Texas mother found guilty of killing son

KERRVILLE, Texas (CNN) -- A suburban housewife who claimed an intruder fatally stabbed two of her sons was convicted Saturday of killing one of the young boys.

Darlie Routier, 27, sobbed openly in court as the verdict was read and insisted, "I did not kill my babies." Her husband, who supported her claim of innocence, also wept.

The jury returns Monday to consider whether to sentence Mrs. Routier to death or life in prison. Prosecutor Greg Davis said he would ask that she get death by lethal injection.

"I loved those children more than my life," Routier testified. "They were the most important thing to me."

Routier was on trial for the death of her 5-year-old son Damon. She was convicted of capital murder. She also has been charged with a second count of capital murder for killing her older son. A trial has not been scheduled.

Defense attorney Richard Mosty said the verdict would be appealed.

Prosecutors argued Routier killed Damon and 6-year-old Devon on June 6, 1996, because she was angry over family money problems and upset over the weight she had gained during her pregnancy with a third son, Drake. They said she cut herself in an attempt to fool police.

Routier, who said she had been sleeping on a couch near the boys, claimed she awoke and saw a man dressed in dark clothing who fled toward the garage of the family's home in Rowlett, a suburb 20 miles east of Dallas.

She said she picked up a knife he had dropped then realized she and the boys had been attacked. In her call to 911, she cried: "Somebody came in, they broke in and just stabbed me and my children!"

Davis said Routier's testimony, which highlighted many inconsistencies in her story, may have hurt her case.

Darin Routier said he was asleep upstairs with their infant son, Drake, the night of the killings and awoke to the sound of glass breaking and his wife screaming.

He said he didn't hear or see an intruder, but recalled seeing his wife frantically trying to help her little boys, grabbing kitchen towels to cover their gaping wounds.

She was arrested 12 days later, and the trial was moved to Kerrville, 220 miles southwest of Dallas, because of publicity. The trial began January 6, and the guilty verdict followed nearly 10 hours of deliberation over two days.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.  

Related story:

• Mother jailed in stabbing deaths of sons - June 20, 1996

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