Twitter She was white She was not breathing. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. Though she shot all three children, only Cheryl died Christie and Danny survived . "There were a number of things which didn't make sense, even that first night," Welch said. She'd been shot in the left forearm, said Welch. Fearing there could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to the public to be on the lookout. "And so the quickest, simplest way was to eliminate the children.". While they were unable to find the weapon, they found unfired casings in her home with extractor markings from the murder weapon. Diane Downs and her three children They raise many concerns over her three-decade old conviction for the shooting of her three children, one of whom died, and say even the most basic tests for courts were not met or passed. At birth, Downs named the child Amy Elizabeth. 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. The couple divorced in 1980 over. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? While police increasingly suspected Downs, she adamantly denied any involvement when speaking to the media. On a fateful night in May 1983, she rushed to the emergency ward of a hospital . Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. From their wounds, Christie suffered a stroke that left with a speech impairment, and Danny got paralyzed from the waist down. Downs' sentence meant she could not be considered for parole until 2009. Diane Downs is an American murder convict who has been serving a life sentence since 1984. Today, 35-year-old Babcock works as a behavioral health coordinator for children in Salem, Oregon. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? She loves us. [29] She was not permitted a statement, but answered questions from the parole board. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974).. She's doing well. Wilhite said he also noticed that when Downs went to visit Christie in the recovery room, her stats would spike. Why is she wounded in the arm? Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. [27] A made-for-TV movie, also titled Small Sacrifices, starred Farrah Fawcett as Downs, and was aired on ABC in 1989. 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. Christie Downs, now 44, and her brother, 39, were adopted by the prosecutor in the case. Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Shockingly, it was Downs daughter, Christie, who identified her mother in court as the shooter. After months of physical and mental therapy, Christie Downs was able to take the stand and tell what happened to her that horrible night. [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? Downs is serving a life sentence for shooting her children, killing one They married in 1973, before divorcing in 1980. 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.". Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3 . A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. The two older kids were Diane's with ex-husband Steve, however, Danny wasn't Steve's. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. When I see what others have suffered, I think my boss probably saved my life.. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. [2], On November 13, 1973, Diane married Steve Downs after running away from home. What did she do?. She was white She was not breathing. The circumstances of Becky Babcocks birth were troubled to say the least. It was mainly about my biological mom. The Daughter of Diane Downs. The girl was later renamed Becky Babcock. 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. [1], Elizabeth Diane Downs was born on August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona, to Wesley Linden (19302017) and Willadene (Engle) Frederickson. The first letter I wrote Diane, I must have written 100 times, she says. The stroke Christie Downs suffered impaired her speech and initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. Elizabeth Diane Downs, the convicted childkiller who escaped July 11, 1987 from the women's prison in Salem, Ore., is escorted out of state police headquarters in Salem following her capture July 21, 1987. 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. 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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. Babcock learned who her mother was at age 11, after tricking her babysitter to divulge the name. And, Cheryl Lynn, had reportedly told a neighbor of her grandparents that she was afraid of her mother. 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,. Her pupils were dilated. On May 19, 1983, Elizabeth Diane Downs and her three small children were shot on a country road near Springfield, Oregon. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. It hasnt been easy, but it has been worth it. [22] She received an additional five-year sentence for the escape. Danny was the product of an affair. Amy, who was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock, went public about her mother in 2010 and has also met her in a bid to find out about her roots. There was just a little part of me that felt like I was searching for something else. 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. [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]. In 1984, Diane was convicted of the death and injuries of her children, and she was sentenced to life in prison. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. In May of that year, the trial against Downs began with yet another inconceivable twist. Christie was the star witness in her mothers prosecution; she testified that her mother was the shooter. When she got out to talk to this man, he immediately demanded that she give him her car keys, Downs claimed she refused and they got into a physical altercation that resulted in him shooting her in the left arm. Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. 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. She replied, 'You've got to be kidding,' at which time he pushed her aside and reached in and shot the sleeping kids.". "They have both graduated from college. 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.. ", 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. "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 shot her three children but claimed that she was carjacked and that her children were shot by a stranger. While police increasingly suspected Downs, she adamantly denied any involvement when speaking to the media. Heavy is withholding that last name and the photos to protect her privacy. 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. However, according to her interviews and Facebook page, Becky today appears to have forged a successful life. The more she talked, and she talked a lot and frequently, the more she talked, the more things didn't make any sense. What is the latest information pertaining to the convicted child killer? Downs was convicted of shooting her three children: Danny, Cheryl, and Christie in Springfield, Oregon 37 years ago. Diane didn't show much grievance for her murdered daughter and her two children that were in critical conditions. Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TheSunUSand follow us from our main Twitter account at@TheSunUS, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. "She was white, she was not breathing. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. 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. And Christie's mother, Diane, could-- say whatever she wanted. 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