A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. And got out and ask what he wanted. [24] While in prison, she earned an associate degree in General Studies. 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? I was afraid of how am I going to handle all this? he added. If youre here because youre curious to know where the surviving children are now, youve come to the right place. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. Her pupils were dilated. And, by the time she took them to the hospital, Cheryl was dead. 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. 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 . But surgeon Steve Wilhite managed to revive Christie after her blood pressure dipped dangerously low and she suffered a stroke. 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. Do I throw it away? But what happened to her kids, Christie Ann and Stephen "Danny" Daniel? Doug Welch remembers getting the call for what would turn out to be his first homicide investigation. When I hear about three children being shot, I thought, How am I going take care of three people? Because I wasn't afraid of what I needed to do. On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs and her three children were shot on a rural road in Oregon. Within a month of the shootings, with her two surviving children still in the hospital, Downs began giving a series of bizarre interviews to the media. "She was white, she was not breathing. She, too, is now a mother. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. She replied, 'You've got to be kidding,' at which time he pushed her aside and reached in and shot the sleeping kids.". On May 19, 1983, Elizabeth Diane Downs and her three small children were shot on a country road near Springfield, Oregon. Not just a son, but a couple of other children as well, including a daughter, who she named after her dead sister, Cheryl. 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. We just ignored it, Wilhite said. [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. Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. What happened to Diane Downs' children? In 1983, horror stuck in Oregon as a mother took it upon herself to end the life of her own children. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. 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. 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. Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 children: Part 2 Police found Downs' behavior suspicious. Police arrested Downs Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings. DIANE Downs is serving a life sentence for horrific crimes she committed against her own children. At around 10 p.m. that May night, police said Diane Downs pulled over to the side of a country road near Springfield and shot her three small children multiple times at close range. She found out who her biological mother was when she was 11 years old, ABC reported. 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. Most damaging, witnesses saw her car being driven very slowly toward the hospital, at an estimated speed of 57mph (811km/h)contradicting her claim that she drove to the hospital at a high speed after the shooting. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Diane Downs is an American murder convict who has been serving a life sentence since 1984. "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. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. Thirty-five years ago, Diane Downs, now 64, was convicted of shooting her three children- Danny, Cheryl, and Christie- in Springfield, Oregon. Why does a mom with three sleeping children in the car stop for a stranger or anyone for that matter? 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. 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. ", 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. On a fateful night in May 1983, she rushed to the emergency ward of a hospital . The first two children were Dianes kids with her ex husband Steve Downs. But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. When I looked in the mailbox and saw her letter, it was like Pandoras box. They have both graduated from college. A jury subsequently convicted Downs on all counts, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, according to Glamour. What is the latest information pertaining to the convicted child killer? March 23, 2019 13:00 Impact x Nightline The Murders Before the Marathon Thank you all for sharing your stories with me and reminding me why I came forward. [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. Becky Babcock was born while Diane was incarcerated. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Diane Downs with her three children Stephen, Christie and Cheryl, Diane Downs is serving a life sentence for the attack on her children, Downs gave birth to a fourth child after her trial in 1984, Christie testified against her mother, pictured. Convicted child killer Diane Downs is seen on a video as the Oregon parole board unanimously rules that she remains dangerous and must stay in prison during a hearing at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore., Dec. 10, 2010. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY, March 22 at 9 p.m. 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 initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Look at her," Jaeger said. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. 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. She briefly escaped in 1987, but was quickly recaptured. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). Fred Hugi, adopted the children., Famed true-crime author Ann Rule wrote about the case. She was required to serve twenty-five years before being considered for parole. She's the biggest threat to him, not three sleeping children.". Author Ann Rule wrote the book Small Sacrifices (1987), which detailed Downs' life and murder trial. He and his wife, Joanne, adopted them in 1986. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. May 12, 2010 -- Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. "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. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. 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. "Wouldn't I have made sure they were dead and then cried crocodile tears? Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. 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. Downs then said she pretended to throw her car keys in a bush and the man went to go look for them. I have never changed my story.[29] Her first parole hearing was on December 9, 2008. 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.". That girl was later renamed Rebecca "Becky" Babcock.[6]. Beeper goes off, said, Get in here. We found that Diane Downs was emotionally flat. At one point, she communicated with Downs through letters, but those eventually stopped when Babcock asked Downs to stop contacting her. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. But surgeon Steve Wilhite managed to revive Christie after her blood pressure dipped dangerously low and she suffered a stroke. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Downs said she then faked throwing her keys to divert the gunman's attention, pushed him out of the way, jumped back in her car and raced to the hospital with her badly wounded children. [3] Diane came from a family with strict conservative values. I think that's one of the things that-- ended up hurting her case. she said in an interview. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. She named the fourth baby Amy Elizabeth before the state handed her over to her adoptive parents. Not one tear. It was an unthinkable, brutal killing in 1983 that terrified parents around the country. She has a son (born 2005) and a daughter, whom she named Cheryl in memory of her late sister. Jaeger says Downs told her she had picked someone on her postal route to seduce prior to her arrest. And, considering how the emotionally flat blonde responded to the whole experience of the shooting, the trial, and the conviction, it was no surprise that ABCs 20/20 decided to cover the case. [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. Christie and Danny were adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. 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. In 1984, Diane was convicted of the death and injuries of her children, and she was sentenced to life in prison. She graduated from the University of Oregon. Downs was initially incarcerated at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem. In 1983, Diane Downs said stranger shot her 3 kids. She said she pulled over and got out to talk to the man. Cheryl died; the other two children survived, but they suffered terrible wounds according to Glamour, the bullets paralyzed Danny and gave Christie a stroke. While he was looking for the keys, she jumped back in the car and sped off to the nearest hospital. 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. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. 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. I have used the term verbal vomit when talking' about Diane because she talked a lot. In 1987, just three years into her sentence, Downs escaped from the correctional facility in Oregon where she was being held. Danny was the product of an affair. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. 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. Would love your thoughts, please comment. He and his wife, Joanne, legally adopted the children in 1986. The surgeon who helped to save Christie's life told ABC News: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead. My childhood was of dreams and we had every opportunity that we wanted. Unlike her siblings, Becky Babcock has been very public about her mother, granting interviews over the years. And she has been our national consciousness for 70 years, says Tony Parsons, Takeaway-lover celebrates birthday with cake in the shape of his favourite fast food, Brooklyn Beckham is cute - but he doesn't deserve his own cooking show just because his parents are famous - no-one does, Bob Proctor death: Self-help author behind You Were Born Rich passes away at 87. This is the person who's supposed to be on my side. She stopped the car and asked him what he wanted. Is She Still In Jail? They had another sibling, born in the middle, in 1976, Cheryl Lynn, but she didnt survive the shooting. Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. The outlet also reported Downs as saying that prisoners at the facility started suffering from COVID-19 symptoms in February. She's been called "evil" and "the . She went to the University of Oregon and now lives with her husband and children in the town. During the search for the strange gunman Diane kept giving bizarre interviews , one of the detectives on the case stated "she couldn't keep her mouth shut" ("The Diane Downs Story", 2010). Since his ex wife was sentenced to life in prison, he has not reappeared in public life nor has he given any television interviews about his family. And I thought to myself, What am I going to do with three shot children?. Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. Who is Becky Babcock and where is she now? 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. I showered, slept for 4 hours, woke up and drank water, then went back to sleep for 16 more hours, she wrote. However, according to her interviews and Facebook page, Becky today appears to have forged a successful life. But what happened to her kids, Christie Ann and Stephen "Danny" Daniel? On Facebook, Becky wrote that she works at Pain management and went to Redmond High School. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. She described him as a "bushy haired stranger". "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.". 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. On July 11, 1987, she escaped from her cell by scaling an eighteen-foot razor wire fence. Within a month of the shootings, with her two surviving children still in the hospital, Downs began giving a series of bizarre interviews to the media. [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. [13], Prosecutors argued that Downs shot her children to be free of them, so that she could continue her affair with Knickerbocker, as she claimed that he let it be known that he did not want children in his life. And I said to her, We don't know that. Downs, who still maintains her innocence, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, plus 50 years. 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. The girl was later renamed Becky Babcock. 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. She tells ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. In 1987, just three years into her sentence, Downs escaped from the correctional facility in Oregon where she was being held. "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. Today, 35-year-old Babcock works as a behavioral health coordinator for children in Salem, Oregon. Golden State Killer: Where Is the Prolific Rapist and Murderer Today? She was later adopted by another family. The Queen has almost never put a foot wrong as she marks 70th year on the throne. ET) on ABC. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). During the time they were together, Diane gave birth to three children, Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Downs Family Diane Downs and her three children. Sample Page; ; After Downs trial, Christie and Danny were adopted by Hugi and his wife. Therefore, they grew up privately and continue to live their adult lives privately. Diane Downs continues to this day to proclaim her innocence, even though she has changed her story dozens of times as to what exactly happened the night her 3 little children were shot, and even though one of her other daughter's admitted in open court that it was her mother that shot all 3 children. Heavy is withholding that last name and the photos to protect her privacy. Wilhite immediately jumped back into his car and raced to McKenzie-Williamette Medical Center as fast as he could. The case of Diane Downs and her three children is one of those a horrible tragic case that people still think about 37 years later. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. When she was asked who shot them, she replied with, my mom. After everything was said and done, and Diane was convicted, both Christie and Danny went to live with Fred Hugi, the lead prosecutor in the case. She says it was during the struggle with the stranger that she was shot in the arm. Ten days after her sentencing, Downs gave birth to a daughter named Amy Elizabeth. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. Christie, now in her mid-40s, still lives in Oregon, in Springfield, and has a big, loving family. May 14, 2010 -- On June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was found guilty of shooting her three children, killing one. Her Facebook photos showcase a loving family living a normal life. Reporter Ann Jaeger remembers worrying that Downs' pregnancy could affect the way jurors viewed her. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. May 13, 2010, 7:54 AM. 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. And Christie knew that.. [24] In 2010, she was relocated to the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California,[23] but was transferred out when the facility was converted to an all-male institution in 2013.[25]. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. And she's not. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). This is why I chose to tell my story. In a statement to Heavy, Terry Thornton, Deputy Press Secretary of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, stated, Elizabeth Diane Downs, 64, is currently housed at Central California Womens Facility. There's very few cases quite like this one, he said. I was searching for that blood tie., I never had questions about my biological dad, Babcock continues. Police arrested Downs Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings. 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. The girl was later renamed Becky Babcock. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. Too much for her own good, Welch said. All Rights Reserved. I wanted to relate to her not as a mother, because I had a mother just as somebody who felt the pain and the emptiness that I felt in that time., She wrote back super quickly, Babcock says. "Wouldn't I have made sure they were dead and then cried crocodile tears? READ MORE: abcn.ws/2W9dzyC In 1983, Diane Downs. The couple divorced in 1980 because Steve thought Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, was the result of an extramarital affair by Diane. [2] She has testified that her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old. Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. 1983: Diane Downs Attempts to Murder Her Three Children. "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.". Anne Bradley Jaeger was a local reporter for ABC affiliate KEZI in Eugene, Ore., at the time. However, when all the details came to be understood by the police, Steve found out what really happened to his kids. The revelation would shake Becky Babcock's young world and take her on a journey of self-discovery, filled with ups and downs, she said. Though she shot all three children, only Cheryl died Christie and Danny survived . In 1983, horror stuck in Oregon as a mother took it upon herself to end the life of her own children. Downs' sentence meant she could not be considered for parole until 2009. She lives and is from Bend, Oregon, and is single. Despite her difficult start, Becky was adopted and says she had a good childhood. Diane's 2 children who survived the shooting . Here's what we know. And as long as he said that he wasn't going to be a father to anyone's children, they had to go.. Famed true-crime author, Ann Rule, provided an update on them by writing on her now defunct website: Christie and Dannywho somehow survived their gunshot woundshave no contact with Diane. [4] On May 8, 1982, Diane gave birth to a baby girl, whom she named Jennifer, while acting as a surrogate. And the kids-- one is fatally shot and the other two are seriously injured., Welch said there were a lot of problems with her story and by the end of the interview, we knew that she had been lying'.. For ten days, Downs managed to evade law enforcementdespite a fourteen-state manhuntbefore she was recaptured. In the frantic scene, hospital employees quickly determined that Cheryl was already dead and that Christie and Danny were clinging to life. Despite significant security upgrades at the women's facility after the escape, state officials accepted Hugi's argument that the risk of harm to Christie and Danny, in the event of another escape, was too great for Downs to remain incarcerated in Oregon. In 1984, Diane Downs was convicted of shooting her three children, 3-year-old Danny, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 8-year-old Christie. the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). Diane Downs Today: Where Is the Convicted Child Killer Now? Wilhite said he then found a judge who issued an order making him and another doctor Christies guardians. Hospital employees determined that then-7-year-old Cheryl was already dead and that then-8-year-old Christie and then-3-year-old Danny were clinging to life. 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. "You cant replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. Via an email sent through her brother, James Frederickson, Downs told OregonLive, Every time the World News shows the big red circles on the national map, I look at Oregon because thats where Christie and Daniel are Compared to other States, it appears Oregons red circle is smaller than most places. Doctor Christies guardians he was looking for the keys, she escaped from her injuries at the.. For what Would turn out to talk to the home of another inmate 's husband just blocks the. The children. ``, Get in here Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot the in. 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