Did Darlie Routier kill her kids? Doubts remain 20 years later

Did Darlie Routier kill her kids? Doubts remain 20 years later Tasha Tsiaperas

Darlie Routier with sons Damon, Drake and Devon in 1996. (File photo)

If it hadn’t been for that crazy Silly String, Darlie Lynn Routier might be a free woman today.

At least, that’s what many people believe about the notorious Rowlett woman now on death row after savagely stabbing her 5- and 6-year-old sons 20 years ago Monday as her husband and 7-month-old son slept upstairs.

Shortly after the murders, NBC5 (KXAS-TV) captured video of Routier — with bleached hair, smacking gum and giggling — spraying Silly String on her sons’ graves. Jurors in Kerr County watched the video at least seven times before convicting Routier of capital murder in 1997 for the deaths of one of the boys.

“They ended up deliberating on the Silly String,” her mother, Darlie Kee, told The Dallas Morning News last week. “Silly String is not a lethal weapon.”

Routier’s family says the Silly String, provided by Darlie’s sister, was part of a birthday celebration. Her oldest son, Devon, would’ve turned 7 that day. The party followed a prayer service for both Devon and his younger brother Damon, but TV cameras didn’t capture the tears, Kee said, only a frolicking Routier.

Kee maintains her daughter’s innocence, saying an intruder killed the boys. And even two decades later, there are lingering questions in some minds about Routier’s guilt.

Some point to a bloody sock found in the alley behind the family’s home as proof Routier was telling the truth about an intruder. Others don’t believe Routier is innocent but wonder if she really acted alone. And many people still have a hard time believing that a young mother could butcher her babies in cold blood.

Prosecutors in the case believe the matter is settled, but it continues to wind its way through the state’s appellate court system. No date has been set for Routier’s execution.

Her attorney and family say they believe new DNA testing will prove that someone else was in the home that night 20 years ago. They say the pending tests could give Routier, now 46, a chance at a new trial.

“This is not solved,” Kee said. “They have not found who killed my grandsons. That person is still walking the streets.”

National news

The case of a suburban mom fatally stabbing her young sons and then faking her own attack to cover the crime made national news in June 1996.

Photos of Devon and Damon Routier, wearing matching white jackets and bowties, peppered TV screens and newspapers. And people had suddenly heard of Rowlett, then a town of 35,000 people.

Police were called to the Routier home on Eagle Drive around 2:30 a.m. on June 6, 1996. Devon, 6, was already dead when paramedics arrived. He had been stabbed all the way through his torso.

Damon, 5, was gasping for breath. He had been stabbed in the back and died shortly after. … [visit site to read more]

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