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.". The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Diane Downs attempts to murder her three young children, eight-year-old Christie, seven-year-old Cheryl, and three-year-old Danny, by faking a carjacking. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. After being recaptured, she was transferred to a more secure facility. [2], On November 13, 1973, Diane married Steve Downs after running away from home. I've never been so hyped in my life.. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. The couple divorced in 1980 over Steven's insistence their son, Danny, was the result of an affair and not his biological child. Golden State Killer: Where Is the Prolific Rapist and Murderer Today? Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Diane considered the kids to be a burden or a hindrance to Nick's arrival, Welch said. "She couldn't keep her mouth shut," Welch said. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. And why are the kids fatally or near-fatally wounded, and she, being right-handed, is shot in the left arm? [2] She has testified that her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old. "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. Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. And Christie's mother, Diane, could-- say whatever she wanted. "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much," she said. By the time she arrived at the hospital, Cheryl, seven, was already dead and the other two children had suffered devastating injuries. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. Therefore, they grew up privately and continue to live their adult lives privately. 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.". https://t.co/cPfs75obUg pic.twitter.com/uSnlFF2IRw. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. Today, 35-year-old Babcock works as a behavioral health coordinator for children in Salem, Oregon. 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 older two children have remained out of the public eye. Diane didn't show much grievance for her murdered daughter and her two children that were in critical conditions. 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 But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. Look at her," Jaeger said. I mean, think about it. It was scary. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. And she took a deserted country road with three sleeping kids in her car. When Wilhite went to go update Downs on her daughters condition, he said he was surprised by her reaction. They also found a diary in which she expressed a desire to be with a married man, and the focus of the investigation shifted to Downs herself. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY, March 22 at 9 p.m. It was suspected I hit over 100 miles an hour coming down the freeway, he said. [17], Prior to her arrest, Downs became pregnant with a fifth child, and gave birth to a girl, whom she named Amy Elizabeth, a month after her 1984 trial. What did she look like? "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. He and his wife, Joanne, adopted them in 1986. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. Downs was found guilty in June, and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. On Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings, Downs was arrested and charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. Where is Diane Downs today? 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 . 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. READ MORE: abcn.ws/2W9dzyC In 1983, Diane Downs. Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. [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. Jaeger remembers worrying that Downs' pregnancy could affect the way jurors viewed her. Her mother was on trial for shooting her siblings, and some believed that Diane Downs got pregnant to gain sympathy. Copyright 2023 Distractify. Fred Hugi, adopted the children., Famed true-crime author Ann Rule wrote about the case. By the time she arrived at the hospital, Cheryl, seven, was already dead and the other two children had suffered devastating injuries. And-- so with that, then we were free to treat her as need be. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. I knew my entire life that I was adopted, Babcock tells the show in an exclusive clip obtained by PEOPLE. Unlike her siblings, Becky Babcock has been very public about her mother, granting interviews over the years. A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. What is the latest information pertaining to the convicted child killer? And as she drove down the road, a man stepped out from the brush, the side of the road, and she stopped the car. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3 . Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. Knickerbocker also reported to police that Downs had stalked him, and seemed willing to kill his wife if it meant that she could have him to herself; he stated that he was relieved that she had left for Oregon, and that he was able to reconcile with his wife. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. The lead prosecutor in the case, Lane County Assistant Dist. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. She tried to cut her wrists when she was 13 years old. She, too, is now a mother. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. According to Oprah.com, Christie and Dannyhave chosen to live private lives. In 1989, the Associated Press reported that then 14-year-old Christie Ann was left with speech impairment, and 9-year-old Danny is paralyzed from the waist down. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Of course, being married, she has also changed her last name. They have maintained private lives since and have never spoken publically about their birth mother. From Arizona to Oregon, the family had moved just shortly before the incident for Dianes job in the U.S. postal service. 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. Christie became the star witness in the case, bravely testifying against her monster mom. She lives and is from Bend, Oregon, and is single. . While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the middle child, was killed in the attack. She went to the University of Oregon and now lives with her husband and children in the town. Prior to being sentenced, Downs gave birth to a girl she named Amy Elizabeth. "They have both graduated from college. Email us [email protected] call212 416 4552. Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. Downs was initially incarcerated at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem. We just ignored it, Wilhite said. But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. [24] While in prison, she earned an associate degree in General Studies. 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. In court, according to Glamour, prosecutors argued that Downs motive to get rid of her children stemmed from the fact that her boyfriend at the time did not want kids. Fearing there could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to the public to be on the lookout. Whats fascinating, though, is to see how differently her children including the fourth one, who she conceived after her original surviving ones were taken away from her responded to her doings. "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 thats gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive.". Why does a mom with three sleeping children in the car stop for a stranger or anyone for that matter? You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Wilhite, a general surgeon, checked the page -- in those days you didn't have cell phones, he said -- and was instantly filled with dread and adrenaline. She was white She was not breathing. Here's what we know. 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,. Despite her difficult start, Becky was adopted and says she had a good childhood. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. Becky is active on Facebook, where she sometimes shares stories about her background and television appearances, such as one on Dr. Oz and with Oprah Winfrey. [27] A made-for-TV movie, also titled Small Sacrifices, starred Farrah Fawcett as Downs, and was aired on ABC in 1989. It was exciting. After being recaptured, she was transferred to a more secure facility. Babcocks exclusive interview airs on 20/20 on Friday, March 22 (9:00 11:00 p.m. Not one tear. There's very few cases quite like this one, he said. She was later adopted by another family. When police arrived at the scene, Downs, 27 at the time, told them a bizarre story of being flagged down by a bushy-haired stranger on a dark and deserted country road. 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I got blood all over the back of it, I knew within 30 minutes of talking with that woman that she was guilty., And then, Wilhite said, even more shocking to him was when Downs told him that she knew Christie was brain dead and told him, I want you to pull the plug., In other words, let her die, Wilhite said. she said in an interview. Video related to diane downs children now: christie, danny & becky today, My Mothers Sins l 20/20 Diane Downs l Part 2, WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 20/20: bit.ly/2uqkFD4 Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 children Police found Downs' behavior suspicious. We believe the motive for the shooting was to get Nick up here to Oregon to be with her. On May 19, 1983, Elizabeth Diane Downs and her three small children were shot on a country road near Springfield, Oregon. She then ran away from home and married husband, Steven Downs, in 1973, with whom she had three children - Christie Ann, Cheryl Lynn and Stephen "Danny" Daniel. All Rights Reserved. And Christie Downs, the only witness to the crime (her younger brother Danny was believed to have been asleep at the time), had suffered a stroke that impaired her speech and prevented her from telling police what she had seen. Wilhite said he was immediately directed to start working to save Christie while another surgeon took Danny. They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. Stephen Downs (known as Danny), 3, Cheryl, 7, and Christie, 8, were shot in the May 19, 1983 attack. It was an unthinkable, brutal killing in 1983 that terrified parents around the country. Diane Downs is an American murder convict who has been serving a life sentence since 1984. Whether it tugs at your heartstrings or angers you to the core, these stories could have happened years ago, and they still take up space in your memories. "Why would I have taken my kids to the hospital?" Beeper goes off, said, Get in here. At least, that's the story Diane Downs told police. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). The child was later renamed Rebecca Babcock by her adoptive parents. In the frantic scene, hospital employees quickly determined that Cheryl was already dead and that Christie and Danny were clinging to life. Downs was a notorious killer in Oregon, convicted in the 1983 shooting of her three children that left one of them dead. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? "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. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. Thank you all for sharing your stories with me and reminding me why I came forward. [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? And Christie survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them I. 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Was the star witness in her mom 's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her the evidence against Downs all! Three small children were shot on a country road with three sleeping kids in her forties, to... Her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a girl she named Amy Elizabeth story.

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