You do not have to agree with my general opinion outside of the facts of the case, but I would appreciate some comments on what matters; how this case was handled at trial and during the investigation. So appropriate! Except for Paul Cortez. If it was not such a high profile case, Diane Downs would have been paroled a long time ago, considering her good behavior and lack of priors. Lets not take that lightly. Almost from day one, Diane was perceived as a cancer they had to remove. The problem with high profile cases is that the media, the DA, the cops and authors like Ann Rule dictate the narrative and it becomes almost impossible to look any other way unless you are a critical thinker devoid of emotions related to the case. So Diane did what she thought would bring her the deepest satisfaction in life; she became a mother. I followed the trial. 4. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. Do not take this so personally. Lets not forget that she was presumed to have fired a gun 6 times at close range within the confines of a small car. This does not make her innocent. She complained about it, but that does not mean she did not suffer for her kids. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. She said no mother would stop at 10 at night, in the dark, with three young children, to help a Bush haired stranger. Shes where she belongs. The crucial point is that she is so void of emotion. Hed left his first wife to co-habitate with (and later marry) Charlene. I am glad you read it anyway and I appreciate your comment. Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy. Do you REALLY believe she expected them to live especially since she drove at less than 10 mph. What would have been the conclusion to have drawn without this hate campaign? Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial, he tried to retain defense attorney Melvin Belli who had the reputation of fighting for his clients and to win all his cases. Basically, I dont believe the site owner has produced enough proof of anything. Her case was too public and they are afraid of public backlash. The prosecutor and his wife adopted both children that survived and although the boy is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, they trived with their new parents. The circumstances surrounding the case were not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Right after the shooting, little Danny would ask the nurses, Why did the mean man shoot me? and it would be written down in the daily notes. She had the right to a fair trial as much as anyone else out there. Except after the idea was subsequently planted in his head only to be alluded to in court, in spite of an agreement to never mention the subject. Search within r/halo . Rule made up stories to sell books and the rights to a movie. Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy: Relevance? What a terrible injustice. Some 287 errors and falsehoods were documented by Liysa and verified by official sources. Considering that the marks on the lethal bullets did not fit the bullet fingerprinting found in the rifle, this gun switcheroo was a good save for the state, but did not support the theory presented at trial either. Messed. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as Small Sacrifices. that you told Diane to tell steve that she was Knicks Ginsburg didn't think women should get to do what men did because she believed they would do the job better; she wanted equality for its own liberating sake. Steve and Diane had three children, Danny, Cheryl, and Christie Ann. In my opinion, the investigation was too hasty and only focused on Diane. He could not during the marriage so he walked away. Her flat affect is even more pronounced now and it did her in at the time, but she was lucid enough to clearly see that Rule and the media used Becky for their personal gain. She is still in prison. The gun is Def a big issue, the style of gun, whether it belonged to him or her, she Def had access to itthe child drew a picture of it, having large similarity to that gunbut it did always baffle me how she could find such a great hide for it in such a short period of time. And she clearly remembered the April 1983, rape that Mr. Downs would later refer to as love making. She unwillingly followed the cops in spite of being in pain and not wanting to leave the premises. If you listen to the recording, Christie clearly says I dont know who did it. She was asleep, thats why. The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI, which is the official psychiatric diagnostic manual. Transgender CeCe McDonald Out of Prison but Not Out of the Woods. Their first child, Christie Ann, was born in 1974. Would you know at what speed you are going if you were shot and driving with wounded children in the car? GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. All the reports and even the warden thought she was not a threat anymore. But there were discrepancies; the tool marks did not matchand the detective lied on the stand about it. Surely before Diane downs, there were other mothers who killed their kids..or allegedly did, however in 83 and 84 it made national news, nothing quite like it had come across the media world, which during that decade was really skyrocketing in sensationalismI believe is where it started, becoming less news and more entertainment. I dont know the woman. The judge instructed them to continue on to force a verdict. The fact that she was driving five miles per hour to the hospital says it all as a mother myself, I dont care how hurt or mentally damaged I was, I would drive that car 100 MPH to get my children to safety. And to try not to bash Dianes Downs character and stick to evidence instead. Yes, Christie said she did not know who did it. Despite all these misgivings, they chose to stay strong in the marriage and had their first child, Christie Ann, in 1974. This was all logged in Christies hospital reports and is found in the Appendix of the petition filed in Federal Court in 1996 in the section Hospital Reports. Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. Also on old footage of the trial, as there was no cameras aloud, the drawing of Christie Downs from court artist also complies with the testimony given in the book, as far as her pain and crying. So not addressing the content of the blog and rambling about everything else while asking for a disclaimer is nailing it? They never found the gun and she showed no signs of having fired one. Dianes brother, James, sat in court one day andnoticed Foote looking at Hugi before ruling on an objection. Child Protective Services takes confidentiality to the extreme (warranted in most cases). Thanks Kit, It is a bit of a mystery to me that not more people see that if we removed the high profile name and the accompanying media storm, the case was no slam dunk. It is not because a defendant is found guilty or disliked that it is acceptable to bend the rules. Why was no one in the family given the right to adopt them. Oh 1 more thing I see a lot of comments on pro Diane web sights that say well she drove them to the hospital. Her other daughter and son were severely injured. But I am more than willing to review any new info. McPherron: I mean, it was plastered all over. And if the fact that cops lied about the gun to close the deal did not bother you, it bothered me because this is not due process. The roller coaster ride had nothing to do with Diane s children and Diane knew it. Because she had driven that area for years for her work. The courts were divided in the 80s, family court, traffic court, criminal court, juvenile court I dont believe they ran out of judges to preside over them all. This video of Jagger absolutely looks like the photo that you find on search engines for Fred Hugi. But her behavior became the most important factor in the investigation that followed. According to Oregon law, this would have to be supported by a psychiatrists report or a Wardens letter and Diane provided both. Robert Knickerbocker Now: Where is Diane Downs' Love Interest Today? She took care of herself not her children. Her family supported her. Ur not showing facts that Ann Rule lied n misled n ruined lives with. There have been behaviors that in the general course of events one may expect from a single parent that in a way have been falsely interpreted as being some form of evil.. People tend to forget that the group of young women hanging out with Manson were deeply engaged in serious drug use and totally out of their mind at the time. Q. You can believe what you like. The discovery that he wasnt his biological child made him leave the relationship. Unfortunately, Danny Downs was permanently paralyzed from the waist down because of a bullet injury in his back. Seeing her giggle and laugh during a videoed reconstruction gave me, as a mother, a sickening feeling. Just state that at the beginning of the blog. Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. My comment wont change their opinion on the barbarity of the American legal system, media influences and Ann Rules input. During cross-examination, she said that she witnessed the murders while sitting up and that Cheryl was sitting up on the front seat when she got shot. Steve Downs was the husband of the infamous child killer, Diane Downs. The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI, which is the official psychiatric diagnostic manual. 1st, you came back from a trip? As usual, Diane had resorted to the soothing comfort of a pregnancy to pretend life would get better; she would create a nest around her, come hell or high water. Even more now with hindsight because of the gun and the fact that her daughter kind of recanted by demonstrating that if pushed, she will say what is expected of her. Christie was only eight, had suffered gunshot wounds and was in shock. But they tended to ignore other important aspects. One of the flaws was the relationship between the DA and the children. Her mom is still alive and would love to have contact but respect that they wont. If the answer is, to keep the public safe, then I call BS. It is not, nor should be, a Conflict of Interest for a caring adult to Foster one or more siblings. She had been the bread winner for most of her marriage, and never wavered in her desire to bring financial stability to her family. Did Danny Downs, Steve Downs' son, remain paralyzed? The strong, emotive language. They came up with an explanation as to why this was the wrong gun but the jig was up. She repeated it years later at school. The flesh and muscle had been cored three days earlier, but the steel plate and bone graft could not be effected for two weeks (a precaution against infection). If the answer is, revenge, then it has been achieved. Diane has not been deemed an ongoing public threat that I am aware of. BUT like you rightly explain, there was no real evidence of her guilt. There are some stories that stick with you for a long time. Very little is definitively known in this area. She was interrogated without a representative from the defense and was not taped for the most part. TOP 8 why didn't steve downs get custody BEST and NEWEST And their plan worked. In this Battle of Cutthroats, Who has lost their head? (her family confirmed that she had a mood disorder, possibly bipolar 2), So when Dr. George Suckow from the Oregon State Hospital in Salem was called as a States rebuttal witness and he made a professional diagnosis of Diane as histrionics, antisocial and narcissistic, he openly said in court that he interviewed Diane for 1 hour and read evidence presented by the state to make his diagnosis.. However, when all the details came to be understood by the police, Steve found out what really happened to his kids. DA Pat Horton declared early in the game to the local paper that the search for the bearded stranger was not very high on their priority list.. One of the important pieces of evidence was the absence of all but a trace of gunshot residue. Did u learn nothing?? The jurors had doubts. Conflict of interest on steroids!! They dont need to be adopted and have their entire identity changed. The children should have been receiving therapy throughout. Mother of Diane Downs Asks Oregon Governor to Review Case and Bannon, a former adviser . Downs went on trial on Jan. 12 for a rape and murder that happened in 1993, when he . The reason she is likely locked up is because she was diagnosed with narcissistic, histrionic and anti social personality disorder, that makes her a very dangerous person (especially since she is a murderer). Their haste to go to trial created this mess and lingering doubts. On the single count of murder, the jurors needed a unanimous decision. I had nonetheless heard of the legendary Diane Downs; the cruel sociopath who had sacrificed her own children to be free to pursue a relationship with the man she loved. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. Dianes dad died a year or two ago. . The tape is real and probably not admissible, but it seems to indicate that her testimony was coerced. Mr. Jagger failed to challenge that competency. Page 40 of Case History.