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. Becky Babcock was born while Diane was incarcerated. Most of Downs' sentence is to be served consecutively. 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,. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY, March 22 at 9 p.m. COVID-19 Stimulus Check: Did the HEROES Act Pass. Learn about Diane Downs' children now: Christie, Stephen (Danny), and Becky. That's insane to think that I would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself -- that's crazy.". Doug Welch remembers getting the call for what would turn out to be his first homicide investigation. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. She described him as a "bushy haired stranger". On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. After Diane was convicted, the two living children were adopted by the prosecutor in the case and his wife, and it was Christie who ultimately pointed to her mother being responsible for the shooting. She went to the University of Oregon and now lives with her husband and children in the town. 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. May 14, 2010 -- On June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was found guilty of shooting her three children, killing one. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. She named one of her children after her dead sister Cheryl. Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. As for Danny, he has kept his life private. She says it was during the struggle with the stranger that she was shot in the arm. 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. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. "Wouldn't I have made sure they were dead and then cried crocodile tears? Danielle Peterson/Statesman Journal via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [15] Christie Downs, Diane Downs' first child who testified at her trial, suffers from a speech disability. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. Learn about Christi (Hugi), Stephen (Danny), and Becky today. Police arrested Downs Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings. 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. Downs was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years for killing her 7-year-old daughter and wounding her two other children on a rural road outside Springfield, Ore., on May 19, 1983. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. [5] When Downs went to trial in May 1984, she was again pregnant. After being recaptured, she was transferred to a more secure facility. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the. 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. [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? Danielle Peterson/Statesman Journal via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence. By the time she arrived at the hospital, Cheryl, seven, was already dead and the other two children had suffered devastating injuries. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. [29] Lane County District Attorney Douglas Harcleroad wrote to the parole board: Downs continues to fail to demonstrate any honest insight into her criminal behavior even after her convictions, she continues to fabricate new versions of events under which the crimes occurred.[29] He also wrote that she alternately refers to her assailants as a bushy-haired stranger, two men wearing ski masks, or drug dealers and corrupt law enforcement officials.[29] Downs participated in the hearing from the Valley State Prison for Women. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs drove herself and her three children to an emergency room in Springfield, Oregon, saying she had been shot by a "bushy-haired ma. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. Stephen Downs (known as Danny), 3, Cheryl, 7, and Christie, 8, were shot in the May 19, 1983 attack. Her pupils were dilated. When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead, he said. Downs then said she pretended to throw her car keys in a bush and the man went to go look for them. 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). ET on ABC. In 1983, Diane Downs said stranger shot her 3 kids. I was very stern with her.". According toHeavy, crime author Ann Rule said: "Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. Diane graduated from Moon Valley High School in Phoenix, where she met Steve Downs. [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. Downs was initially incarcerated at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem. 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 claimed that she was carjacked on a rural road near Springfield by a strange man who shot her and the 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 that's gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive.". The lead prosecutor in the case, Lane County Assistant Dist. The couple divorced in 1980 over Steven's insistence their son, Danny, was the result of an affair and not his biological child. It hasnt been easy, but it has been worth it. In 1987, just three years into her sentence, Downs escaped from the correctional facility in Oregon where she was being held. 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. And Christie's mother, Diane, could-- say whatever she wanted. She tried to cut her wrists when she was 13 years old. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. On July 11, 1987, she escaped from her cell by scaling an eighteen-foot razor wire fence. Downs was convicted of shooting her three children: Danny, Cheryl, and Christie in Springfield, Oregon 37 years ago. Thirty-five years ago, Diane Downs, now 64, was convicted of shooting her three children Danny, Cheryl, and Christie in Springfield, Oregon. Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. What did she do?. "She couldn't keep her mouth shut," Welch said. Photo: September 26, 1988. They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. And, by the time she took them to the hospital, Cheryl was dead. When I looked in the mailbox and saw her letter, it was like Pandoras box. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). 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'.. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. 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. "She was white, she was not breathing. A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. 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Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. ", 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. In another one of her strange media appearances Downs spoke about the pregnancy. After that, she was charged with killing her 7-year-old daughter. Doug Welch, then a detective with the Lane County Sheriff's Office, remembers getting the call for what would turn out to be his first homicide investigation. 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.. 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. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable. Dianes emotionless, cold demeanor about the children convinced people immediately that she was the shooter. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. "And so the quickest, simplest way was to eliminate the children.". Her pupils were dilated. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute for Woman in Clinton, N.J., March 12, 1989. 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. she said in an interview. Missing baby is feared dead as police arrest aristocrat Constance Marten and boyfriend on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter: 200 officers search allotments and compost bins near where . "She talked all the time. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Her Facebook photos showcase a loving family living a normal life. Diane Downs is currently serving her sentence of life plus 50 years at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, Calif., where she's been since August 1993. From Arizona to Oregon, the family had moved just shortly before the incident for Dianes job in the U.S. postal service. Is She Still In Jail? It's not even known if he still resides in Arizona, where he used to live with Diane and their three kids. [26] The book documented accounts by friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and her surviving daughter, Christie, who questioned the quality of her parenting. The woman who was on trial for shooting her own children was pregnant again -- and it was no accident. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. 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. 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. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. She named the fourth baby Amy Elizabeth before the state handed her over to her adoptive parents. He then opened the driver's side door and shot all 3 of her children. Diane Downs remains in prison in California. 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. 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. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute for Woman in Clinton, N.J., March 12, 1989. Now, as Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out. If my story touches even one person, it was all worth it, she wrote, sharing a positive message she received from a woman whose daughter is adopted and who says Becky was brought into this life to make a difference.. While he was looking for the keys, she jumped back in the car and sped off to the nearest hospital. She was white She was not breathing. When she [Downs] showed up, her [Christies] pulse rate went up high and you could see terror on her face, Wilihite said. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute . I cant remember a specific time when my mom or dad said youre adopted. But when I was about eight years old, I started asking questions about the adoption. My parents wanted us to prosper, to learn and to grow, she told ABC. A surgeon told ABC News of treating Christie: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead, he said. The surgeon who helped to save Christie's life told ABC News: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead. Do I open it? When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Fearing there could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to the public to be on the lookout. 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. Shortly before her death, Cheryl Lynn reportedly told a neighbor of her grandparents that she was afraid of her mother. By the time Wilhite arrived, Downs had driven her blood-soaked car to the emergency room. In a sense, Diane was her own worst enemy.". She had been shot in the left forearm, though her wound was not life-threatening. He worked quickly and eventually was able to revive Christie. 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. She replied, 'You've got to be kidding,' at which time he pushed her aside and reached in and shot the sleeping kids.". [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]. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Diane Downs became one of the most infamous murderers in the city after she was convicted of shooting her three children, killing one of them, along a roadway in Springfield, Oregon. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. Ten days after her sentencing, Downs gave birth to a daughter named Amy Elizabeth. She took a detour off of Marcola Road onto Old Mohawk Road to do some sightseeing., By this time it was dark, and the kids were sleeping. Downs was found guilty in June, and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. They have both graduated from college. 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