And-- so with that, then we were free to treat her as need be. All Rights Reserved. She'd been shot in the left forearm, said Welch. Boris Johnson is stuck in a chaotic spiral of scandal, walkouts, and leaving dos so where does he go from here? Where is Diane Downs today? We've got three children who have been shot, Wilhite told 20/20. And my whole body just tingled. California author Diane Burroughs studied writing and television production at Columbia College and is a writer and producer for sitcoms for television - Married.with Children, Murphy Brown, Martin, The Drew Carey Show, Yes, Dear, and Still Standing - a blogger at Left at 50, and a standup comedienne. Look at her," Jaeger said. 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. And they give me love, they give me satisfaction, they give me stability, they give me a reason to live and a reason to be happy, and that's gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive.". In 1983, Diane Downs said stranger shot her 3 kids. There isnt a whole lot known about where Steve Downs is these days. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. [32], Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 03:51, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, "Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love", "The True Story of Diane Downs: How a Mother Shot Her 3 Kids for Her Lover", "Woman on finding peace after learning mother is child killer Diane Downs: 'Though that's biologically my makeup, it's not who I am inside', "Woman finds peace after learning mother is convicted child killer Diane Downs", Christie Downs: Three Years Old Murder Survival of the 80s, "Becky Babcock: My Mother Was a Murderer", "Becky Babcock: A Girl's Fight to Escape her Mother's Crimes", "Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love', "Diane Downs maintains innocence as parole hearing looms", "Diane Downs Denied by Oregon Parole Board", "Diane Downs Latest Parole Hearing is Next Month", "Where Is Diane Downs Today? In May of that year, Downs shot her three children in her car at a remote roadside in Springfield, Oregon, before shooting herself in the forearm, cops said. "People would see little sound bites of her talking on television, and I think they started getting the feeling that there's something really wrong with this person," Jaeger said. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. Although Downs denied having ever owned a .22 caliber gun, ex-husband Steve Downs told police she took one with her when she moved to Oregon. Full names: Elizabeth Diane Downs Birth name: Elizabeth Diane Frederickson Date of birth: August 7, 1955 Age: 67 years old as of 2022 Place of birth: Phoenix, Arizona Gender: Female Nationality: American Ethnicity: White Zodiac sign: Leo Children: Christie Ann, Cheryl Lynn, Stephen Daniel, and Becky Babcock In 1983, horror stuck in Oregon as a mother took it upon herself to end the life of her own children. Downs claimed that on a drive home from a friends house, she decided to take the scenic route home. In the frantic scene, hospital employees quickly determined that Cheryl was already dead and that Christie and Danny were clinging to life. Unlike her siblings, Becky Babcock has been very public about her mother, granting interviews over the years. But surgeon Steve Wilhite managed to revive Christie after her blood pressure dipped dangerously low and she suffered a stroke. DIANE Downs is serving a life sentence for horrific crimes she committed against her own children. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the. When Wilhite went to go update Downs on her daughters condition, he said he was surprised by her reaction. According toHeavy, crime author Ann Rule said: "Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. 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 . They have maintained private lives since and have never spoken publically about their birth mother. EUGENE -- It was 27 years ago tomorrow that single mother Elizabeth Diane Downs shot her three children -- killing one and seriously injuring the other two -- on a dark, rural Lane County. 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. Christie Ann, born in 1974, is the eldest of the Downs children, and Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, born in 1979, is the youngest. The couple divorced in 1980 because Steve thought Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, was the result of an extramarital affair by Diane. She will be eligible for parole in 2020 and continues to proclaim her innocence. Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. The two older kids were Diane's with ex-husband Steve, however, Danny wasn't Steve's. The stroke Christie Downs suffered impaired her speech and initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. Is She Still In Jail? I've never been so hyped in my life.. For ten days, Downs managed to evade law enforcementdespite a fourteen-state manhuntbefore she was recaptured. One died; two survived but had serious injuries. A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. Copyright 2023 Distractify. [2], On November 13, 1973, Diane married Steve Downs after running away from home. "I'm never going to see Cheryl on Earth again and I just, you can't replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence. It was as if she thought that if she kept talking enough, that you would believe her, Jaeger said. She provides an update on Christie and Danny today, writing on her website: Adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984, Christie and Dannywho somehow survived their gunshot woundshave no contact with Diane. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? [8][9] Upon arrival, Cheryl (aged 7) was already dead, Danny (aged 3) was paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie (aged 8) had suffered a disabling stroke. 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. Christie Downs, now 44, and her brother, 39, were adopted by the prosecutor in the case. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY, March 22 at 9 p.m. A judge had already placed Downs' two surviving children in protective custody. She was required to serve twenty-five years before being considered for parole. On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diane_Downs&oldid=1139832541, Incarcerated; earliest possible release 2025, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 03:51. That's insane to think that I would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself -- that's crazy.". [15], Psychiatrists diagnosed her with narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial personality disorders, labeling her as a deviant sociopath.[16], Downs' two surviving children eventually went to live with the lead prosecutor on the case, Fred Hugi. The outlet also reported Downs as saying that prisoners at the facility started suffering from COVID-19 symptoms in February. [28], In her first application for parole in 2008, Downs reaffirmed her innocence. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Diane Downs always wanted to be a mom, she told Inside Edition in its first-ever episode in 1989. Previously, Diane was housed in a maximum-security prison for women in Clinton, N.J. As for why she wasn't in Oregon where the crimes took place, " [prison] officials said they . I sat and I thought about it for awhile, and I chose to open that letter. [29], Downs had parole hearings in 2010 and 2020, which were both denied. [22] She received an additional five-year sentence for the escape. she said in an interview. They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. And as long as he said that he wasn't going to be a father to anyone's children, they had to go.. Diane Downs is an American murder convict who has been serving a life sentence since 1984. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable.. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. Golden State Killer: Where Is the Prolific Rapist and Murderer Today? Police arrested Downs Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings. Now, as Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out. Christie became the star witness in the case, bravely testifying against her monster mom. [She said] she had been out visiting a friend who had a horse up in the Marcola area -- she and the kids -- and when it grew dark they headed home. They had another sibling, born in the middle, in 1976, Cheryl Lynn, but she didnt survive the shooting. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. But as . She was white She was not breathing. Would love your thoughts, please comment. "I knew within 30 minutes of talking with that woman that she was guilty": Surgeon who helped save one of Diane Downs' kids in 1983 after she shot her recalls chilling interaction. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. Her three children -- 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl and 3 . Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. Downs is serving a life sentence for shooting her children, killing one They married in 1973, before divorcing in 1980. [3] Much of the case against her rested on the testimony of her surviving daughter, Christie, who, once she recovered her ability to speak, described how her mother shot all three children while parked at the side of the road, and then shot herself in the arm. Her pupils were dilated. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? [7], On May 19, 1983, Downs shot her three children, and drove them in a blood-spattered car to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield, Oregon. 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. I had a great family, a great life. This is why I chose to tell my story. 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. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. And he replied, I want your car. She said, You've got to be kidding, at which time he pushed her aside and reached in with a gun and began shooting the kids-- the three kids.. Wilhite said he and the hospital staff who worked on the Downs kids on that horrific May night were not surprised by the outcome of the case. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. She tells ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. She went to the University of Oregon and now lives with her husband and children in the town. She took a detour off of Marcola Road onto Old Mohawk Road to do some sightseeing., By this time it was dark, and the kids were sleeping. [1], Elizabeth Diane Downs was born on August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona, to Wesley Linden (19302017) and Willadene (Engle) Frederickson. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the middle child, was killed in the attack. After months of physical and mental therapy, Christie Downs was finally able to take the stand and tell what happened to her that horrible night. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. Prior to her sentencing, Downs gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Amy Elizabeth. She was white She was not breathing. She has been housed in California for the Oregon Department of Corrections since Aug. 30, 1993.. The Queen has almost never put a foot wrong as she marks 70th year on the throne. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable. Dianes emotionless, cold demeanor about the children convinced people immediately that she was the shooter. Jaeger remembers worrying that Downs' pregnancy could affect the way jurors viewed her. She was later adopted by another family. In 1987, just three years into her sentence, Downs escaped from the correctional facility in Oregon where she was being held. 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. Cops decided she was lying. What did she do?. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. Glamour reported that Danny was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of the shooting and Cheryl suffered a major stroke as a result of the attack that left her with a lifelong speech impediment. Christie, now in her mid-40s, still lives in Oregon, in Springfield, and has a big, loving family. "And so the quickest, simplest way was to eliminate the children.". "The more she talked, the more things didn't make any sense.". Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute for Woman in Clinton, N.J., March 12, 1989. A surgeon told ABC News of treating Christie: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead, he said. 1983: Diane Downs Attempts to Murder Her Three Children. She, too, is now a mother. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. On July 11, 1987, she escaped from her cell by scaling an eighteen-foot razor wire fence. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, March 22, at 9 p.m. Wilhite said he was immediately directed to start working to save Christie while another surgeon took Danny. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. When I looked in the mailbox and saw her letter, it was like Pandoras box. Twitter Diane Downs remains in prison in California. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. An appeal of . Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. The woman who was on trial for shooting her own children was pregnant again -- and it was no accident. At the time Diane had told police that a stranger attempted to carjack her and shot the kids, and thats what her ex husband was told, too. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. ET. "Sightseeing when it's pitch black out? Police arrested Downs Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings. "She saw the kids as a burden, they were in the way and he wasn't going to join her as long as she had the kids," Welch said. She knew that, if she got pregnant, that people would look at her and say, How could a woman who loves children this much and got pregnant have killed her children?