Page 86 of The Sleeping Girls
His medical records indicated that he suffered from a sleeping disorder that included insomnia and sleepwalking. He was prescribed Ambien, and at the time of his arrest, tested positive for the drug in his system, which could account for his incoherence and confusion. He also had unexplained bruises on his body.
When asked about them, he didn’t seem to recall how he got them.
His memories were all over the place, inconsistent at the time. He stated that he didn’t remember going into Anna Marie’s room, but he heard his father shouting, “You killed her!”
That’s when he looked down and saw the pillow in his hand. His father shoved him to the floor and started CPR.
Caitlin: Did he remember smothering his sister?
Dr. Curtis: Just that he was holding the pillow.
Caitlin: And you deemed him mentally competent to stand trial?
Dr. Curtis: Yes, he was confused, but not mentally ill.
Caitlin: Dr. Curtis, do you think Darnell was capable of killing someone?
Dr. Curtis: I believe that given the right circumstances, anyone is capable of murder.
Ellie moved on to the second audio file.
November 11, 2022
Caitlin: This is Caitlin O’Connor, Southern Lights Studios, true crime podcast: Guilty or Not Guilty. Today we are continuing our series on the Darnell Woodruff case with an interview from Mr. Woodruff.
Mr. Woodruff, thank you for speaking to me. Please tell us in your own words what happened the night of October 31.
Darnell: I… uh, the details are foggy.
Caitlin: Please tell us what you recall.
Darnell: It was storming. I… heard a noise and got up, thought my mother might have come home.
Caitlin: Your mother? Where was she?
Darnell: She left us the week before… I don’t know why but she just left.
Caitlin: And you wanted her to come back?
Darnell: Yeah. So did my brother and Anna Marie. She’d been crying for days. So… I hoped Mama was back and… I wanted to see if Anna Marie was okay.
Caitlin: You cared about your sister?
Darnell: Yeah… she was thin for her age and… fragile…
Caitlin: What happened next?
Darnell: It was thundering and lightning and… I heard the noise again and it was coming from her room. So I went to see what it was and…
Caitlin: I understand this is difficult, Darnell, but what happened then?
Darnell: I saw a shadow and thought someone was hurting her and I… I froze… and then the next thing I remember my stepfather was shouting, “You killed her!” AndI looked down and saw the pillow and I thought I must have done it. Then my stepdad shoved me to the floor and I… think I blacked out… and then the sirens were wailing and the police burst in and dragged me outside… and I looked down at my hands and… I couldn’t believe I killed her.
The interview ended with Darnell sobbing.
Caitlin: There you have Darnell Woodruff’s account of the night in question. Police insist he confessed to the murder of his sister. But did he really? Or does his statement raise reasonable doubt?
Ellie pushed back from the desk, troubled by the statement.