Murder of Damon and Devon Routier

On June 6, 1996, at 2:31 a.m., emergency dispatchers in Rowlett, Texas, received a 911 call from Darlie Routier reporting that an intruder had broken into her family's home at 5801 Eagle Drive and stabbed her two sons, six-year-old Devon and five-year-old Damon, as well as cutting her own throat. Police arrived within three minutes and found a cut window screen in the garage, which they initially treated as a possible point of entry. A search of the house and grounds found no intruder. Both boys died of their injuries; Routier's wound, described as superficial, came within two millimeters of her carotid artery, and she was hospitalized and released two days later. The couple's infant son, Drake, who was upstairs with his father Darin Routier during the attack, was unharmed.

Investigators grew suspicious of aspects of Routier's account. The garage contained no blood drops, dust on the window sills (including the cut window) appeared undisturbed, and mulch outside was undisturbed, suggesting no one had climbed through the window or fled that way. A bloody sock matching a pair belonging to Darin Routier was found about 75 yards from the house and was found to bear blood from both boys. A fingerprint on a windowsill was later determined, in 2002, not to belong to any family member, though a fingerprint expert testified before an appeals court that he could not rule out Darlie Routier's right ring finger as the source. Eight days after the killings, television coverage showed Routier and family members at the boys' grave for a posthumous birthday celebration for Devon, during which she was shown smiling and spraying Silly String while singing "Happy Birthday"; this video was later shown to jurors. Routier was arrested and charged with capital murder on June 18, 1996.

At trial, which began January 6, 1997, in Kerrville, Texas, prosecutors argued Routier staged the crime scene and killed her sons due to financial pressures, despite the boys' life insurance policies totaling only $10,000. The defense, led by attorney Douglas Mulder, argued there was no motive, confession, or witness, and that the timeline—Damon reportedly survived only about eight minutes after his injuries while Routier was on the phone with 911 for nearly six minutes—left no time for her to stage the scene and plant the sock. Medical examiner Vincent DiMaio testified Routier's neck wound was inconsistent with typical self-inflicted wounds, while analyst Tom Bevel testified that blood spatter on her nightshirt was consistent with her having raised a knife to stab repeatedly. On February 1, 1997, Routier was convicted of murdering Damon; she was sentenced to death by lethal injection on February 4, 1997. She has not been tried for Devon's death.

Subsequent appeals alleging trial and investigative errors were denied by appellate courts and in a habeas corpus ruling. Courts have since ordered multiple rounds of DNA testing, including in 2008, 2014, and 2018, with results still described as pending. Routier's ex-husband, Darin Routier, who divorced her in 2011, has stated he believes she is innocent.