From what Ive read, she gets a parole hearing every decade and the next time in 2030 she will be 75. In fact, with her continuing to deny committing the crime or expressing remorse, she may never get out. A. Same with her brother. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History 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. (Appendix 3). And some are even contradictory: shes mentally ill, but also not mentally ill; the site owner wants to focus on pure facts, yet ignore other facts; things happened in court, but those are irrelevant to what else what also happened in court, etc. Ann Rule promotes her books as true crime stories so to this day, viewers believe that the book and the movie titled Small Sacrificesdocument the true story of the Diane Downs case; in fact, it is a mix bag of truth, falsehoods, interpretation and plain fiction. After six weeks in Oregon where the children were happily spending time with their grandparents while Diane worked her postal route, the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. Robert and Diane even decided toget matching rose tattoos, but as soon as the ink on her tattoo was dry, he refused to get his done. But Ann Rules utterly biased account is an insult to investigative journalism and there seems to be very reasonable doubt here. They came up with an explanation as to why this was the wrong gun but the jig was up. Thanks again. If the answer is, revenge, then it has been achieved. He failed. 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. Two wrongs do not make a right but illustrates that she should have never been coerced before, during or after the trial. Its a rather large part of the story. Common sense will tell this Court, when Diane accidently slammed her mangled arm into the steering wheel of Detective Tracys car, it was ANYTHING but a laughing matter. Also, I agree he does look a little like the actor who played Fred Hugi but I think it might be a coincidence. This case needed to be examined more thoroughly, but the mob mentality didnt allow it. But as usual, it was slanted in the worst possible way. In my blog, I was referring to the case of Liysa Northon whose suit was dismissed, but when Ann Rule tried to sue the Seattle Magazine, its editor and Northons husband for their article on her shoddy work, she lost and had to pay restitution. She s. Steve knew Danny was not his biological child and left Downs. Very little is definitively known in this area. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! And to say that her mental health has degraded is an understatement, but more reason not to keep her eternally incarcerated. She never hurt anyone in the process of escaping. A. I dont recall telling her to get an apartment. Diane found with him,the kind of relationship she had never known before: there was actually care and intimacy involved. Are you still taking comments by email? They seem to say she was like that from the very beginning so in my opinion, it should represent a mitigating circumstance instead of a longer sentence. http://www.dianedowns.com/Dr.%20Jamison%20affidavit.pdf. In a fairly good knot which would have taken time to do one handed and teeth. Thats why Diane wouldnt agree to marry unless Knick first signed a premarital agreement that when they divorced, Knick would take nothing from their marriage. A steel plate had to be attached and some lead fragments were removed. more on crime HEARTBREAKING FIND The Office star's sister-in-law found dead 11 days after going missing 'DISGUSTING' N u pleaded guilty of murdering ur husband. Within a few weeks, a judge had placed the surviving kids, Christie and Danny, in protective custody. You can check this link and go online to see her picture with Cheryl and the rest of the family. She states, I did not shoot my children and I cant say I did. So I start with that bit of history in mind. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. I tried to contact you by email but my email wouldnt acknowledge you email address. She managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. So Diane did what she thought would bring her the deepest satisfaction in life; she became a mother. Up. Jesus Ortiz Paz's parents, net worth, wife, and daughter. As for where he is now, we'll be honest, we're not completely sure. Danny has kept a low profile, and not much about his life like family, marriage, and children are in public. And I care about the lack of evidence. I removed the dumb and crass part of your comment. She would have been released under strict conditions with the support of her family and under the care of a mental health specialist. At the point Diane jumped into the car, her broken arm (resting in a sling in front of her) slammed into the steering wheel. I write about cases where due process is in question and important aspects were ignored or twisted. Hardly circumstantial or coincidental what are the chances that a bushy haired stranger, masked men, or someone that knew her (take your pick from Dianes ever shifting account) would have the exact same bullets matching to bullets from a gun owned by Diane ? . They never found the gun and she showed no signs of having fired one. The crucial point is that she is so void of emotion. They played the tape in the courtroom, and the fact that Diane did not break down but tapped her foot to the music, was supposed to be another proof of her guilt. Nuts maybe, but not threatening. 5. Rule sued the Seattle Weekly after they published the article titled Ann Rules Sloppy Storytelling, but she lost and had to make restitution. In reply to Kit For example, the abhorrent decision regarding Keli Lane: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.whimn.com.au/talk/news/why-i-think-keli-lane-should-not-be-in-prison/news-story/069a09c79589645c48de5bfa91e4ca0f. The circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children demand to be used as evidence.. My comment to you Lise is about your reply to a previous comment where you say Diane should have been released by now regardless of her statements. Spending 35 years incarcerated with time in isolation and often as a target is not going to improve mental health. Instead, the person accused of attacking them and wanting them out of her life, fought for them. The circumstances surrounding the case were not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The fact that the children were in no way protected by Child Protection Services is undeniable. As for how to answer this question,,, seems like he is assuming guilt and because of this my parents or me or my brothers and sister, our uncles and aunts were not considered because of an unproven allegation Does he truly believe this is ok??? 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. 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.. And she would have been under supervision. It is said that they didnt go to Steve because he wasnt a fit father or well equipped to take care of children who had gone through such a traumatic experience. Maybe someone needs to read Part two in Dr. Billings in-depth review of the Diane Downs Murder Case in Oregon. It became judicial kidnapping to obtain a coerced confession: inflammatory Dianewas jealous ofthe other woman, but Robert Knickerbockers wife said that she foundher rather friendly during their encounter. It did not matter that they had no evidence; they did not like her attitude and she was going to pay for it: opinion, not fact It means you dont orphan the kids. Even prosecutor Fred Hugi was seen walking the grounds to try to find the weapon. And what happened to her little daughter is beyond unethical. Clickhere to read about faulty ballistics. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. (Yes in the 1980s a ten yr like myself was not as mature as say todays 10 yr olds. I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. Christie NEVER said she didnt know who did it she was just unwilling or afraid to tell on her mother. Hed left his first wife to co-habitate with (and later marry) Charlene. I accept that it is sometimes necessary but I believe in rehabilitation. The whole family were co-conspirators and involved in the crime? Fred Hugi looks nothing like Jim Jagger. There is a court sketch artists rendering of him in this video. I am posting Jamesanswer: Yes the allegations were said and you cannot take back what was saideven if retracted But to convince this young and vulnerable girl to turn on her mother, they needed to isolate her from her family and work relentlessly on her confession.. I do have to take issue with this article about Diane Downs. why didn't steve downs get custody. You are telling me to take my smugness elsewhere because it is tiresome. Saying that I seem to be doing what I accuse Ann Rule of doing is kind of ironic because the point of this blog is to try to stay away from innuendo and fantasies like unicorns and songs that might have been playing or not during a tragic murder. So many of the cases Lise writes about on this blog either have no forensic evidence that supports the verdict or have very misleading forensic evidence that may or may not support the verdict, depending on who is interpreting it. Is it too late to respond to this? He separated from his wife and was going to follow Diane who, by now, had decided to move and work in Oregon to be closer to her parents. Nowadays, this insanity would never be tolerated. You said yourself that the title was revealing. (Appendix 81, page 1466). It seems that a lot of what was written down never came up during testimony and some nurses even strayed from the original content. So there was a transfer, but nothing else was found. The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI, which is the official psychiatric diagnostic manual. Yeah, Ive noticed a lot of people thing Jim Jagger is Fred Hugi. Halo Show: Why Master Chief's Voice Actor Was Recast (But Cortana Wasn't) Diane Downs is no exception. Maybe I should have elaborated more about this comment. 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. A very reasonable request that was rejected. Dianes dad died a year or two ago. I have watched her parole hearing. For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. But the birth of little Danny did not make this bad boy change his stripes; he remained a cad and a destabilizing force in their lives. And she clearly remembered the April 1983, rape that Mr. Downs would later refer to as love making. GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. Thank you Lise. Its more boring to tell the truth and the readers might not have flocked to read a fair story without no real heroes and villains. Most people described Dianes injury as minor or superficial but in reality, it was a very serious injury. Its a fact. The role of Diane Downs was played by none other than Farrah Fawcett and her lover was played by Ryan ONeal who had been Farrahs love interest in real life. why didn t steve downs get custody - Central Texas Gardening Blog And to make her story believable, she shot a round in her arm before going to the hospital, claiming that she was a victim of a terrible carjacking. Bear in mind, that arm consisted of two SHARP bones, cutting at nerves and muscle (1 of bone had been blown out of the arm when the bullet shattered it, leaving three jagged holes in the flesh, out of which bulged torn muscle, and two wedge shaped bones facing each other like dueling swords). If you shoot at least 6 inches from a victim, you see what is around you in the car. In Oregon, in 1983, she shot her 3 children, 1 daughter died. Whether or not Steve Downs was in some way behind the shooting, the man who fired the weapon was a stranger to Diane. Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. As it was getting dark and the young ones fell asleep in the car, their mother decided to head home. They had their second child, Cheryl Lynn, in 1976, followed by Stephen Danial, born in 1979. This blog is riddled with inconsistencies, suppositions and a lack of the most basic referencing (e.g. But strangely, they took no photos of the crime scene and did not lift fingerprints from the drivers side of the car. You read a few comments. I have no dog in this race. Despite all of this: that the attorney became a Foster Carer irrelevant, inflammatory, subjective and bears no reflection on the trial, or indeed the trial outcome. Regina, I love your comment! This reminds me of what a jail counselor named Rachel Roth said at the trial of Debra Milke Its my opinion that this young woman has been judged in a way that signifies something to do with how we view women in our society. It seems that the Downs were totally ignored. Christie was only eight, had suffered gunshot wounds and was in shock. The previous video you sent me shows a Jagger pretty animated and involved in the defense of his client. You didnt know that?? The children had a father. Or that they are not even curious about it. I do not discuss her guilt or innocence because this is not what the blog is about, but I personally hope she is released one day. As a result, he decided not to attend the rest of the trial. It is normally done (in fact in many jurisdictions, can ONLY be done) by going through the process in a different state or county then the one the applicant works with. How ironic that the court and cops were so quick to believe Steve Downs, but he gave up on his own children after the tragedy. The police DID fingerprint the car, from grill to trunk and in between. Even if they say that she did not get involved in rehabilitation programs, she did participate, but obviously did not admit to killing her daughter and injuring the others. In 1991, David Brewer, a juror who deliberated Dianes fate in her 1984 trial, came forward to say he and another juror had decided to acquit Downs by the close of the States presentation. Diane had consulted a psychologist after the tragedy and after months of consultation, she was never diagnosed as a sociopath. Rule defended her right to earn a living and to tell her story. I agree that the phone call from Angel was totally inappropriate. Brewer stood ready to testify in June 1991, that it was because of Prosecutor Hugis lie that he changed his mind to convict and that he alone was responsible for silencing the dissenting votes of two other jurors (Appendix 97). Yes Gigi, the same judge who had removed the children was also presiding over her trial. Because she was failing quite miserably at remaining pure and chaste, she was expelled after only a year, and thus, she returned to her parents home in Arizona. Considering that the daughter she murdered will never get a second chance, it will never be long enough unless its for her entire life. In 1991, David Brewer, a juror who deliberated Dianes fate in her 1984 trial, came forward to say he and another juror had decided to acquit Downs by the close of the States presentation. Diane Downs' ex husband, Steve Downs, lost a lot in May 1983 when his ex wife shot their three children, following their divorce in 1980. It gave Anne Rule carte blanche to legally use these labels in her book and it stuck. The fact that there was a rush to judgment, an investigation targeting only one result and a media coverage often presenting lies is very bothersome. The underlying basis of this article. We already know that. There was never a real motive for the crime even if the State insisted that Diane wanted to be free to pursue her love interest; using her journals to support theirclaim. Almost from day one, Diane was perceived as a cancer they had to remove. She wrote to the governor several times after being dismissed coldly by Hugi and the system. It isnt there all the time. After the trial that convicted Diane Downs, Fred Hugi, the Prosecutor adopted Christie and Danny (they were in foster care for 2 years before he decided to adopt them), the two surviving children. If it doesnt matter to you, it should. Most doctors would tell you that it is normal for our brains to block out a traumatic incident especially when combined with a serious physical injury. I would like to raise the numerous issues with this blog. She keeps her emotions under tight control, presenting only socially acceptable feelings and burying other contradictory feelings.. Instead, they treated the Downs with great cruelty long after their daughter was incarcerated and they fought hard for them. They lied about the ballistics. In fact, watching that was the first time I heard her voice and saw her presence, it was a year or so later that old interviews showed up on YouTube. The judge who took away her children presided over her criminal trial. Why does the blogger not clarify this? I worked for county child welfare services in Colorado for a decade. And the fatal shooting of her children by her wife in 1983 didn't do much to put him in the limelight. The GSR? They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business. Plus according to an expert at trial, her testimony did not match the blood spatter analysis in the car. View theaffidavits. It would not benefit you, my children, or society for me to perpetuate that lie. 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. The most exciting thing about Steve is that he never appeared in public despite the immense case against his wife. Yes, I had filed for divorce and then I canceled it. Brewer freely declared that Diane Downs would never have been convicted except that he believed the lie Jim Jagger permitted Fred Hugi to enter into the record. She has come a long way. And other inmates were released with worst backgrounds. Then feel free to correct the facts and to provide evidence to support them. The first two children were Diane's kids with her ex husband Steve Downs. A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch. Inside, outside, top to bottom. Their life without parole sentences are a dime a dozen and so randomly used that it beats any notion of justice for all. So it would be logical to conclude that it would have left residues if anyone had shot at least 6 times.