Rockwall Co. Cemeteries of TX

in June of 1996, the Rowlett, Texas home of Darin and Darlie Routier was invaded by an intruder or intruders who murdered two of the three Routier children and slashed Darlie's throat, as well as inflicting other serious wounds. Unable to find a suspect who had any clear connection to the crime, possibly because of documented mishandling of the crime scene by police and others who entered the house after the murders, the Dallas District Attorney eventually charged Darlie Routier with the murder of her own children, accusing her of inflicting the near-fatal injuries on herself.

Darlie Routier was tried by the mass media as much as she was by the court system. Frequently aired and misleading video clips of her, along with continuously repeated outright falsehoods about her background and lifestyle served to turn public opinion against her before her trial had even begun. The prosecution's case against Darlie rested entirely on speculation, the use of possibly mishandled material evidence (some of which was presented in court even after the judge presiding over the case had barred the prosecution from doing so), and completely undeserved character assassination (in one example of many, an attorney employed by the Dallas District Attorney's office referred to Darlie's mother as "trailer trash"--hardly appropriate conduct for a "public servant"). Nevertheless, in the town of Kerrville, Texas (nicknamed "Convictionville" by some), where her trial was held, and under the media barrage that demanded blood for blood, that was sufficient grounds for a guilty verdict. Darlie Routier was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection. She is at present on Death Row in Gatesville, Texas, awaiting execution at an as-yet-undetermined future date.

notes by Gloria B. Mayfield