Why? What was the motive?

[texassnuboots]

please dont attack......... I am just wondering what the motive is to kill these poor babies i am sure there was insurance money but could she have killed darin for this instead of the boys......i just dont get it, and its been so long since i have read anything on it....

Please don't attack me. You asked for my opinion on the motive, so here goes. I originally thought it was the insurance, even though I could only see the insurance money getting them through maybe 2 months of monthly debts. I admit, it's shallow. Darlie I think told someone she and Darin had had a big old fight that night and Darlie was leaving Darin. I think it was the other way around. I think Darin was leaving Darlie, (not literally, but emotionally and mentally) or Darlie had suspected Darin of cheating on her with her sister. Something set Darlie off that night. I'm not even sure if Darin was home yet from taking Dana home that night, even though he says he was in bed asleep. I think in a fit of rage Darlie killed the boys. Maybe in a sick need to have Darin pay her attention, she involved him hoping against hope that he would side with her and protect her, since in Darlie's mind Darin made her do the killings. I think Darin walked into the mess after returning from taking Dana home. Or, Darin dismissed Darlie's raging about him being out so late taking her sister home, or she asked for a divorce and he said "fine", and he went upstairs to go to bed. In a fit of rage and disbelief Darlie set the murder into motion. At some point Darin became aware of what was happening. But on the 911 tape he sounds totally surprised by what is taking place around him. I think Darin was used to Darlie's rantings and ravings and screamings and squealings like we hear on the 911 tape, and just dismissed all the noise as "typical Darlie behavior when she doesn't get her way".

I can't buy that Darlie was leaving Darin and that she would kill the boys over that. Those boys were like an insurance policy for her in case of divorce because they would provide her with child support, an income. I cannot see her giving up that potential income no matter how mad she got at Darin. I can see her lashing out at the boys with a knife to HURT Darin because she was so angry at him. Add to the mix of rage the diet pills she had been taking, I think she was a time bomb and Darin knew how to push her buttons. I think Darin was at a point where he no longer cared. He had reached his limit. All the high-pitched squealing in the world was not going to make him look at Darlie, see her as attractive, or wish that she was in his bed that night. He had his fantasies on someone else that night. Darlie could not live with that, not without making Darin pay. I know this is shallow, but I think Darlie took up the knife that night to kill Darin again and again because he would not pay attention to her. With two sons dead, Darin would have to look at her and talk to her and reason with her, try to work things out, which is what Darlie wanted all along. Then in a twisted desire to get away with the crime she quickly created the "intruder" story. For some reason Darin went along with it. Or didn't question it too heavily. JMO

 

[deanws]

Texas, the evidence shows the boys were stabbed shortly before the 911 call, so it happened in the middle of the night, not when Darin was taking the little sis home. I also think you missed the mark on how Darin felt about Darlie. He still thought she was hot. There is just no accounting for his taste. :waitasec:

 

[scandi]

First, Hi Goody. Hope you are feeling better.

I saw a special on this murder some time ago, and the thing that sticks in my head is that Darlie felt the boys were standing in the way of her 'llove' life. They gave the impression that #1 of importance to her was romance and sex, and #2 was her family.

Scandi

 

[beesy]

Well, it wasn't the insurance money. They only got $10,000 for the boys ($5000 each) and the funeral cost them $13,000.

I don't know why she did it. I am thinking she either lost her temper and lashed out against one child unexpectedly and the rest of was part of the cover up, or both she and her husband together got so wrapped up in their material lifestyle that they thought they could pull off a double murder like that, sell themselves as victims, and capitalize on their story rights afterwards. The latter seems a little out there but these two were entreapenuers, risk takers by nature almost, and if anyone would come up with such a crazy plot, it would be someone like them. Only they can tell us which it was though, so until one of them talks, we are left wondering.

I don't think the murders were that planned out. They'd have to be if they thought they could get some movie deals. It's way too sloppy for that. It'd have been easier to just buy additional insurance on the boys. There is a federal law which says that convicted felons cannot profit off of their stories or any supposed artwork, etc while in prison. It's a new law and I'm not sure if it was in effect then or not. I don't think it was.
As far as her cash flow dwindling, Darlie might have felt the boys were a burden, but I don't think she mapped out these murders. Flying off the handle is more like it. I don't doubt that she had thought of it before, maybe thinking she'd have more freedom, more money and more romantic outings without them.

 

[beesy]

:waitasec:
well if darin was hunting around for someone to burglerize them and then cash in on the insurance, maybe he started dealing with some shady people and they were involved in this as well, i dont know just tossing out ideas..

You still have all of the evidence which proves there was no intruder. It matters little if Darin was snooping around for fraud or not.

 

[JimPence]

On the question of motive, I would agree that it was a spontaneous "rage" killing. Something (who knows what?) set Darlie off and she took it out on the boys. IMO, these killiings were much too "up close and personal" for it to be something like an insurance scam. Plus there was overkill, which is a clear indicator of rage.

A good book to read on the subject is John Douglas's "The Anatomy of Motive". This book doesn't deal with the Routier case, but it does analyze this type of murder.

This is another reason I can't buy the intruder story. I don't believe that a burglar, no matter how stupid, would have brutally stabbed two little boys, then tried to slit Darlie's throat with the delicacy of a surgeon. He'd have stabbed her, too, or he'd have done an O.J. and nearly decapitated her. But he would not have given her the opportunity to alert anyone else in the house.

Just my humble opinion.

Jim

 

[beesy]

On the question of motive, I would agree that it was a spontaneous "rage" killing. Something (who knows what?) set Darlie off and she took it out on the boys. IMO, these killiings were much too "up close and personal" for it to be something like an insurance scam. Plus there was overkill, which is a clear indicator of rage.

A good book to read on the subject is John Douglas's "The Anatomy of Motive". This book doesn't deal with the Routier case, but it does analyze this type of murder.

This is another reason I can't buy the intruder story. I don't believe that a burglar, no matter how stupid, would have brutally stabbed two little boys, then tried to slit Darlie's throat with the delicacy of a surgeon. He'd have stabbed her, too, or he'd have done an O.J. and nearly decapitated her. But he would not have given her the opportunity to alert anyone else in the house.

Just my humble opinion.

Jim

right and it's not as if he thought he'd killed her. She claims he ran away from her! Wonder what made her say that? That is simply not believable and I can't think of why she'd throw that in there. She claims the intruder was a tall man(well sometimes she does). So he ran from a rather short, 135 lb bleeding woman? She stopped, turned her back on a killer to turn on the light. Then she watched him leave, didn't lock the door and strolled back to pick up the knife and put it on the counter?
Lies are told for a reason. Why did she choose to say she went after him? Could it be she knew some of her blood was in the kitchen, some that she couldn't clean up? By saying she walked through the kitchen, she thought she could excuse that blood. She obviously didn't know LE could find the blood in the sink, counter and on the floor near the sink with Luminol. Maybe she realized she couldn't clean up all of her blood in the kitchen so said that? It's just such a stupid part of her story, there has to be some reason she thought it up.

 

[beesy]

Please don't attack me. You asked for my opinion on the motive, so here goes. I originally thought it was the insurance, even though I could only see the insurance money getting them through maybe 2 months of monthly debts. I admit, it's shallow. Darlie I think told someone she and Darin had had a big old fight that night and Darlie was leaving Darin. I think it was the other way around. I think Darin was leaving Darlie, (not literally, but emotionally and mentally) or Darlie had suspected Darin of cheating on her with her sister. Something set Darlie off that night. I'm not even sure if Darin was home yet from taking Dana home that night, even though he says he was in bed asleep. I think in a fit of rage Darlie killed the boys. Maybe in a sick need to have Darin pay her attention, she involved him hoping against hope that he would side with her and protect her, since in Darlie's mind Darin made her do the killings. I think Darin walked into the mess after returning from taking Dana home. Or, Darin dismissed Darlie's raging about him being out so late taking her sister home, or she asked for a divorce and he said "fine", and he went upstairs to go to bed. In a fit of rage and disbelief Darlie set the murder into motion. At some point Darin became aware of what was happening. But on the 911 tape he sounds totally surprised by what is taking place around him. I think Darin was used to Darlie's rantings and ravings and screamings and squealings like we hear on the 911 tape, and just dismissed all the noise as "typical Darlie behavior when she doesn't get her way".
I can't buy that Darlie was leaving Darin and that she would kill the boys over that. Those boys were like an insurance policy for her in case of divorce because they would provide her with child support, an income. I cannot see her giving up that potential income no matter how mad she got at Darin. I can see her lashing out at the boys with a knife to HURT Darin because she was so angry at him. Add to the mix of rage the diet pills she had been taking, I think she was a time bomb and Darin knew how to push her buttons. I think Darin was at a point where he no longer cared. He had reached his limit. All the high-pitched squealing in the world was not going to make him look at Darlie, see her as attractive, or wish that she was in his bed that night. He had his fantasies on someone else that night. Darlie could not live with that, not without making Darin pay. I know this is shallow, but I think Darlie took up the knife that night to kill Darin again and again because he would not pay attention to her. With two sons dead, Darin would have to look at her and talk to her and reason with her, try to work things out, which is what Darlie wanted all along. Then in a twisted desire to get away with the crime she quickly created the "intruder" story. For some reason Darin went along with it. Or didn't question it too heavily. JMO

Ah, the "Darin Made Me Do It" theory, one of my faves. But I do not think for one second Darin was no longer hot for Darlie. One of the first things he said to the homicide detc. was "did you see her breasts, isn't she beautiful, aren't they beautiful, they are 38 DD's" Those are not the words of someone who no longer wants to jump his wife.
I do agree that there was an argument that night and that there was possibly some talk of separation. It was probably just talk, said in anger and I don't think he'd ever leave her. I've also thought she suspected there was something going on with him and Dana. I don't think there was. If Darlie left him, he'd break his neck to get her back. Maybe she threatened to hurt the boys or herself before she let him leave her or take the boys, something like that. He "dared" her and she took him up on it. Clearly things went way beyond what he thought they would. I think she even made him feel guilty about "making" her do it. She could manipulate him. There are family stories of that. If she could get him to feel he caused her to kill the boys, then that would make him help with the coverup. Perhaps caught up in the sheer terror of everything, he made the decision to help her and once he started he had to keep going with it. He was already screwed and in too deep. That's why they can't tell on each other. :twocents: And as Dani T. said, the insurance papers were out and had been looked at that night. It's possible that was one of the millions of reasons Darlie did this. The fight with Darin, the diet pills, lack of sleep, low cash flow, PPD, feeling trapped by motherhood, married too young and the thought of a little cash threw her over the edge. :twocents:
Darin does sound horrified on the tape. I think he was. Darlie was just being bratty, he thought. I think it just all happened so fast. When was the decision made to help Darlie? I don't know. Just because Darin still sounds horrified on the tape doesn't mean he's not already a part of it.
There is no way the boys were killed before Darin got home or even but a little bit before the 911 call was placed. All of the blood was fresh.

 

[beesy]

First, Hi Goody. Hope you are feeling better.

I saw a special on this murder some time ago, and the thing that sticks in my head is that Darlie felt the boys were standing in the way of her 'llove' life. They gave the impression that #1 of importance to her was romance and sex, and #2 was her family.

Scandi

yeah, I've always seen Darlie and Darin as a team. More concerned with each other than the boys. They didn't love those boys the way most parents do or should. They probably thought they did and I don't think they are fibbing when they said they loved them either.

 

[beesy]

I'm not sure that proves that the insurance money wasn't the original motive. I'm not claiming that I think it was- but we always say 'the funerals cost more than the insurance so that couldn't have been it'. But would Darlie have either known how much funerals cost or even if she had would she have been personally willing to spend that much on them anyway? Perhaps the pressure to spend that much came from Darin or the family?

As I said, I don't think the $10 000 insurance money was the incentive to kill her kids. But I don't think we can necessarily rule in out just because of hindsight

Good idea Dani. I hadn't thought of that before

 

[deanws]

On the question of motive, I would agree that it was a spontaneous "rage" killing. Something (who knows what?) set Darlie off and she took it out on the boys. IMO, these killiings were much too "up close and personal" for it to be something like an insurance scam. Plus there was overkill, which is a clear indicator of rage.

A good book to read on the subject is John Douglas's "The Anatomy of Motive". This book doesn't deal with the Routier case, but it does analyze this type of murder.

This is another reason I can't buy the intruder story. I don't believe that a burglar, no matter how stupid, would have brutally stabbed two little boys, then tried to slit Darlie's throat with the delicacy of a surgeon. He'd have stabbed her, too, or he'd have done an O.J. and nearly decapitated her. But he would not have given her the opportunity to alert anyone else in the house.

Just my humble opinion.

Jim

I agree.....especially about the over kill.

 

[texassnuboots]

Ah, the "Darin Made Me Do It" theory, one of my faves. But I do not think for one second Darin was no longer hot for Darlie. One of the first things he said to the homicide detc. was "did you see her breasts, isn't she beautiful, aren't they beautiful, they are 38 DD's" Those are not the words of someone who no longer wants to jump his wife.
I do agree that there was an argument that night and that there was possibly some talk of separation. It was probably just talk, said in anger and I don't think he'd ever leave her. I've also thought she suspected there was something going on with him and Dana. I don't think there was. If Darlie left him, he'd break his neck to get her back. Maybe she threatened to hurt the boys or herself before she let him leave her or take the boys, something like that. He "dared" her and she took him up on it. Clearly things went way beyond what he thought they would. I think she even made him feel guilty about "making" her do it. She could manipulate him. There are family stories of that. If she could get him to feel he caused her to kill the boys, then that would make him help with the coverup. Perhaps caught up in the sheer terror of everything, he made the decision to help her and once he started he had to keep going with it. He was already screwed and in too deep. That's why they can't tell on each other. :twocents: And as Dani T. said, the insurance papers were out and had been looked at that night. It's possible that was one of the millions of reasons Darlie did this. The fight with Darin, the diet pills, lack of sleep, low cash flow, PPD, feeling trapped by motherhood, married too young and the thought of a little cash threw her over the edge. :twocents:
Darin does sound horrified on the tape. I think he was. Darlie was just being bratty, he thought. I think it just all happened so fast. When was the decision made to help Darlie? I don't know. Just because Darin still sounds horrified on the tape doesn't mean he's not already a part of it.
There is no way the boys were killed before Darin got home or even but a little bit before the 911 call was placed. All of the blood was fresh.

I have never read the timeline of how long it took him to take Dana home. I know he left around 9 or 9:30 pm, but when did he return? I had always assumed that he came straight home afterward, but maybe he didn't, maybe he spent several hours with Dana or someone else. When he got home Darlie lit into him, he in response blew her off and went to bed. In a fit of rage she.....well you know the rest. JMO

 

[texassnuboots]

Texas, the evidence shows the boys were stabbed shortly before the 911 call, so it happened in the middle of the night, not when Darin was taking the little sis home. I also think you missed the mark on how Darin felt about Darlie. He still thought she was hot. There is just no accounting for his taste. :waitasec:

When did Darin return home? What time, I mean. I have never heard what I considered to be a forthcoming answer, so I had my doubts that he came straight home. Yep, that old "Darlie is hot" has certainly made it's rounds. It had me fooled for many years until recently when I began to pay more attention to nuances and the way words seemed foreign to Darin's personality unless someone else intimated those words to him. I think so many of those are words put in his mouth by Darlie, promoting herself and in essence promoting himself for having such a fine looking wife. Darin is just a puppet. Like when he said that when he went up to bed Darlie was on the sofa looking hot and sexy in her Victoria Secret night shirt. Those words in my opinion don't ring true. They sound like the words of a woman put into a man's mouth. It's a shame he doesn't speak so eloquently of his sons. JMO

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I don't think the murders were that planned out. They'd have to be if they thought they could get some movie deals. It's way too sloppy for that. It'd have been easier to just buy additional insurance on the boys. There is a federal law which says that convicted felons cannot profit off of their stories or any supposed artwork, etc while in prison. It's a new law and I'm not sure if it was in effect then or not. I don't think it was.
As far as her cash flow dwindling, Darlie might have felt the boys were a burden, but I don't think she mapped out these murders. Flying off the handle is more like it. I don't doubt that she had thought of it before, maybe thinking she'd have more freedom, more money and more romantic outings without them.

Beesy, that law no longer exists. The Son of Sam law was unconstitutional.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

On the question of motive, I would agree that it was a spontaneous "rage" killing. Something (who knows what?) set Darlie off and she took it out on the boys. IMO, these killiings were much too "up close and personal" for it to be something like an insurance scam. Plus there was overkill, which is a clear indicator of rage.

A good book to read on the subject is John Douglas's "The Anatomy of Motive". This book doesn't deal with the Routier case, but it does analyze this type of murder.

This is another reason I can't buy the intruder story. I don't believe that a burglar, no matter how stupid, would have brutally stabbed two little boys, then tried to slit Darlie's throat with the delicacy of a surgeon. He'd have stabbed her, too, or he'd have done an O.J. and nearly decapitated her. But he would not have given her the opportunity to alert anyone else in the house.

Just my humble opinion.

Jim

This is also what I believe. I believe it was years of frustration come to a head and she snapped.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

When did Darin return home? What time, I mean. I have never heard what I considered to be a forthcoming answer, so I had my doubts that he came straight home. Yep, that old "Darlie is hot" has certainly made it's rounds. It had me fooled for many years until recently when I began to pay more attention to nuances and the way words seemed foreign to Darin's personality unless someone else intimated those words to him. I think so many of those are words put in his mouth by Darlie, promoting herself and in essence promoting himself for having such a fine looking wife. Darin is just a puppet. Like when he said that when he went up to bed Darlie was on the sofa looking hot and sexy in her Victoria Secret night shirt. Those words in my opinion don't ring true. They sound like the words of a woman put into a man's mouth. It's a shame he doesn't speak so eloquently of his sons. JMO

Darin was gone longer than the 20 or 30 minutes it would have taken to take Dana home that night. I'm not sure how much longer, not hours, but longer. I don't believe anything was going on between the two, but I believe Darlie was just about going nuts during that period (I'm thinking a week, two weeks) and in her mind, anything was possible.

 

[beesy]

Beesy, that law no longer exists. The Son of Sam law was unconstitutional.

Really? Well that is sucky. Maybe not selling their stories, but Gacey and Manson selling their "art" should not be allowed

 

[beesy]

When did Darin return home? What time, I mean. I have never heard what I considered to be a forthcoming answer, so I had my doubts that he came straight home. Yep, that old "Darlie is hot" has certainly made it's rounds. It had me fooled for many years until recently when I began to pay more attention to nuances and the way words seemed foreign to Darin's personality unless someone else intimated those words to him. I think so many of those are words put in his mouth by Darlie, promoting herself and in essence promoting himself for having such a fine looking wife. Darin is just a puppet. Like when he said that when he went up to bed Darlie was on the sofa looking hot and sexy in her Victoria Secret night shirt. Those words in my opinion don't ring true. They sound like the words of a woman put into a man's mouth. It's a shame he doesn't speak so eloquently of his sons. JMO

That doesn't fly. Darin is her puppet, but I believe he does think those things about her and was not prompted to say them. Darlie may say "how do I look, blah, blah", but the words are his. She's his trophy wife. "look at the hot girl I managed to catch"
I don't understand by what you mean about The Darlie is hot fooling you

 

[beesy]

Darin was gone longer than the 20 or 30 minutes it would have taken to take Dana home that night. I'm not sure how much longer, not hours, but longer. I don't believe anything was going on between the two, but I believe Darlie was just about going nuts during that period (I'm thinking a week, two weeks) and in her mind, anything was possible.

I agree. He admits it took him longer than it should have taken, but offers no reason why, right? And like you said, she was already freaking out, so it's not that far-fetched for her to start imagining there was something going on between Darin and Dana

 

[beesy]

I have never read the timeline of how long it took him to take Dana home. I know he left around 9 or 9:30 pm, but when did he return? I had always assumed that he came straight home afterward, but maybe he didn't, maybe he spent several hours with Dana or someone else. When he got home Darlie lit into him, he in response blew her off and went to bed. In a fit of rage she.....well you know the rest. JMO

Yeah, I think she jumped on him as soon as he came in. She'd probably been worrying about all that other stuff and sizzling as she waited for him to come home. The boys annoying her. She wanted him back home so she could try to get some sleep. But I think the fight lasted awhile, not a quick "I'm going bed, you're nuts"