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The Darley Routier Trial: Examining Evidence and Theories Surrounding the Double Homicide — Transcript

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0:00foreign
0:04[Music]
0:14had it all
0:18a big Texas house
0:20[Music]
0:24and even bigger dreams
0:28then someone took it all away
0:34in a Savage instant two young boys are
0:36murdered as we walked into the den you
0:39can see the blood stains on the carpet
0:41their mother's throat slashed
0:45these boys meant to kill Darley who did
0:48this the hunt for a killer is on
0:51[Music]
0:53drops of blood tiny fibers Left Behind
0:56marked the Killer's Trail
0:59We performed over a hundred DNA analysis
1:02in this case as evidence is found
1:04different theories emerge
1:07Tangled plots are uncovered that tell a
1:09tale of greed and betrayal beneath the
1:12surface you had real problems
1:15I did not murder my kids
1:18he is a sociopathic and pathological
1:20liar
1:22[Music]
1:24will forensic science catch a killer or
1:27frame an innocent victim
1:31[Music]
1:40[Music]
1:46June 6 1996
1:49a quiet night in Rowlett Texas is torn
1:52by Sirens oh my God
2:01I need you to talk to me
2:03[Applause]
2:06I can't understand you you're gonna have
2:07to slow down calm down and talk to me
2:11what is going on
2:12a 911
2:15Eagle Drive
2:19[Music]
2:22thank you
2:24stop right there I'm gonna stab my
2:26children my wife we'll take another step
2:28stop right there someone is not my
2:30children all right all right show me
2:34oh my God
2:36[Music]
2:38come on
2:46we did this
2:48where are they you're still hot in the
2:50garage I've been come look at what they
2:51did to me if they don't get here soon
2:53they're gonna be dead
2:58Devin Routier is six years old his
3:01brother Damon just five they've both
3:04been savagely stabbed in their sleep
3:07darling Routier their mother is bleeding
3:09from a jagged wound on her neck
3:13detective Jim Patterson headed the
3:15investigation I received a call from
3:18dispatch telling me that there had been
3:21a couple of boys stabbed along with
3:24their mother they also explained to me
3:27that they had one on the ground but when
3:30you tell an officer that you have one on
3:32the ground that to us is they're chasing
3:35somebody on foot
3:42Lieutenant Dave Nabors was in charge of
3:45the crime scene you know you can't help
3:47but think about walking into that scene
3:48for the first time and seeing Devin
3:51laying there on the floor looking up at
3:53the ceiling
3:54you know that's something she'll never
3:55forget
3:58Devin is already dead stabbed twice in
4:01the chest puncturing his heart
4:04his brother Damon stabbed six times
4:07through his back his lung and liver
4:09pierced is still breathing when
4:11paramedics arrive
4:13he's rushed to hospital
4:16but is Dead on Arrival
4:30initially darley's story is very
4:32straightforward
4:34she tells police that it was a hot night
4:36and that she and her two sons were
4:38sleeping in the living room to try and
4:40escape the Heat
4:42her husband Darren an eight-month-old
4:44son were upstairs
4:47[Music]
5:13awesome
5:14Charlie tells officers at the scene that
5:17startled from her sleep she struggled
5:19with an intruder then chased him through
5:21the house
5:25a glass shatters to the floor
5:33he drops a bloody knife on the way
5:38and then the man disappears into the
5:40garage
5:44darley's throat has been cut
5:46her boys have been stabbed
5:55she yells for her husband
6:03then calls 9-1-1
6:06[Music]
6:10by the time Darren Routier gets to the
6:13living room it's too late
6:17[Music]
6:20bleeding from a Savage neck wound darlie
6:22Routier is rushed to the closest major
6:24Hospital the Baylor University Medical
6:27Center in nearby Dallas
6:30been at three o'clock in the morning I
6:32got a phone call and it was the nurse
6:34across the street and she blurted out
6:37that Devin and Damon were dead and that
6:39Darley was dying
6:41with Darley fighting for her life
6:43investigators start combing the house
6:45for Clues the best chance they have to
6:48catch the Killer is to move fast
6:53Greg Davis was the assistant district
6:55attorney for the roulette area from the
6:58very first moment that we walked in the
6:59home it was obvious that the blood
7:01evidence would be key in this case
7:06carpet is soaked in blood
7:11there are signs of a violent struggle
7:16the trail continues in the kitchen
7:20the murder weapon left behind
7:25a boot print has been preserved in blood
7:31a torn screen is discovered in the
7:33garage
7:35a blood-stained sock is found in the
7:37alley behind the house
7:46and there are reports that a
7:47dark-colored sedan was cruising the area
7:49just before the attack
7:52it all paints a picture of a killer on
7:55the Run
7:59while Darley is in surgery police begin
8:02their search for a brutal killer
8:14routine police investigation finds that
8:17Darley and Darren Routier were high
8:19school sweethearts I'll get a better
8:21sleep down here oh you're going upstairs
8:23got an early day in 1996 Darren was
8:26running a successful business in
8:28computer parts
8:30I love you sweetie
8:32Darley did the books
8:34they had three children a big Texas
8:37house and by all accounts a close
8:40relationship
8:48[Music]
8:51but on that hot June night in 1996
8:54things would change forever
8:58by 6 AM her house is a crime scene
9:13[Music]
9:17her two oldest sons are dead and she is
9:20badly wounded
9:24Dr Vincent demaio is the chief medical
9:26examiner for Bear County Texas what she
9:29had was an incised wound a cut or a
9:32slashing wound of the right side of the
9:37neck that went downward towards the left
9:40side and then there was another cut on
9:42the front of her left shoulder which
9:45could very well have been a continuation
9:47of this and she also had a very deep
9:50Stab Wound of a ripe forearm where the
9:53blade actually went down to the bone
9:56when a doctor came in a couple hours
9:58later
10:00I remember him holding my hand and
10:02telling me
10:03that the throat wound came within one
10:06millimeter of her carotid artery that's
10:09like the thickness of a cigarette paper
10:12and if that would have penetrated that
10:14Darley would be dead
10:16in the days to come enormous bruises
10:18stretching from her wrist to her
10:20shoulders would emerge on darley's arms
10:24they're the injuries of a woman who was
10:26fighting for her life
10:29detective Jim Patterson is a lead
10:31investigator on the case
10:33hours after the attack he talks to
10:36Darley as she recovers in hospital I met
10:38with Darley about
10:40four hours after the incident at the
10:44house I met with her at the hospital
10:45Darley can you tell me what happened up
10:47the house
10:50to start at the beginning
10:55she was alert
10:57she was conscious she knew exactly what
10:59she was saying
11:02I woke up and I saw the someone standing
11:06over me with enough in his hands
11:19then he just walked off through the
11:22kitchen
11:23to the utility room
11:28that's all I am dropped the knife and I
11:32picked it up
11:34that probably
11:36shouldn't have done that
11:38I put the knife on the kitchen counter
11:43then I saw something standing in the
11:45hallway
11:49and Devin was just just lying there
11:55and I called 9-1-1
11:59it's a slightly different story than she
12:01first gave police
12:06and Darley can only provide sketchy
12:08details of her attacker
12:10he wore black clothes had bushy hair and
12:13a baseball cap
12:15it's all police have to go on
12:22[Music]
12:27that position
12:31armed with darley's statement police
12:33searched for evidence that corroborates
12:35darley's story of an intruder
12:37[Music]
12:40that's exactly where I found it when I
12:43came in
12:43Rowlett police call in James cron a
12:46former member of the Dallas County
12:48Sheriff's Department KRON is now a crime
12:51scene consultant who has investigated
12:53more than twenty thousand crime scenes
12:56first thing we did in standard step is
12:59to do a walk through and that is a very
13:03careful walk where you do nothing touch
13:06nothing but accept observe the scene
13:10they begin their investigation in the
13:13blood-soaked family room
13:15what they find is a puzzling collection
13:17of Clues
13:20if Darley was attacked while she slept
13:23on the couch why is there hardly any
13:25blood on the pillow
13:28couch below isn't ripped or torn
13:34in the kitchen
13:36shards of broken glass litter the floor
13:41heard a glass break as the Intruder ran
13:45through the kitchen she Then followed
13:47after the intruder And yet when we got
13:49there and we looked at it her bloody
13:51Footprints are underneath the glass that
13:54was supposedly broken before she ever
13:57ran through
13:58the kitchen now that didn't make any
14:00sense
14:03even more perplexing only one bloody
14:06boot print is found
14:08but the Blood Trail Ends there
14:10[Music]
14:12is no blood at all in the garage
14:14[Music]
14:19small collection of darley's jewelry
14:21sits on a counter in the kitchen
14:23if this was a robbery why wasn't it
14:25taken
14:27the clues are even more confusing
14:28outside the house beginning with a
14:31bloody sock that is discovered in the
14:33alley we determined that sock actually
14:35came from inside the root to your home
14:37we were able to match some of the fibers
14:39on that sock to tennis shoes belonging
14:42to Darren
14:44the blood on the Darren routier's sock
14:46is eventually matched to that of the two
14:48murdered boys but how did it get there
14:51[Music]
14:53did you notice any bloody Footprints
14:57nothing it was completely unmarked
15:00this gate was closed uh-huh that's right
15:03but the hinges are out I think it's held
15:06together by a wire here
15:09fun finds no sign of a frantic getaway
15:13if the Intruder left through the garage
15:15and the Bloody sock is in the alley cron
15:18should be able to find evidence that the
15:19Intruder came through here but he can't
15:23uh began about 30 minutes
15:26and the Raleigh Police did too that we
15:29felt like there was no Intruder so we
15:31had to focus on who was in the house
15:33okay well it's obvious that the infant
15:36didn't didn't kill his brothers and stab
15:38his mother so then you have to look at
15:39the husband
15:47Darren I know it's been a horrible night
15:51you know I really love darling she is so
15:55beautiful don't you think
15:57Darren comes up to me and and this is
16:00the first thing he says he talks about
16:02how
16:03big his wife's breasts are he talks
16:06about how pretty his wife is he talks
16:09about that this is the biggest thing
16:11that's ever happened in the city of
16:12Rowlett he doesn't ask me about his
16:16children
16:17so I just found his actions to be a
16:19little strange beautiful you know it
16:22leads Patterson to another horrifying
16:24Theory
16:31perhaps Darren Routier himself
16:35had murdered his own children
16:46within days of the murder of their two
16:48children both Darren and Darley Routier
16:50are brought to the roulette police
16:52station
16:57it takes them more than an hour to fill
16:59out voluntary statements about what
17:01happened the night of the murders
17:06Darren repeats the version of events he
17:08told police at the scene
17:10that he was asleep when he heard Darley
17:12screaming for help
17:15he rushed downstairs but was too late to
17:18save his children
17:21[Music]
17:25Darlene's story though starts to change
17:33[Music]
17:35the next thing I wake up and I feel
17:37pressure on me
17:39I felt Damon press on my right shoulder
17:41and I heard him cry
17:44this made me really come awake and
17:46realize that there was a man standing
17:47down at my feet walking away from me
17:50walked after him
17:53heard glass breaking
17:55ran turned on the light I ran back
17:58towards the utility room realized that
18:01there was a big white handled knife
18:02laying on the floor
18:04it was then I realized I had blood all
18:07over me and I grabbed the knives I ran
18:10back through the kitchen and realized
18:12that the entire living room had blood
18:13all over it everything I put the knife
18:16back on the counter and I ran to the
18:17entrance turned on the light and I
18:19started screaming for Darren
18:22it's the most detailed description yet
18:24of what happened and it's not the same
18:26story she told Patterson at the hospital
18:28we understand that people are going to
18:30change some of their stories you know it
18:33might have been a black corn stood of a
18:35blue car that kind of stuff but you
18:36don't change the whole dynamics of it
18:38and that's what she did in darling's new
18:41version there is no struggle with the
18:42Intruder darley's youngest boy was awake
18:46and standing by her shoulder
18:49there are important differences which
18:51make investigators take a very close
18:53look at the crime scene
18:58evidence from the rootier house is
19:00starting to pour in
19:02[Music]
19:05we held the scene for 13 days we process
19:07actively processed it for 11 days
19:10so we were very thorough if there was a
19:13book we flipped through every page if
19:15there was a picture it came off the wall
19:16they analyzed everything they could
19:19possibly analyze they fingerprinted the
19:21entire house they took the carpet they
19:23took the kitchen sink We performed over
19:26a hundred DNA analysis in this case
19:35if there was a struggle between Darley
19:37and her Intruder as she first told
19:39officers there should be long thin lines
19:42of blood along the ground on the walls
19:45these splatters would have been thrown
19:46off as a bleeding Darley fought with the
19:48intruder
19:50but investigators can't find any such
19:52blood splatters
19:57if Darley had chased her attacker
19:59through the house when she was wounded
20:01she would have left long thin streaks of
20:03blood behind
20:05blood falling from a moving object such
20:08as someone running leaves an elongated
20:10Mark not a round blood stain
20:13investigators can't find any of these
20:15marks either
20:16in the utility room where Darley says
20:19the killer threw the knife down there is
20:21blood
20:22but that too doesn't look like it should
20:27what we did after the knife had been
20:28processed for Leighton prints and DNA
20:30evidences we we've got the original
20:32knife brought it back to the house and
20:33and got two units of blood we put Blood
20:36on the knife we use the same floor and
20:39we dropped a knife from different
20:40heights to see what type of blood
20:41patterns that that would leave on it
20:45we found that we saw a very distinct
20:47v-shaped pattern each and every time
20:49that we dropped the knife in the utility
20:51room and there was no pattern like that
20:52when we first got there and again that
20:55was very disheartening it was
20:56discouraging because again it pointed
20:58toward Miss Routier
21:00investigators also recreate her
21:02movements throughout the house
21:04she indicated us that she ran through
21:06the crime scene and so we laid out some
21:07butcher paper and Inked Up her feet and
21:09had her walk
21:10and we also re-inked her and had her run
21:13you know 20 feet on the butcher paper to
21:15see what her stride was and measured
21:18that and we were able to look those
21:20footprints in the kitchen and it was
21:21telling us that she walked through the
21:23kitchen she wasn't running through the
21:24kitchen
21:26investigators are also interested that
21:28darley's feet have no scratches or cuts
21:32if the Intruder had knocked the wine
21:34glass on the floor why hadn't Darley
21:36stepped on any of the broken glass
21:42an innocent explanation is also found
21:44for the only other footprint in the
21:47house
21:49only bloody print in the kitchen leading
21:52to the utility room belonged to one of
21:54the First Responders what we do is that
21:57we make sure that we have prints of ever
21:59worn shoes to match up to the prince or
22:01the physical evidence on the floor or
22:03anyplace else that we can
22:08most damning of all is the evidence of
22:10blood found on the countertop in the
22:12sink
22:14even when blood is cleaned up an
22:16invisible residue often remains behind
22:19but when treated with a chemical called
22:21luminol the blood Trails begin to Glow
22:24under ultraviolet light
22:27so we blacked out the house covered the
22:29windows and and sprayed the sink area
22:32and took a photograph of that that
22:34reacted positive for blood and indicated
22:36to us that there have been a cleanup
22:38there by the sink
22:39yes Patterson is growing more and more
22:42convinced that after stabbing her own
22:44children Darley Routier stabbed herself
22:46to make it look like she was attacked
22:51Patterson gets a second opinion of
22:53darley's injuries from one of the
22:54doctors who worked at the hospital so
22:57what do you think
23:01so you're saying Darley stabbed herself
23:03I'm saying that these wounds could have
23:06been self-inflicted yes
23:10one last tiny piece of evidence helps
23:13the roulette police make up their mind
23:16what becomes known as knife number four
23:19is found in the root to your kitchen
23:21it has a tiny fiber clinging to it
23:24a fiber which matches the screen that
23:26was cut in the garage
23:28the only way it could get there was if
23:30someone inside the house took it cut the
23:33screen then put it back in the block
23:37based on the evidence the police can
23:40come to only one conclusion
23:46darlie Routier
23:48murdered her own children
23:53it's a chilling thought but the big
23:56question now is why
23:58[Music]
24:03Sunday June 9th 1996.
24:07three days after their murder a funeral
24:10is held for Devin and Damon Routier
24:14more than 400 people turn out
24:19but the suspicions of the police are
24:21growing
24:22they can't find any traces of an
24:24intruder in or around the house I
24:28instinctively wanted someone else to be
24:30there I wanted an intruder to have
24:31broken into that house because the last
24:33thing that I wanted to believe was that
24:34a mother would actually kill her two
24:36children
24:37but the evidence was piling up the
24:40question now was why what could have
24:42driven Darley Routier to commit such a
24:44shocking crime as police learn more they
24:47discovered that the routers were having
24:49problems
24:50the routers wanted to paint themselves
24:52as the typical All-American family and
24:54yet beneath the surface you saw
24:56difficulties so you had a very thin
24:58veneer of normalcy out there but beneath
25:02the surface you had real problems
25:05the evening of the murders the talk
25:07wasn't just sweet good nights you should
25:09be comfortable down here yeah I'll be
25:11fine
25:13Darren we have to talk about what
25:16everything
25:19when are you gonna get your coffee so
25:20that I can have mine I mean we can't go
25:22anywhere I just feel like I'm trapped in
25:23this house keep your voice down
25:26the boys
25:28it cost us 800 bucks and I'm gonna sell
25:31the boat because it's not working out
25:33the way I thought
25:35[Music]
25:38get my car
25:39[Music]
25:44did you remember to lock the door
25:50the couple was financially strapped and
25:52they owed more than ten thousand dollars
25:54in back taxes to the IRS
25:59during her pregnancy with her third
26:01child Darley had been depressed staying
26:04in her room for days even weeks at a
26:06time
26:07[Music]
26:11a diary found in their house confirms
26:13that Darley had struggled with
26:14depression after the baby was born
26:17a month before the murders Darley had
26:20written Devin
26:22Drake
26:29don't they keep fighting anymore
26:30[Music]
26:32is this a damaging portrait of a
26:35suicidal woman under severe stress or a
26:37mother about to commit murder
26:41and then comes one of the strangest
26:43moments of all
26:44June 14th eight days after the murders
26:48Devin Routier would have turned seven
26:50the family decides to hold a long
26:53planned birthday party for the young boy
26:55at his grave
26:59for two hours it's a somber service
27:02but the most telling moment comes near
27:04the end
27:05prompted by her sister Darley sprays a
27:08can of Silly String over the grave of
27:10her two boys
27:12[Music]
27:19I think we saw the real darly rootier at
27:22that at the gravesite party
27:24you know and I kept thinking as I saw
27:26that I'm a parent if my child had died a
27:30week earlier
27:31would I be in any condition to even talk
27:33about it and yet here's a mother sitting
27:35out there singing spraying Silly String
27:38giving interviews without any sort of
27:41emotion it was bizarre it was Despicable
27:44it really made my stomach turn as I
27:46watched her there at the gravesite
27:47darley's mother has a very different
27:49view of the incident
27:51that just is a pure example of how you
27:54are when you're in grief because you're
27:55crazy when you're in that kind of trauma
27:57you don't believe they're dead one
27:59minute and the next minute you know you
28:01might be laughing and the next you might
28:03be you know just crying your eyes out
28:05but this is just something simple but it
28:08made Darley look bad by the way they
28:10slowed down her chewing the gum and
28:13smiling and spraying Silly String as if
28:16she didn't care or the whole purpose of
28:19that was
28:21it was to do it in their honor and it
28:23was something that they would have loved
28:27after the graveside ceremony Patterson
28:29decides to question Darley again
28:31he brings her to the Rowlett police
28:33station one last time
28:39Bill Parker has been doing
28:40interrogations for 20 years
28:43Patterson hopes he'll finally be able to
28:45get Darley to confess
28:48I have a copy of your voluntary
28:50statement here
28:53is there anything you'd like to add no
28:55that is exactly what happened Charlie I
28:58have a couple of questions about this
29:00statement
29:01you were saying for three hours Parker
29:03grills Darley about the facts of the
29:05case
29:07six times he accuses her directly of
29:10killing her children
29:11I think you killed Damon and Devin
29:14five times she responds well if I did it
29:18I don't remember but there's no
29:20confession in all my years I have never
29:22heard anything that unusual
29:25here's a woman a stranger accusing you
29:27of killing your children and your
29:29response is if I did it I don't remember
29:34even without a confession Patterson has
29:36convinced his case is solid
29:40he arrests Darley Routier for the murder
29:43of her two sons you're under arrest for
29:45the murder of your two boys
29:49yeah I think when we look at her mug
29:51shot we see that pained expression I
29:54don't think it's any pain for those two
29:55children I think it's the pain of you
29:57know what they're actually going to
29:58charge me this offense and I'm not going
29:59to get away with it at approximately 10
30:0220 p.m this evening investigators from
30:04the Raleigh Police Department
30:06arrested darlie Routier
30:09white female age 26. I cannot comment on
30:12the details of this investigation other
30:14than to say we believe that the white
30:16male suspect described by darlie Routier
30:19as the man that attacked her and
30:21murdered her children never existed
30:25darley's family is bewildered I saw her
30:28arrested on TV at 10 o'clock news
30:31after she went up there for I don't know
30:33how many visits with the police her and
30:36Darren went up and
30:38you know they gave him everything I mean
30:40anything they asked for
30:44the journey from innocent victim to
30:46accused murderer takes just 12 days
30:49darlie Routier is now Texas prisoner
30:52zero one zero four seven zero
31:00January 6 1997 seven months after the
31:04death of Devon and Damon Routier their
31:07mother Darley goes on trial for their
31:09murder
31:10Greg Davis is the lead prosecutor for
31:12the state of Texas
31:14in Texas if you kill a child younger
31:18than six years of age you've committed a
31:21capital murder that's what we allege in
31:22this case that's why Darley was charged
31:24with capital murder
31:25for that reason Darley is only on trial
31:28for the murder of Damon Routier who was
31:30five when he was killed
31:32if convicted the state wants Darley put
31:35to death her family is outraged and
31:38Confused
31:39what did you say for them to think that
31:42you had anything to do with this she
31:43goes I don't know Mom the Darley Routier
31:45case was a very challenging case
31:49depended on a number of pieces of
31:51evidence
31:52and it was challenging from the
31:53standpoint that we're going to try to
31:54convince a jury that a mother would
31:56actually kill her two children in Cold
31:58Blood
32:00the case turns on the forensic evidence
32:02gathered at the crime scene
32:04the lack of an impact blood stain in the
32:06utility room where the knife was dropped
32:09the lack of evidence of any Intruder
32:11outside the house
32:17another damaging forensic test is
32:20entered into evidence
32:22blood from one of the boys is found on
32:25the back of darley's nightshirt
32:27a Texas expert on bloodstains recreates
32:30the movements Darley would have made if
32:32she had stabbed her children
32:35blood from the knife falls on the shirt
32:37as the knife is raised for each blow
32:40the trail of blood he recreates matches
32:43the trail on darley's shirt
32:45that evidence on her night shirt was
32:48very convincing it was very conclusive
32:50there was no other reasonable
32:53explanation
32:54as to how the blood of Damon and Devin
32:57could possibly be up on her night shirt
33:00finally the jury has shown footage of
33:03the graveside party for Devin
33:05while the ceremony was two hours long
33:07the jury is only shown the infamous
33:10Silly String section
33:15[Music]
33:27Davis tells the jury that Darley staged
33:29the entire scene
33:32while her children sleep Darley takes a
33:34knife from the kitchen and slices the
33:36screen open
33:39she then takes another knife from the
33:41kitchen
33:42and kills her two sons
33:45she takes one of her husband's socks and
33:48makes sure it has blood on it
33:51the sock is then dropped in the alley
33:54she cuts her own neck
33:57and in a frenzy beats her arms and
33:59wrists
34:02she makes it look like a killer has fled
34:09then calls for help
34:14darley's defense focuses on the wound to
34:16darley's neck
34:18Vincent demaio a seasoned medical
34:20examiner takes the stand
34:22one of the things I asked was is she
34:24right-handed or left-handed
34:26and she's right-handed if she inflicted
34:29this wound she would have had to have
34:31used her left hand
34:35[Music]
34:36then she would have had to have stabbed
34:39herself deeply in the right forum
34:43when you consider the injuries by
34:46themselves
34:49the injuries have more of the appearance
34:52of somebody who has been attacked than
34:55someone who has self-inflicted the
34:58wounds
35:00as for the blood on darley's nightshirt
35:02the defense has another theory it could
35:04be cast off from gloves that the EMS had
35:08or it could be from the knife that she
35:11was attacked with because if that knife
35:14was used to kill the children their
35:16blood would be on it
35:18like others demaya believes that Darley
35:21was awake when she was attacked but the
35:24violence of the attack and the shock of
35:26seeing her boys dead has scarred her
35:28memory
35:29[Music]
35:31and a very different picture is painted
35:34of Darley as a mother
35:40those boys
35:41you know the prosecutor Mr Davis said
35:44that Darley just got tired and they
35:46interfered with her lifestyle so she
35:49killed them why would she kill the two
35:51older boys and not the baby who would be
35:53the most burdensome I absolutely know
35:55that darley's innocent
35:58in just five weeks the trial is over the
36:02fate of darlie Routier is in the hands
36:04of the jurors
36:05it takes them less than a day to decide
36:08darley's fate I'll never forget
36:11the jury
36:13the jury wanting the pictures of those
36:15two children placed out there as they
36:17came back to return their verdict and
36:19and they wanted those two pictures there
36:20so the darly Routier would have to see
36:22those two pictures because throughout
36:24this trial Darley attempted to make
36:27herself the victim and I always felt it
36:30was important to remind that jury and to
36:32remind the public that there were two
36:34real victims here two young boys and I
36:37was really heartened by the fact that
36:38jury got it
36:40I mean they understood who the victims
36:41were and they wanted Darley Routier to
36:43remember that and to recognize that too
36:45and that was really a defining moment
36:46for me when the jury was deliberating I
36:50really thought that she would be found
36:51either innocent or hung jury and when
36:54they came in and said that they found
36:56her guilty I absolutely just
36:59went crazy that was the worst part
37:02[Music]
37:04ly Routier was found guilty of murdering
37:06her youngest son Damon
37:08she is sentenced to die by lethal
37:10injection
37:13but almost as soon as the verdict is
37:15handed down serious questions begin to
37:18surface about the trial and the science
37:20behind her conviction
37:21[Music]
37:35in 1997 the state of Texas put 37 people
37:39to death
37:42after her conviction in January darling
37:45utier took her place on the state's
37:47death row
37:49[Music]
37:51in Texas every case that ends in a death
37:53penalty is automatically appealed
37:55Stephen Cooper becomes darley's lawyer
37:59the police did little to no
38:01investigation of any Intruder their
38:03sworn testimony was at Within
38:06minutes virtually of arriving on the
38:09scene that despite all the darley's
38:11massive injuries They concluded she had
38:14was the perpetrator
38:15[Music]
38:17Cooper hires a private investigator to
38:20re-examine the evidence
38:22pours over everything police reports
38:25eyewitness accounts expert testimony for
38:31the pi quickly uncovers suspicions
38:33pointing towards the man police
38:35suspected at the beginning Darren
38:37Routier darlie's husband
38:41we do have evidence now that Darren
38:44Routier was actively
38:47seeking someone
38:49to come into the home
38:52to do a
38:53Inside Job burglary for insurance
38:56purposes
39:01in a sworn affidavit to Cooper Darren
39:04admits to looking for someone to break
39:06into his house
39:11and so at three o'clock in the morning
39:12or 2 30 they sneak into this nice
39:15looking house thinking they're gonna you
39:18know make a successful burglary
39:21[Music]
39:23and they creep in and
39:26there in the living room they stumble
39:28across
39:30human beings who are not upstairs in bed
39:32where they should be at 2 30 in the
39:34morning
39:37a get rich quick scheme ends in Murder
39:47members of Darren routier's family asked
39:49Texas millionaire Brian Pardo to get
39:51involved a self-proclaimed advocate for
39:54the wrongly convicted Pardo launches an
39:56independent investigation that costs as
39:58much as one hundred and twenty thousand
40:00dollars I agree that nobody came into
40:04the house I agree that there was an
40:05appearance to make it look like somebody
40:07came into the house through the screen
40:09and used the bread knife for that
40:11purpose so the police were right in
40:13taking a hard look at the family we
40:15agreed with that we just didn't feel
40:17they took a very hard look at Darren
40:21as part of Pardo's investigation Darren
40:24Routier agrees to take a lie detector
40:26test about the night of the murders
40:28the results are a bombshell are you
40:31Darren root here
40:32yes
40:35were you involved in a plot to commit a
40:37crime in your home in June 6 1996
40:40no
40:46did you yourself stab Darlene root here
40:48on June 6 1996.
40:51no
40:55do you know exactly who left the sock in
40:57the alley
40:59no
41:02can you name the person who stabbed your
41:03sons
41:05no
41:08it's a short test just four questions
41:12but the examiner says the results show
41:14that Darren was lying when he answered
41:15each one of the questions Darren failed
41:19a test three times
41:21and he failed it so utterly that the
41:24examiner who was connected with the Waco
41:25PD
41:27actually went around sat in front of him
41:29and tried to extract the confession from
41:31him
41:31you know I really would have liked to
41:34see you pass
41:36but I don't believe for a minute
41:38I came here to pass no
41:41you came here because you lied to people
41:43all your life and gotten away with it
41:46I did not lie and in the short run
41:50you've got to live with the knowledge
41:52you've gotten away with murder
41:54but in the long run
41:56you'll catch up with you
41:59I did not murder my kids
42:02Darren maintains his innocence in the
42:04crime
42:05but Pardo is deeply suspicious
42:08Darren our assessment of him was is that
42:11he is a sociopathic and pathological
42:14liar
42:16Darren Routier calls the lie detector
42:18test a setup and lie detector results
42:20are not admissible in court
42:23but in an affidavit Darren admits for
42:25the very first time that on the night of
42:27the murders Darley had asked for a
42:29separation
42:33two times prior
42:35to this Darren became violent when she
42:37said that she was considering leaving
42:38him the first time he appointed a loaded
42:42pistol at his head according to Darley
42:44and got her hysterical and threatened to
42:47kill himself
42:51do what what don't you want me to do the
42:54second time she said he pointed a gun at
42:56her
42:57and threatened to kill her
42:59You're Gonna Leave Me Down is that what
43:01you're gonna do
43:03is that what you're gonna do
43:06the New Evidence creates yet another
43:07theory about what happened in the root
43:09tears home the night that Devin and
43:11Damon were killed
43:17Darren we need to talk about what
43:21I want a separation
43:27let's talk about this in the morning I'm
43:29too tired for this I'm serious I know
43:36Brian Pardo is convinced that it wasn't
43:38an intruder at all who killed the two
43:39retired children and it wasn't their
43:42mother either did you remember to lock
43:43the door oh
43:47Lord each of the children had just five
43:49thousand dollars in life insurance
43:50darley's life was insured for two
43:53hundred thousand dollars
43:55for Pardo that is the motive for the
43:57attack
43:58it was Darren that was playing the
44:00stress it was Darren who had the
44:02financial problems and Darren was the
44:04one who needed the the money and uh so
44:06Darren had a huge motive for doing this
44:10not the least of it was he was not going
44:12to let his wife leave him
44:19parno believes that with the help of an
44:21accomplice Darren attacked Darley first
44:26[Music]
44:28the bruises on darley's arms were caused
44:31by the struggle
44:32of course there was a lot of screaming
44:34going on a lot of noise
44:37the boys woke up the boy saw the attack
44:39I think that instinctively the attackers
44:42realized that the boys had to be killed
44:44as well Darley I think was pounded in
44:48submission was unconscious
44:52I think the attackers thought that she
44:54was dead
44:57Pardo is convinced that a closer study
44:59will prove that darlie Routier is
45:01innocent of the murder of her two boys
45:09June 2005
45:12Dali routier's lawyer Stephen Cooper
45:15still believes forensics will clear his
45:17clients
45:20one of the best chances she has for the
45:22appeal is a tiny smudged fingerprint
45:26Cooper has a possible motive pointing to
45:29someone else committing the murders of
45:30Devin and Damon Routier
45:33what he doesn't have is any proof that
45:35someone else was in the house
45:38that's about to change
45:41when investigators examined the
45:43routier's house all fingerprints they
45:45found were conclusively identified
45:48however one print found on the glass
45:51table top was considered too incomplete
45:53to match to anyone there was a smudge
45:56print that was located on this glass
45:59table top
46:00there was not anything that we could
46:03find that made us believe that that one
46:05smudge print belonged to someone
46:07different you know it could still belong
46:10to Darley it could still belong to
46:12Darren I believe that it small enough it
46:16could you know even belong to one of the
46:17children but that's something the
46:19defense is looking at because we don't
46:21have an answer for it
46:24while it couldn't be used for
46:25identification during darley's trial
46:27experts for the state testified that it
46:30was consistent with that made by a five
46:32or six-year-old child
46:34even though Patterson thinks the print
46:36isn't clear enough to be useful Stephen
46:38Cooper finds an expert who disagrees
46:41Robert Lonas has retired New York City
46:44Police Department identification expert
46:47he's identified seven or eight points
46:50for comparison purposes
46:52which is enough in his opinion to be run
46:55through the aphis Federal National
47:00fingerprint database
47:02and the state won't allow us access
47:07Cooper wants to rule out the possibility
47:09that one of the two murdered boys could
47:11have left the print
47:12there is only one problem unbelievably
47:16and against standard
47:19protocol
47:20neither one of the boys were
47:22fingerprinted at the medical examiner's
47:25office
47:26that again is just unheard of
47:30to rule out that the fingerprint was
47:32made by either boy Cooper takes an
47:34extreme step
47:36the bodies of both Devin and Damon are
47:38exhumed
47:39it's dramatic move that is ultimately a
47:42dead end
47:44Unfortunately they were buried in the
47:47same casket with their hands
47:50class together
47:52and again the although they were not
47:55supposed to the the caskets had leaked
47:59and the moisture had uh and the contact
48:02between the fingers had destroyed some
48:04of the skin and we weren't able to
48:06recover all the fingerprints
48:11well the fingerprints are gone Cooper
48:13wants to re-examine the small fiber that
48:16was found on the knife in the kitchen
48:18he has serious doubts that it was
48:21actually used to cut the screen in the
48:23garage
48:24this is a
48:26segment of fiber that is one tenth
48:31the width
48:33of
48:35a Caucasian human hair
48:38it is microscopic to say the least
48:43they did not do any scientific testing
48:46analysis of its chemical makeup which
48:49was possible
48:50[Music]
48:52there are other pieces of evidence
48:54Cooper would love to retest including
48:56the actual fingerprint on the glass
48:58table which may contain skin cells
49:01but he has yet to get the courts to give
49:03him access
49:05a new witness has come forward she
49:08claims to have seen two men near the
49:10rootier house about 2 am the night of
49:12the murders
49:13one who matched the description Darley
49:16gave to the police
49:21[Music]
49:22Cooper also believes the crime scene was
49:25badly contaminated by the police
49:29it was not knocked over by darliest part
49:31of staging the crime scene it was moved
49:33by the police in in a new trial I have
49:36an expert who'll testify about that you
49:38get an overzelle's prosecutor you get a
49:41bunch of rookie police officers that had
49:43no idea how to even take fingerprints
49:45you get people that are in Shock running
49:48in and out through glass and blood and
49:51you know touching things and moving
49:53things
49:55but to date all of darley's appeals have
49:58been turned down
50:00the court has not granted her request to
50:02retest the forensic evidence and no new
50:05trial has been announced
50:07to say that it was a conspiracy or that
50:10anything was mishandled and she's
50:11wrongfully accused is uh is not true she
50:14wouldn't be where she is today if she
50:16hadn't kill those children
50:18if we were to do it again today I'd ask
50:21for the same punishment because those
50:22two boys deserved that type of Justice
50:25she's a dangerous manipulative
50:27individual who's shown absolutely no
50:29remorse for her actions and she deserves
50:32the death penalty in this particular
50:33case
50:36forensics May yet clear Darley Routier
50:40smeared fingerprints May confirm that
50:42someone else was in the house the night
50:43her sons were murdered
50:45for now a story that began with a
50:48terrified 9-1-1 call has ended on death
50:52row
50:53[Music]
51:34foreign
52:09[Music]

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