely debunks the statement
- 42:32made by first responding officer wad in
- 42:35an interview with wner Herzog for the
- 42:38documentary on death row they were
- 42:41stabbed hard enough to where the knife
- 42:43went through their body and actually
- 42:45chipped the concrete floor underneath
- 42:47them he said this has fur been echoed by
- 42:51prosecutor Toby Shook on an episode of
- 42:54death R stories when describing Devon's
- 42:57injuries he stated 6-year-old Devon
- 43:00rutier had two devastating wounds to his
- 43:03chest they went completely through his
- 43:06body he was impaled by a large knife
- 43:10while some of the boy's wounds were
- 43:12indeed deep there is no evidence in the
- 43:15autopsy to support these
- 43:18statements this raises the question as
- 43:20to the motive of the prosecutors and law
- 43:23enforcement in this case is it just
- 43:26Chinese Whispers where a story becomes
- 43:28more exaggerated or completely different
- 43:31over time or is it a deliberate attempt
- 43:34to distort the truth and perpetuate The
- 43:37Narrative of darly as the folk devil the
- 43:40worst of the worst a mother who killed
- 43:43her own flesh and blood in the most
- 43:46brutal way one of the main tenants of
- 43:49the state's case against Dary was that
- 43:51while the boy's injuries were deep and
- 43:54penetrating dar's were superficial
- 43:57surface wounds they called several
- 43:59witnesses to show that dar's wounds were
- 44:02not only superficial but that she
- 44:05herself had inflicted them to be
- 44:08continued
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