Unsolved Mysteries: Who is Darlie Routier and why is she sentenced to death? Details of the 1996 horrific murder, explored 

Unsolved Mysteries covered the case of Darlie Routier, who was a Texan woman and mother. She was convicted and sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon. Despite being convicted, Routier has asserted her innocence, and emerging forensic technologies have continued to raise questions about the case.

An alleged attack occurred at the crack of dawn on June 6, 1996, when Routier called 911 from her home in Rowlett, Texas, stating that an intruder had stabbed her two children, 6-year-old Devon and 5-year-old Damon, while they lay sleeping on the first floor.

Routier herself had knife cuts, such as a deep cut to the neck and bruises on each arm. Devon was dead at the scene, and Damon later died from his injuries. Routier was 26 years old and a mother of three.

The night of the attack as shown in Unsolved Mysteries

She had slept with her children in the living room, she told the police and investigators. Routier reported waking up to see a man fleeing the house after beating up the children. She was hospitalized with injuries and not arrested on the spot. The authorities first sought out a possible intruder.

But as the detectives dug deeper, discrepancies in Routier's story and the lack of evidence suggesting a forced entry presented a red flag. The ripped window screen, which was thought to have been the intruder's entry or exit point, was later found out to have been made of the same fiberglass material as a knife in Routier's kitchen, meaning the cut was made from inside the house.

Findings and arrest

As per Unsolved Mysteries, the evidence presented by the prosecution was physical and circumstantial. Apart from the screen analysis, the investigators also found the absence of any sign of struggle, no fingerprints besides the victims', and no trail of blood out of the house. The blood pattern analysis showed that the crime scene may have been staged.

Routier's behavior following the killings was also reviewed. There was a widely publicized home video, captured at a memorial service at the resting place of her sons, showing Routier laughing and blowing Silly String. The prosecution used it to portray her as emotionally detached from the recent tragedy, but the defense stated it was taken out of context and showed a grieving mother trying to celebrate the birthday of her son.

Routier was indicted 12 days after the attack, but she was indicted on only the murder charge of Damon. Prosecutors believed that targeting a solitary charge would increase their chances of obtaining a capital conviction.

Trial and sentencing as per Unsolved Mysteries

As seen on Unsolved Mysteries, the trial was relocated from Dallas County to Kerrville to offer an impartial jury, given the extensive pre-trial publicity. The prosecution even alleged Routier had cut herself, and the wounds were superficial, suggesting that they were part of staged home invasion incidents. Forensic experts asserted that blood spatter analysis suggested the same.

The defense did maintain, nonetheless, that the killings were carried out by an intruder and that Routier would never hurt her children. Despite these assertions, she was found guilty by the jury in February 1997 and sentenced to death.

Controversies and appeals as shown in Unsolved Mysteries

The Mothers and Murder episode of Unsolved Mysteries covers the unexplored aspects of the Routier case. It features remarks by televiewers, former investigators, family members, and legal commentators, doubting the integrity of the investigation as well as the forensics used.

Years have gone by, and issues have been raised about potential bias, contaminated evidence, and the limited amount of forensic technology employed in the first trial. In 2019, a judge approved new DNA testing on several items, including a bloody sock found outside the home, which the defense claims could support Routier's version of events.

Others who are critical of the conviction argue that her injuries were too severe to have been self-inflicted and that the investigation had jumped too quickly upon Routier rather than pursuing other avenues adequately. Those in favor of the conviction retort that the physical evidence and the crime scene all point unerringly back at her as guilty.

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Also read: Unsolved Mysteries: Top 10 solved cases from the Netflix show

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