Mothers Who Kill Their Children

[Jeana (DP)]

So it was easier to kill the kids than to pawn some of that jewelry or sell the jag (which I'm not sure if it was in need of repair). You know, there was just so much overkill in the boys deaths that it somehow doesn't seem to fit with a murder for financial gain. Then again......

I agree. The insurance money wasn't the motive, IMO. I think it was rage. I think the Jag was broken down at the time of the murders and had been for some time).

 

[texassnuboots]

The Jag WAS in the shop and Darlie's jewelry was not worth THAT much money. I think Goody is oversimplifying it. Darlie's lifestyle was very important to her. They had just been turned down for a very small loan of only $5,000. Did you know money problems are the 2nd leading cause of divorce in the US? Couples blame each other. It makes for some nasty fighting. Been there, done that. Not divorce, but fighting about money. The Routiers cash flow was dropping and dropping. With all of the other things we've talked about that Darlie had going on, her perception of the money issue was skewed I think. Money didn't make her freak out just that one night. It had been on her mind for a long time. If money were the ONLY reason, they'd have bought more life insurance for the boys or she might have tried to kill Darin. But I think it put her in a certain state of mind. People are killed for money all the time. It makes no sense at all, but it happens. I think money was the base for her anger. Darlie also liked to party and was being dragged down by these boys who were becoming rowdier as they grew up. Something made her snap that night. She went from worrying about her lifestyle, annoyed with the boys, her brain being messed up from the diet pills, etc to a killer. I think the argument with Darin did it, made her cross that line.

Thank you for taking the time to type all that out. Your argument makes logical sense to me. It definitely has merit. I can see now where money could have been the base of her anger, in fact most likely was the base of her anger, but it was not anger over a particular money problem that made her snap that night. Yup, rowdy boys (or girls) can get anyone down who has other things on their mind besides being a patient and loving mother.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

Thank you for taking the time to type all that out. Your argument makes logical sense to me. It definitely has merit. I can see now where money could have been the base of her anger, in fact most likely was the base of her anger, but it was not anger over a particular money problem that made her snap that night. Yup, rowdy boys (or girls) can get anyone down who has other things on their mind besides being a patient and loving mother.

I think you've misunderstood Beesy's explanation. I think it WAS over money, but not a specific thing. Meaning, she wasn't thinking solely about the insurance policy. Months and months of overdue notices coming in from bill collectors, the mortgage payments being months overdue, loan denied, business failing, Darin working long hours trying to get the business back where it was, Darlie not being able to life the lifestyle she was used to, Darlie being at home with no car with three boys all day while Darin was out doing his thing (even if his thing was just work), Darlie having the baby blues, Darlie feeling "fat" (even if she wasn't really), Darlie not sleeping well, Darlie not being able to take that trip she wanted . . . and on and on and on. One thing after another and it all boiled down to money. So, I guess money could be the "motive" as a whole, but it was frustration, anger and rage that made her actually snap that night. I also believe that she was used to telling Darin that she wanted a divorce, was going to leave him, blah, blah, blah and was used to him begging her to stay, forgive him, blah, blah, blah, but I think this time he was frustrated too and he probably told her "fine" or maybe even "fine, get the "F out, and she lost it.

 

[beesy]

I think you've misunderstood Beesy's explanation. I think it WAS over money, but not a specific thing. Meaning, she wasn't thinking solely about the insurance policy. Months and months of overdue notices coming in from bill collectors, the mortgage payments being months overdue, loan denied, business failing, Darin working long hours trying to get the business back where it was, Darlie not being able to life the lifestyle she was used to, Darlie being at home with no car with three boys all day while Darin was out doing his thing (even if his thing was just work), Darlie having the baby blues, Darlie feeling "fat" (even if she wasn't really), Darlie not sleeping well, Darlie not being able to take that trip she wanted . . . and on and on and on. One thing after another and it all boiled down to money. So, I guess money could be the "motive" as a whole, but it was frustration, anger and rage that made her actually snap that night. I also believe that she was used to telling Darin that she wanted a divorce, was going to leave him, blah, blah, blah and was used to him begging her to stay, forgive him, blah, blah, blah, but I think this time he was frustrated too and he probably told her "fine" or maybe even "fine, get the "F out, and she lost it.

Wow, cool, that's exactly what I was saying

 

[beesy]

I think it WAS over money, but not a specific thing. Meaning, she wasn't thinking solely about the insurance policy. Months and months of overdue notices coming in from bill collectors, the mortgage payments being months overdue, loan denied, business failing, Darin working long hours trying to get the business back where it was

I think not being approved for that loan was very humilating to both of them. $5,000 isn't really that much. It probably hit her very hard. I don't think that the insurance money for each boy being the same amount means anything, but just getting turned down was probably quite a blow. I think they had lots of their money tied up in "things", various loans, mortgage, business overhead, credit cards. Being rejected for, in her mind, a measly 5 grand meant that their lifestyle was slipping away. You need cash to pay all of those bills. Don't forget utility bills, health insurance, car insurance, life insurance payments. They were losing control over everything, groceries, clothes now for 5 people, diapers, it goes on and on....

 

[Thinkoflaura]

I agree, to be turned down for a $5000 loan is indicative of a really low credit score. Most people with good credit can get $5000 on a signature- only loan. I did it once when I was about 22 years old.

I keep wondering, and have never seen an explanation which covers this:
IF Darlie killed the two older boys as a jury has declared, and IF she was angry, depressed, stressed, having post- partum depression ( some of the things posted on this thread), then WHY didn't she single out the weakest person in the household, the baby, OR kill the person she was probably the most POed at for not keeping up their payments and household needs, her husband?

About the $10,000 life insurance policies on the boys: I have to wonder if neither of the Routiers had relatives who would loan them at least that much if not more?

Also, when it comes to planning criminal ways to get money, isn't Darrin the one who came up with an arson scam plan, not carried out?
Darlie did seem very naive.

The sticking points for me are these, although I accept that there is no evidence of any intruder:
I don't think she is smart enough to have made the defensive bruises and cuts on her own arms, and I don't think she had what it would take in sheer will and endurance ( not to mention luck) to cut her own neck to a millimeter away from a major artery. She seemed to be vain, which is not unusual in her circle and age group, I suppose
Was suicide on her mind when she cut her neck? If so, why didn't she take an overdose of something? A bottle of Tylenol will kill an adult, and from what I have read, they did have legal and illegal drugs in their house.

Why do any/ all of you think that Darrin was not the one who fought with Darlie, cut her neck, and kllled the boys? ( I am not sure in what order things would have been done according to the blood evidence, but it seems from what I have read that maybe her throat was cut between the two boys being stabbed. )
We've read about mothers who kill- Susan Smith and Andrea Yates drowned their children. Many deaths which were classified as SIDS deaths of children are now being classified as murders.
I understand that mothers do kill. But slashing one's own " pretty" self like that, and stabbing the boys so many times seems more like a male rage, like an OJ Simpson male hormone and drug rage thing to me.

Why is it not possible that Darrin killed the boys and stabbed Darlie and she was absolutely too dumb at the time to realize that the " intruder" she waffled about and never gave a good answer about was actually him?
A person who is as naive as I thinki she was ( even if she is a cold blooded murderer) and who is experiencing extreme trauma is probably not going to make the leap to a spouse almost killing them and killing two of their children for quite a while. I am not defending her, but the facts are that she experienced severe and sustained trauma from the night of the murders until after she was sentenced, because she was arrested very shortly after the murders. I think the memorial birthday party video was the clincher. I think her defense team should have insisted that the entire tape was played, which showed the memorial service before the birthday part. Also, Darin didn't seem too broken up at the cemetary either, from what part of the same video captures I have seen. Why was his demeanor not questioned too? As I recall, there weren't a bunch of crying people huddled around while Darlie jumped in and sprayed Silly String around, they were all holding balloons or participating in some way with her. Weren't they?

don't think anyone on her defense team even looked closely at Darin for quite some time, and it seems that the police and prosecution never considered him as a suspect. I wonder WHY NOT,

I am not trying to cause any hurt or anger, I feel the same things when I read about this case, and I also have a lot of confusion because taking ALL kinds of pathology into account, I still wonder if Darin wasn't the rage- filled aggressor who snapped under the financial and marital strain.


Murder is always tragic and senseless, but I have a harder time with this case and verdict than any other I have ever discussed. I am very sorry that I do wonder if there was a rush to judgment in Texas.

Thanks for reading my post.

 

[texassnuboots]

I agree, to be turned down for a $5000 loan is indicative of a really low credit score. Most people with good credit can get $5000 on a signature- only loan. I did it once when I was about 22 years old.

I keep wondering, and have never seen an explanation which covers this:
IF Darlie killed the two older boys as a jury has declared, and IF she was angry, depressed, stressed, having post- partum depression ( some of the things posted on this thread), then WHY didn't she single out the weakest person in the household, the baby, OR kill the person she was probably the most POed at for not keeping up their payments and household needs, her husband?

About the $10,000 life insurance policies on the boys: I have to wonder if neither of the Routiers had relatives who would loan them at least that much if not more?

Also, when it comes to planning criminal ways to get money, isn't Darrin the one who came up with an arson scam plan, not carried out?
Darlie did seem very naive.

The sticking points for me are these, although I accept that there is no evidence of any intruder:
I don't think she is smart enough to have made the defensive bruises and cuts on her own arms, and I don't think she had what it would take in sheer will and endurance ( not to mention luck) to cut her own neck to a millimeter away from a major artery. She seemed to be vain, which is not unusual in her circle and age group, I suppose
Was suicide on her mind when she cut her neck? If so, why didn't she take an overdose of something? A bottle of Tylenol will kill an adult, and from what I have read, they did have legal and illegal drugs in their house.

Why do any/ all of you think that Darrin was not the one who fought with Darlie, cut her neck, and kllled the boys? ( I am not sure in what order things would have been done according to the blood evidence, but it seems from what I have read that maybe her throat was cut between the two boys being stabbed. )
We've read about mothers who kill- Susan Smith and Andrea Yates drowned their children. Many deaths which were classified as SIDS deaths of children are now being classified as murders.
I understand that mothers do kill. But slashing one's own " pretty" self like that, and stabbing the boys so many times seems more like a male rage, like an OJ Simpson male hormone and drug rage thing to me.

Why is it not possible that Darrin killed the boys and stabbed Darlie and she was absolutely too dumb at the time to realize that the " intruder" she waffled about and never gave a good answer about was actually him?
A naive person probably who is experiencing extreme trauma is probably not going to make the leap to a spouse almost killing them and killing two of their children for quite a while. I don't think anyone on her defense team even looked closely at him for quite some time, and it seems that the police and prosecution never considered him as a suspect. I wonder WHY NOT,

I am not trying to cause any hurt or anger, I feel the same things when I read about this case, and I also have a lot of confusion because taking ALL kinds of pathology into account, I still wonder if Darin wasn't the rage- filled aggressor who snapped under the financial and marital strain.

Thanks for reading my post.

I agree the loan turndown would have been galling. Jeana's excellent post above, #19 I think, really put things in perspective for me. Made a lot of sense. She spelled out facts that I was not aware of, all the late notices and such. Just didn't think of it. I can't see how Darin could have done the stabbings, although I have often wondered how she stabbed her right arm because I think she was right handed. But considered it as one of those unknowns. Too much other evidence, like the knife inside the house, the cast off blood on the back of her nightshirt, her barefoot prints in the blood, the sink clean up, and the 911 call, makes me believe it was Darlie who killed the boys. Perhaps Darin got involved at some point and helped kill Damon and aided her in slicing her neck, but the bulk of the guilt I think goes to Darlie. Maybe after all her appeals are over and she has gotten the needle, Darin will tell us all what really happened. If he can do so without incriminating himself. JMO

 

[dottierainbow]

I agree with you Thinkoflaura. If Darlie did actually did it I wonder if she was Bipolar. But I think it may have been Darrin, and Darlie was and still may be traumatized and in shock and cannot recall what happened.

I agree, to be turned down for a $5000 loan is indicative of a really low credit score. Most people with good credit can get $5000 on a signature- only loan. I did it once when I was about 22 years old.


Why is it not possible that Darrin killed the boys and stabbed Darlie and she was absolutely too dumb at the time to realize that the " intruder" she waffled about and never gave a good answer about was actually him?
A person who is as naive as I thinki she was ( even if she is a cold blooded murderer) and who is experiencing extreme trauma is probably not going to make the leap to a spouse almost killing them and killing two of their children for quite a while. I am not defending her, but the facts are that she experienced severe and sustained trauma from the night of the murders until after she was sentenced, because she was arrested very shortly after the murders. I think the memorial birthday party video was the clincher. I think her defense team should have insisted that the entire tape was played, which showed the memorial service before the birthday part. Also, Darin didn't seem too broken up at the cemetary either, from what part of the same video captures I have seen. Why was his demeanor not questioned too? As I recall, there weren't a bunch of crying people huddled around while Darlie jumped in and sprayed Silly String around, they were all holding balloons or participating in some way with her. Weren't they?






Thanks for reading my post.

 

[Thinkoflaura]

I agree the loan turndown would have been galling. Jeana's excellent post above, #19 I think, really put things in perspective for me. Made a lot of sense. She spelled out facts that I was not aware of, all the late notices and such. Just didn't think of it. I can't see how Darin could have done the stabbings, although I have often wondered how she stabbed her right arm because I think she was right handed. But considered it as one of those unknowns. Too much other evidence, like the knife inside the house, the cast off blood on the back of her nightshirt, her barefoot prints in the blood, the sink clean up, and the 911 call, makes me believe it was Darlie who killed the boys. Perhaps Darin got involved at some point and helped kill Damon and aided her in slicing her neck, but the bulk of the guilt I think goes to Darlie. Maybe after all her appeals are over and she has gotten the needle, Darin will tell us all what really happened. If he can do so without incriminating himself. JMO

All of the stressors on Darlie were on Darrin too. Plus, he was the breadwinner of the family. More was expected of him. The bill collectors were after HIM to pay up, since he was the one with an income.

How do the things you mentioned point to Darlie and away from Darrin? I don't see how it does at all. You mentioned the the kinife was from the house- he had access to it too. You mentioned that SOMEONE inside the house used something to clean their hands or another object in the sink- why not Darrin instead of Darlie? He was all over the boys- but was Darlie's blood on his hands? Isn't it weird if sampling showed that none of her blood was on his hands? She was bleeding, apparently heavily, and yes, she moved around without shoes on in the middle of the night, and yes, she called 911 after picking up the bloody knife. Most murderers do not want to be the one who calls and reports the crime.

What about Darrin's physical evidence? His bloody clothing? Was it tested too? Were assumptions made about his clothing which are scientifically based? If so, I have never seen the reports.
Also, did he take a polygraph and are the results known?
If he was involved in some way, even if it was with Darlie, then shouldn't he be in prison on death row as well?

There is so much more that I don't KNOW about this case than what I have read. I still wonder why a woman, if stressed over motherhood and with a baby to care for 24/7 while the other boys were old enough at the time to be going to pre-school or daycare, would not eliminate the biggest burden first by killing the baby. He was the weakest, yet he lived. So did the strongest person in the household and the one with a great deal to lose and possibly many years of chld support to pay in a divorce. If they lost their house, boat, other assets, I think Darlie would have left Darrin without a backwards glance. Darrin must have been very desperate if he did plot to have his house burned down. It was supposed to be their dream house, wasn't it?

Darlie was young and attractive, and she had recently learned what having money and luxury things felt like. She would have had no problem finding a successful man, if easy money and a man's love were her goals.

I wonder if the case was looked at closely for the possibility of Darrin's involvement because of Darlie's wounds to her inner arm areas and certainly because of the severe neck wound, and because the baby wasn't killed..
Did a psychiatrist give any testimony about why a young woman who had her hair bleached from very dark brown to light blonde, had surgically augmented her breasts, wore expensive things and apparently took great care of herself would inflict a serious injury to herself which could have resulted in death and had to have hurt a lot? What about the fact that she could easily have had or may have a large scar on her neck from a self-inflicted slashing? Does that fit in with a rather flashy, probably vain young woman's way of thinking?

 

[Goody]

So it was easier to kill the kids than to pawn some of that jewelry or sell the jag (which I'm not sure if it was in need of repair). You know, there was just so much overkill in the boys deaths that it somehow doesn't seem to fit with a murder for financial gain. Then again......

I didn't see any overkill. Devon had only two serious wounds. The others were incise wounds or ineffective as I recall. Damon had to be stabbed more because he didn't die the first time. All total, I don't think either boy had more than 5 wounds, counting both stabs and incise wounds. How often do we read about rage killings counting 17 stab wounds or more? I don't see rage in the killings at all. It seems more methodical to me, esp Damon's wounds.

I don't think the jewelry would have brought anything close to the $10,000 she needed to pay for their summer committments. Selling it to someone willing to pay near full price might have been an option but even then I am doubting that her jewelry was anywhere near worth $10,000. But even if it was, she was running out of time and probably couldn't wait for some kind of miracle sale. I used to have a friend who buys and sells jewelry, and she would sometimes have pieces for years or many months before finding someone who would pay her price. I doubt if Darlie had the patience to wait indefinitely, esp since their trip to Pennsylvania was due in 2 weeks and the deadline to pay for the airfare was fast approaching.

For me, it would be easier to just cancel the trips and tell everyone sorry but I don't have the money right now, but apparently that was not something she could do. Never have I ever heard once that they were even considering canceling any of them. I have always found that extremely odd. I would think that for most people that would be the first option, not the last. It makes me think that something inside of them just couldn't face that prospect. Like someone with OCD can't throw anything away so his house becomes a trash bin, can't leave the house for fear of some impending doom, etc. The super neatness of the house could be indicative of some of that going on, too. I mean, how many abusive husbands have we heard of who freak out if one thing is out of order in his house. The towels have to be folded just so-so, the rooms have to be dust free, etc. Darlie's had white carpet in the family room where kids would be hanging out, eating popcorn, etc. Maybe her neatness didn't rise to the level of OCD, but it is something to consider, esp in light of the fact she didn't talk about cancelling trips she knew they couldn't afford. So she obviously was ready to ride that one out to the very last second.

I would agree with you that the murders were not for financial gain if we didn't have Darin commenting so many times about how the financial aspects either played a role or would at some point. I think they were very much aware how they might capitalize on the murders afterwards. Whether it was just opportunistic impulses or an actual goal planned is still up for debate.

I am not ruling out an argument gone out of control but I don't think both kids were killed in one big rage. It seems more likely to me that if she freaked out, she killed only one and everything else was an afterthought.....like two crimes committed within one scene and within a short period of time but probably not instantly. And somewhere in the middle of that was a husband who either decided to take advantage of the situation or just came upon the scene too late. I don't think he tried to intervene though because he had no injuries. No cuts, bruises, or even scapes. Hard for me to imagine wrestling with an out of control knife wielding female and not getting any injury at all. So Darin is either innocent and misunderstood, which seems unlikely though possible, or he is much more involved than most want to give him credit for.

 

[beesy]

All of the stressors on Darlie were on Darrin too. Plus, he was the breadwinner of the family. More was expected of him. The bill collectors were after HIM to pay up, since he was the one with an income

Darin's hands are not clean here, but he did not attack his family. Darlie and Darin owned that business together. They were the part of the family who "got out", meaning they were living higher on the hog than any of their family or their old friends.

How do the things you mentioned point to Darlie and away from Darrin? I don't see how it does at all. You mentioned the the kinife was from the house- he had access to it too. You mentioned that SOMEONE inside the house used something to clean their hands or another object in the sink- why not Darrin instead of Darlie? He was all over the boys- but was Darlie's blood on his hands? Isn't it weird if sampling showed that none of her blood was on his hands? She was bleeding, apparently heavily, and yes, she moved around without shoes on in the middle of the night, and yes, she called 911 after picking up the bloody knife. Most murderers do not want to be the one who calls and reports the crime.

You are aware that Darlie only mentioned going into the kitchen as she followed the intruder out, right? That was her first story. When she did the final walk-through with LE and noticed they'd taken the kitchen sink, she realized they had discovered her blood in the sink. Her throat was cut at the sink, no way around that. There was visible blood on the floor around the sink, in the sink and on the counter, but most of it was invisible and showed up with Luminol. Do you know what that means? Darlie wiped up the blood, her blood. There was a huge amount of it there. So if Darin did this, he dragged her to the sink, leaving no bloody prints of any type and slit her throat over that sink, then decided to release her. Darin could have overpowered Darlie in an instant, yet he allowed her to live? An adult? yeah, sure.
You obviously don't know any of the evidence. Those things point away from Darin because it's Darlie's blood, Darlie's footprints, Darlie's revolving story. Her blood on the knife on top and mixed in with Damon's. If you know her story, she says the boys were attacked first and then she was attacked. Damon's blood is in cast off patterns on the back of her t-shirt. Patterns which can only be caused by raising up a bloody knife and plunging it into something bleeding(Damon). It flies off in a certain pattern. Darlie's blood being or not being on his hands proves...what? He says he doesn't even remember seeing Darlie much before things had settled down a bit. That means he did not touch her. Of course I think that's a lie because he was downstairs during the final attack on Damon. The 911 tapes allows us to hear when he came downstairs. Darlie was setting up a attack from an outside intruder. That's why she called 911. She was not bleeding heavily after the initial surge of blood. She had a rag on her throat and was putting pressure on it.

What about Darrin's physical evidence? His bloody clothing? Was it tested too? Were assumptions made about his clothing which are scientifically based? If so, I have never seen the reports.
Also, did he take a polygraph and are the results known?
If he was involved in some way, even if it was with Darlie, then shouldn't he be in prison on death row as well

Darin had only a pair of jeans on. They were covered with Devon's blood in the way of transfer blood, not spatter, but soaked with blood. Darin has taken a polygraph and failed. To me this proves he was involved with the clean up or possibly even stabbed Damon the final time. Of course Darin should be in prison. There is no psychical evidence against Darin, none at all.

There is so much more that I don't KNOW about this case than what I have read. I still wonder why a woman, if stressed over motherhood and with a baby to care for 24/7 while the other boys were old enough at the time to be going to pre-school or daycare, would not eliminate the biggest burden first by killing the baby. He was the weakest, yet he lived. So did the strongest person in the household and the one with a great deal to lose and possibly many years of chld support to pay in a divorce. If they lost their house, boat, other assets, I think Darlie would have left Darrin without a backwards glance. Darrin must have been very desperate if he did plot to have his house burned down. It was supposed to be their dream house, wasn't it?

Well first of all, it was summer and the boys were home from school. A baby is less demanding than rowdy young boys. Stressing about motherhood is simplifying this to the point of not even explaining it all to you. Read some of the other posts. As much as Darlie can love, she loved Darin. She had children way too young, she did not want to leave Darin and use the boys for child support. What kind of freedom is that? She's worse off then.
I do not believe Darin had seriously looked into burning the house down, etc. You're right, that would be stupid. That's why he didn't do it.

Darlie was young and attractive, and she had recently learned what having money and luxury things felt like. She would have had no problem finding a successful man, if easy money and a man's love were her goals.

Well, she was young...

I wonder if the case was looked at closely for the possibility of Darrin's involvement because of Darlie's wounds to her inner arm areas and certainly because of the severe neck wound, and because the baby wasn't killed..
Did a psychiatrist give any testimony about why a young woman who had her hair bleached from very dark brown to light blonde, had surgically augmented her breasts, wore expensive things and apparently took great care of herself would inflict a serious injury to herself which could have resulted in death and had to have hurt a lot? What about the fact that she could easily have had or may have a large scar on her neck from a self-inflicted slashing? Does that fit in with a rather flashy, probably vain young woman's way of thinking?

Darlie didn't want to kill Darin and I think she liked babies. You get lots of attention when you have a baby. She was having a lot of trouble with her growing boys who were moving out of her control. And no, there were no shrinks brought in to testify about a vain woman being unable to hurt herself..that's really funny. Thanks for the laugh! Her neck wound is really a scrape, certainly not a slash. The scar is barely there now. Why don't you do an experiment. Lay on your left side on a sofa and have someone use a marker or something and try to slit your throat from that angle. She says she first saw the attacker at her feet. So by her story, he cut her starting at the area of her neck which she was sleeping on. She had to make herself look like she was attacked. She didn't stab her *advertiser censored*, she didn't mess up her tummy, she liked her thongs. An intruder would have done that. As for the bruises, they are not visible in the hospital. Nor does Darlie mention being beaten with anything. They are too consistent to be defense wounds. Slamming her arms in a door would have done the job nicely.

 

[beesy]

I keep wondering, and have never seen an explanation which covers this:
IF Darlie killed the two older boys as a jury has declared, and IF she was angry, depressed, stressed, having post- partum depression ( some of the things posted on this thread)

Oops. somebody doesn't know the case: Darlie was only tried and convicted for the murder of Damon

About the $10,000 life insurance policies on the boys: I have to wonder if neither of the Routiers had relatives who would loan them at least that much if not more?

I do not believe the 2 D's would ever admit to their families they didn't have enough money. They had made it. They were living large. Besides money wasn't all of the reasons for Darlie's stress:twocents:

The sticking points for me are these, although I accept that there is no evidence of any intruder:
I don't think she is smart enough to have made the defensive bruises and cuts on her own arms, and I don't think she had what it would take in sheer will and endurance ( not to mention luck) to cut her own neck to a millimeter away from a major artery. She seemed to be vain, which is not unusual in her circle and age group, I suppose

Darlie is not THAT stupid, jeez. Those bruises are not defensive bruises and that cut is not a defensive wound either. Do you know where your carotid artery is? That cut starts up at her shoulder and sort of skips down as if she recoiled:twocents:

Was suicide on her mind when she cut her neck? If so, why didn't she take an overdose of something? A bottle of Tylenol will kill an adult, and from what I have read, they did have legal and illegal drugs in their house.

Darlie claims to have taken sleeping pills out of the package almost exactly 1 month before. She says Darin stopped her and she felt better. No proof of this has been found. The only evidence of any illegal drugs was some coke residul found in a box in the master bedroom. They were certainly not heavy drug users. If she was trying to kill herself when she cut her throat she didn't do a very good job. I suspect her neck bled alot at first and scared her, prompting her to call 911 in the middle of her clean up.:twocents:

Why do any/ all of you think that Darrin was not the one who fought with Darlie, cut her neck, and kllled the boys? ( I am not sure in what order things would have been done according to the blood evidence, but it seems from what I have read that maybe her throat was cut between the two boys being stabbed.

We believe he didn't because there is no evidence whatsoever that he did. There is more than enough evidence to show she did it and there is evidence that he helped her when he found out what she had done.:twocents: Devon was stabbed first and quickly bled out. Then Damon was attacked and then Darlie says she was attacked. Her words! At some point she realized Damon was moving and with knife in hand went over to him. This is proven through blood evidence. There is a heavy concentration of her blood on the tip of the knife which indicates she stood there with the blade pointing down for a few seconds. Her blood. There is an outline of the knife in Darlie's blood near where Damon died. Her blood. Darlie says she only picked the knife up off the floor and put it on the counter. The blood evidence shows that somehow that knife went back into the family room and was put on the floor with Darlie's blood on it. She was on the phone with 911 at that time. Darin was in the room. If Darin had grabbed the knife and attacked Damon again without her wanting him to, don't you think she would have screamed for help? Don't you think she would have screamed "stop it Darin". Neither parent comforted Damon or held rags on his wounds. He died in the arms of a stranger.

Many deaths which were classified as SIDS deaths of children are now being classified as murders

That is complete and utter bull poopy, a few, not many!

I am not defending her, but the facts are that she experienced severe and sustained trauma from the night of the murders until after she was sentenced, because she was arrested very shortly after the murders

How are you aware of this severe and sustained trauma? Do you know her?

think the memorial birthday party video was the clincher. I think her defense team should have insisted that the entire tape was played, which showed the memorial service before the birthday part. Also, Darin didn't seem too broken up at the cemetary either, from what part of the same video captures I have seen. Why was his demeanor not questioned too? As I recall, there weren't a bunch of crying people huddled around while Darlie jumped in and sprayed Silly String around, they were all holding balloons or participating in some way with her. Weren't they?

You might think it was the clincher, but the jury didn't. Most were surprised that the general public was so hung up on it. Darin looks very uncomfortable. He's standing off to the side with his hands in his pockets. He is not spraying Silly String or holding a single balloon. And remember, Darin had to have helped with at least the coverup. The knife with Darlie's blood on it did not walk itself back into the killing area. He was already downstairs and in that room. :twocents:

don't think anyone on her defense team even looked closely at Darin for quite some time

Do you know why they didn't? Because Darlie told them there was a stranger in the house!! Her story does not fit the evidence at all, but her defense can only work with what they've got.

and it seems that the police and prosecution never considered him as a suspect. I wonder WHY NOT

because there is not one speck of forensic evidence against him. Only theories based on common sense and the evidence against Darlie. Or maybe it is a grand govt. conspiracy and they have all the evidence locked away in Area 51.

 

[beesy]

For me, it would be easier to just cancel the trips and tell everyone sorry but I don't have the money right now, but apparently that was not something she could do. Never have I ever heard once that they were even considering canceling any of them. I have always found that extremely odd. I would think that for most people that would be the first option, not the last. It makes me think that something inside of them just couldn't face that prospect.

That shows how important their reputation was to them. Admitting you have to cancel trips is admitting you are not what others think you are. Although, I am sure the other women in the neighborhood had an idea of who Darlie was when they saw her prancing around in her thong!

 

[cami]

have you noticed that everybody says Beesy even though I write my name beesy?

I can't help it, a proper name should always be capitialized aaahahahahahahaha Sister Mary Catherine would never forgive me.

 

[britgirl]

I can't say I know Darlies' motive for killing her babies, but what I can say is that whatever she was feeling or thinking that night, whether she had rowed with Darrin, or was feeling unloved, unwanted, worried about finances or whatever, she proved herself to be the definition of many things: murderer, selfish, liar, and I'm sure you'll all add to that!

Whatever her problems were that night, they could have been resolved, if it was financial she could have downsized her house, if it was Darrin, she could have kicked him to the kerb, life does go on after divorce! Killing her children was NOT the answer as we all know, but her materialistic and selfish nature told her otherwise.......

As a mother myself I am a firm believer of 'my children come first', whether this is everyone elses opinion or not, that is the way I am, I say this becase I have a friend who disagrees with me.

I was once in a position between my marriages whereby it was very hard to 'make ends meet', lying awake at night worrying where the next meal was coming come from. But..... what I am saying is my first and foremost priority was always my children as I am sure it would be the same with you all.

As down as I was at times, it never ever entered my head to harm my children to get out of the rut I was in, quite the opposite; I put myself last, after the children. There must be thousands of Mums out there who have been in a 'not so comfortable position' and I'll bet killing their babies never entered their heads.
In fact my husband has a saying about me; 'Kick the kids and Tracey limps'

For as long as I live I could never ever comprehend a mother who could harm a hair on her childrens head, never mind kill them. I know this does happen where the Mum is mentally ill, but Darlie hasn't been diagnosed as mentally ill has she?

I am sorry if this sounded like a bit of a biography but today I am feeling really angry with Darlie and wish I could visit her and tell her what I think!! There...... I've finished now!!

Hi! You feel this way about your kids because you are normal. Darlie operates under different rules. For my part, I'm expecting my first child in June and already, the feelings of love and protection I have for him/her are incredible. Darlie MAY have felt that way about her boys at times but ultimately, SHE was the most important individual in her life. Welcome to WS, by the way!

 

[feenix]

Hi! You feel this way about your kids because you are normal. Darlie operates under different rules. For my part, I'm expecting my first child in June and already, the feelings of love and protection I have for him/her are incredible. Darlie MAY have felt that way about her boys at times but ultimately, SHE was the most important individual in her life. Welcome to WS, by the way!

Congratulations, you must keep us updated, before you know it June will be here!
As I said before, it is the 'norm' for a Mum to put her child/children first, but as we all know "not if you're called Darlie Routier".
Thank you for the welcome

 

[britgirl]

Congratulations, you must keep us updated, before you know it June will be here!
As I said before, it is the 'norm' for a Mum to put her child/children first, but as we all know "not if you're called Darlie Routier".
Thank you for the welcome

Thanks. June can't come soon enough. I'm already the size of a small country! :blowkiss:

 

[Goody]

I agree. The insurance money wasn't the motive, IMO. I think it was rage. I think the Jag was broken down at the time of the murders and had been for some time).

Both the Jag and that boat Darin had were in constant need of repair. Darlie was probably getting tired of throwing good money after bad. Boys toys will do that and it drives wives crazy. She wouldn't be the first one to froth at the mouth over it.

 

[Goody]

I think you've misunderstood Beesy's explanation. I think it WAS over money, but not a specific thing. Meaning, she wasn't thinking solely about the insurance policy. Months and months of overdue notices coming in from bill collectors, the mortgage payments being months overdue, loan denied, business failing, Darin working long hours trying to get the business back where it was, Darlie not being able to life the lifestyle she was used to, Darlie being at home with no car with three boys all day while Darin was out doing his thing (even if his thing was just work), Darlie having the baby blues, Darlie feeling "fat" (even if she wasn't really), Darlie not sleeping well, Darlie not being able to take that trip she wanted . . . and on and on and on. One thing after another and it all boiled down to money. So, I guess money could be the "motive" as a whole, but it was frustration, anger and rage that made her actually snap that night. I also believe that she was used to telling Darin that she wanted a divorce, was going to leave him, blah, blah, blah and was used to him begging her to stay, forgive him, blah, blah, blah, but I think this time he was frustrated too and he probably told her "fine" or maybe even "fine, get the "F out, and she lost it.

I just can't wrap my mind around that. Killing your kids after an arguement with your husband seems so extreme and UNUSUAL to me. Even UNUSUAL amongst parents who murder their children. I get the frustration and tensions and stresses, etc. I think they could contribute to her over reacting and lashing out at the kids who are misbehaving, but to pounce on two sleeping kids with a knife in the middle of the night because your husband told you to go F yourself is akin to going postal because your fries are cold. There would have to be a long history of bizarre behavior leading up to it, I would think. Or at least a long battle between the adults like divorce filings, separations, other partners, fights over children and custody issues, money, etc. Darlie and Darin were still together with no lovers interfering, etc. She hadn't even begun to walk down that road. I just can't put my hat on that hook.

However, I do agree with you that most of what you said did happen. I think it definitely contributed to the mood in that house that night. But there is something more that we don't know yet.

 

[j2mirish]

I just can't wrap my mind around that. Killing your kids after an arguement with your husband seems so extreme and UNUSUAL to me.

And I think a silly string party at the graveside service of your murdered child is Extreme & Unusual---- but she had an excuse for it-- didnt she?