He then opened the driver's side door and shot all 3 of her children. Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. Diane Downs remains in prison in California. I think that's one of the things that-- ended up hurting her case. Elizabeth Diane Downs (ne Frederickson; born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter and attempted to murder her other two children near Springfield, Oregon, in May 1983. Becky Babcock was born while Diane was incarcerated. Downs told investigators that she and her children had been shot in a carjacking, but police found a secret diary detailing her obsession with a married man who did not want kids. [3][14], Downs was convicted on all charges on June 17, 1984, and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. Police scoured the crime scene for months searching for the weapon, a .22-caliber gun that wounded Diane and her 8-year-old daughter Christie, paralyzed her 3-year-old son Danny and killed her 7-year-old daughter Cheryl. After that, she was charged with killing her 7-year-old daughter. Now, as Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out. READ NEXT: COVID-19 Stimulus Check: Did the HEROES Act Pass? She graduated from the University of Oregon. The stroke Christie Downs suffered impaired her speech and initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. From their wounds, Christie suffered a stroke that left with a speech impairment, and Danny got paralyzed from the waist down. Powered by. It's not even known if he still resides in Arizona, where he used to live with Diane and their three kids. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). Distractify is a registered trademark. The child was later renamed Rebecca Babcock by her adoptive parents. She says it was during the struggle with the stranger that she was shot in the arm. At one point, she communicated with Downs through letters, but those eventually stopped when Babcock asked Downs to stop contacting her. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. She had been shot in the left forearm, though her wound was not life-threatening. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). [29] She was not permitted a statement, but answered questions from the parole board. Prior to being sentenced, Downs gave birth to a girl she named Amy Elizabeth. And Christie knew that.. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. Though she shot all three children, only Cheryl died Christie and Danny survived . Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. Heres what you need to know about where Diane Downs children are now: Shes been called evil and the devil. A mother of three, in love with a married man, who did the unthinkable. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? Her older two children have remained out of the public eye. Diane Downs always wanted to be a mom, she told Inside Edition in its first-ever episode in 1989. [27] A made-for-TV movie, also titled Small Sacrifices, starred Farrah Fawcett as Downs, and was aired on ABC in 1989. "And so the quickest, simplest way was to eliminate the children.". Downs was found guilty in June, and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. I mean, think about it. Babcock learned who her mother was at age 11, after tricking her babysitter to divulge the name. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. After months of physical and mental therapy, Christie Downs was able to take the stand and tell what happened to her that horrible night. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous behavior and returned to her parents' home in Arizona. Her pupils were dilated. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. Not just a son, but a couple of other children as well, including a daughter, who she named after her dead sister, Cheryl. Elizabeth Diane Downs, the convicted childkiller who escaped July 11, 1987 from the women's prison in Salem, Ore., is escorted out of state police headquarters in Salem following her capture July 21, 1987. The horrific crime, which Downs has always denied committing, is the subject of a 20/20 documentary that is airing on June 21, 2019 in an encore presentation. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. Diane Downs was one of the most infamous murderers of the 1980s; the emotionally flat blonde was convicted of shooting her three children, killing one of them, along a roadway in Springfield,. The Daughter of Diane Downs. The Queen has almost never put a foot wrong as she marks 70th year on the throne. Danielle Peterson/Statesman Journal via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. At least, that's the story Diane Downs told police. [29] Lane County District Attorney Douglas Harcleroad wrote to the parole board: Downs continues to fail to demonstrate any honest insight into her criminal behavior even after her convictions, she continues to fabricate new versions of events under which the crimes occurred.[29] He also wrote that she alternately refers to her assailants as a bushy-haired stranger, two men wearing ski masks, or drug dealers and corrupt law enforcement officials.[29] Downs participated in the hearing from the Valley State Prison for Women. She tried to cut her wrists when she was 13 years old. the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. And why are the kids fatally or near-fatally wounded, and she, being right-handed, is shot in the left arm? According to witnesses, she then drove at a pace of between 5-7 mph to the local hospital, where she then claimed to hospital staff she had been car-jacked by a stranger who shot herself and her children. Therefore, they grew up privately and continue to live their adult lives privately. READ MORE: abcn.ws/2W9dzyC In 1983, Diane Downs. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. I still worry about them and love them, though theyll never know it.. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. In the frantic scene, hospital employees quickly determined that Cheryl was already dead and that Christie and Danny were clinging to life. On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs drove herself and her three children to an emergency room in Springfield, Oregon, saying she had been shot by a "bushy-haired ma. And his response was, 'I want your car.' Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. Look at her," Jaeger said. She named the fourth baby Amy Elizabeth before the state handed her over to her adoptive parents. . She loves us. According to witnesses, she then drove at a pace of between 5-7 mph to the local hospital, where she then claimed to hospital staff she had been car-jacked by a stranger who shot herself and her children. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. Danny is said to be going about his daily routine, but specifics regarding his personal life, such as his spouse and children, have remained a mystery, according to Tuko. She replied, 'You've got to be kidding,' at which time he pushed her aside and reached in and shot the sleeping kids.". Although police had found spent .22 caliber bullet casings at the crime scene, an exhaustive search of the area did not turn up the murder weapon. Missing baby is feared dead as police arrest aristocrat Constance Marten and boyfriend on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter: 200 officers search allotments and compost bins near where . Too much for her own good, Welch said. She named one of her children after her dead sister Cheryl. He responded to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and immediately interviewed Downs, a postal worker. [5] When Downs went to trial in May 1984, she was again pregnant. In 2005, she gave birth to her first child, a boy, and later gave birth to a daughter who she named Cheryl after her sister. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. She described him as a "bushy haired stranger". The Diane Downs' Case Was no Small Sacrifice On May 19, 1983, Elizabeth Diane Downs and her three small children were shot on a country road near Springfield, Oregon. [23] The Salem prison was located 66 miles from Hugi's home in Springfield; during her ten days of freedom, Hugi had feared that Downs would attempt to travel there in hopes of contacting her children, Christie and Danny. Her pupils were dilated. She was later adopted by another family. After being recaptured, she was transferred to a more secure facility. She's been called "evil" and "the . Between the verdict and sentencing, the court recessed so that Downs could give birth to a girl she named Amy Elizabeth. And I thought to myself, What am I going to do with three shot children?. A year later, when Diane was arrested and put on trial, Christie, at just 9 years old, having just recovered her ability to speak, testified against her in court. What did she look like? We found that Diane Downs was emotionally flat. Det. It was exciting. A mother was driving one night down a rural road in Oregon when her three children, who were asleep in the car, were shot at point-blank range by a stranger in the dark. Offers may be subject to change without notice. In 2005, she gave birth to her first child, a boy, and later gave birth to a daughter who she named Cheryl after her sister. An appeal of . In 1983, Diane Downs three children were brought to an Oregon hospital with gunshot wounds. 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