Darlie Routier’s Execution Date Still Not Set, Pending Evidence?

In 1997, Darlie Routier was convicted for the murder of her five-year old son Damon and was set for execution on death row after a jury gave her a guilty verdict after they watched footage of the family’s festive celebration around the grave site of her other son Devon.

Today, however, as of this writing, there is no date of execution set for her yet.

Both children were found stabbed in their home in Rowlett, Texas, and Damon was found to be alive but would later die of his injuries.

Despite many of the reports over this case, it should be noted that she was only convicted of Damon’s death, but it is largely assumed that she killed both.

Woman Convicted Of Murdering Her Two Sons Before Dancing On Their Graves Is Innocent, Her Family Claims

Assumed because since she’s been sent to execution, there is growing doubt among many that she had anything to do with their deaths at all.

Last year it was reported that State District Judge Gracie Lewis ordered new DNA forensic testing of some items from the crime scene — as reported by the Dallas Morning News, for which there have been little to no updates for a case that is growing with interest.

At least one report has come back showing that evidence likely points to Darlie Routier, but there is a chance that it’s being reviewed at the federal level now.

The case has been well-documented at this point in syndicated crime shows – such as American Justice, which ended in 2005 but has rounded up the details for a new generation, or when the Dallas Morning News which recently wrote about it says that there is still lingering doubt as to whether she killed her children, today.

Rowlett is a city right outside of Dallas, and so the local media source has been keeping fresh eyes on the story where Darlie Routier claims that a man broke into their home and fatally stabbed her boys, so deep in fact that the knife chipped out floor tile underneath their bodies.

She claims that the man escaped through the back door.

Even today, however, those recounting the details of the story say that her conviction is based off of nothing more than circumstantial evidence, which makes one question whether that kind of evidence is enough to indict someone for execution.

Both the show and the newspaper also lean on the footage shot that shows Darlie and family spraying silly string on the grave of her son — for what would have been his seventh birthday — as the main reason she ended up being convicted by a jury.

On this week's @TexasCrimeCast: Looking back on the Darlie Routier murders, shooting at @DallasPDHQ https://t.co/syI5DPEvif

— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) June 10, 2016

They both also point to footage of the family at the grave site about an hour before the silly string footage was recorded, which the jury apparently didn’t see, where it’s said that they had a more formal ceremony as opposed to the footage more people are familiar with.

In the latest account by Dallas News, Darlie’s mother points this out.

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 is Darlie’s mother, who has gone to visit her daughter at the Gatesville Penitentiary, where for years since her arrest, she has only been able to engage with her from the other side of thick glass.

The blog article goes into what the neighborhood where the incident took place is like today and what the people who live there think of the case.

But again, whether Darlie Routier is executed fully relies on the prosecutors, defendants and those directly involved.

Darlie’s defense team has been working for an appeal for years despite coming against a wall.

In one article about the investigation by the Hood County News, which says that a forensics expert disagrees with the state’s results; the executive director of Texas Defender Service summed up the process of appeals and Routier’s chances to avoid execution.

“If they (Routier’s appeals lawyers) didn’t get this stuff in the record early on, then they’re out of luck,” said Kase. “The number of people who are concerned about innocence is much smaller than the number of people who are concerned about the amount of time it’s taking to execute people on death row.”

A petition by Darlie’s mother is being circulated to pressure Dallas DA Susan Hawk to give her a new trial.

Then of course, Texas wouldn’t be “Texas” without a solid record of executions.

[Image (resized and cropped) by Donna McWilliam / AP Photo]