It was flawed. Diane ran away from her husband many times between 1976 and 1977, but with nowhere to go except her parents house, she would come back. He should have let someone else handle the case or let someone else adopt the kids. Ur not showing facts that Ann Rule lied n misled n ruined lives with. You were not there and one thing I have learned about high profile cases, is that you cannot always believe what the media, biased detectives and Ann Rule have to say. What?? I agree that the phone call from Angel was totally inappropriate. In reality,the whole caseturned out to beno small sacrifice for Diane Downs, but it was a huge victory for the State, the media anda very lucrative deal for theQueen of crime fiction herself; Ann Rule. I am not sure. Master Chief actor Pablo Schreiber has said he won't do an impression on the Halo TV show, suggesting he won't try to . Dianes dad died a year or two ago. The next morning Diane appeared in the courtroom with a police report written by Detective Pond a year earlier, in which Ms. Patterson was sure Diane had gone nowhere near the bathroom the night of the shooting (Appendix 62). The courts were divided in the 80s, family court, traffic court, criminal court, juvenile court I dont believe they ran out of judges to preside over them all. 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. Diane changed her story about the stranger on the road. Tina, if you look at family pictures of the Downs, Christie is the eldest and this is her picture. As usual, Diane had resorted to the soothing comfort of a pregnancy to pretend life would get better; she would create a nest around her, come hell or high water. The absence of the gun or gun powder residues on Diane is fact. Comments about the title of the website, the blogger, the bias, details like the word bipolar and when it was used when cyclothymic disorder was diagnosed by the person who treated the subject and there is an affidavit posted. So Mark, where are you from? If I was of a mind to manipulate the Board by giving voice to the words they want me to utter, Id have sold my soul two decades ago when the lies would have benefited me and my youth passed long ago. I agree on many points with your comment. But there was a lot left unsaid about this relationship. Just like Rule though, your blog is extremely biased, and reads almost as though she told you exactly what to write at times. It was a harrowing, shameful miscarriage of justice. Not exclusively a USA trait, this happens also in many countries, but in a technologically advanced superpower like USA this attitude is more shocking, and maybe also more worldwide spread. I care about the experts reports written about Diane because they know her situation and mental state. Diane was cooked the minute she walked in that courtroom. Maybe she wanted to buy drugs. Thanks again. I then question how she would not have blood splatter if she shot them inside the car at close range. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n364/a03.html // Prison-happy U.S. must reconsider use of mercy; Carol S. Steiker, professor at Harvard Law School, Sep. 10, 2008 , http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080910_Prison-happy_U_S__must_reconsider_use_of_mercy.html // US Prison Population Soars to 2.3Mln People at Annual Cost of $7Bln The US prison population has soared to 2.3 million people costing the government more than $7 billion per year. They felt safe there. It was pitch black outside. WTF? DA Pat Horton declared early in the game to the local paper that the search for the bearded stranger was not very high on their priority list.. The bitches own daughter identified Downs as the shooter. But the Parole Board refused to hear her. This seems very punitive to have a law like this be retroactive. This coercion came to Dianes attention in January 1989 (Appendix 39). Page 41 of case history. Very little is definitively known in this area. I dont. This blogger thinks that if you had bothered reading the blogs that you just mentioned, you would know that I do not call anyone innocent. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History If it was not such a high profile case, Diane Downs would have been paroled a long time ago: speculative, Ill stop there. Knick never signed the premarital agreement and Diane never married him. The detective said if Diane would just testify against Steve Downs, she and her children could go home and try to put their lives back together. You mention that her attorney should have raised objections. This is to avoid the conflict of interest that we read about above. Yeah, Ive noticed a lot of people thing Jim Jagger is Fred Hugi. Nearly every point you make here was addressed and disproved or not even allowed into evidence. From reading the blog and my little understanding of this case, Ms Downs remains in custody as she is considered a dangerous offender. The old toilet block which could be replaced by a cafe (Image: Adam Postans) A new caf planned for the Downs in Bristol would likely be blocked by a 160-year-old Victorian law . I am not sure of the exact timing of Dianes accusations but the Downs family did not only include the grandparents and they were never considered even before this nonsense. According to the state, the shooter was well inside the car and would have had gun powder on its clothing, body or hair if 3 people were shot in the car at close distance. But you would know that if you had read the blog or info about the case. Her parents Willadene and Wes were old school Baptist parents who raised her under strict guidelines without much warmth but complete devotion. I am glad that some articles remain. It sounds pretty fair to me. Steve made some piss poor choices when he had visitation with the kids after the shooting; he permitted them to go off alone with Dianne, when she was not supposed to have had any contact at all with the children. Why? Mr. Then, they accused her of shooting her kids at close range. If you have an opinion on drugging a child to make her talk, a judge presiding over a criminal case when he was in family court and removed the children from the defendants or the forensics, ballistic, etc. Diane doesnt believe Rebecca is her daughter, rather a media puppet ran by Rule. That her child was basically forced to admit that she saw her mom shoot them? More often than not, Christie was interviewed by State Agents (Paula Krogdahl, Paul Alton, Steve Downs and Dick Tracy) within half an hour of having her Dilantin increased. Moms were working more, we were becoming the latch key generation, as in we let ourselves in alone while still in elementary school.when I mentioned before about maturity of a 8, 9, 10 year oldwe loved playing outside on bikes, and playing with our dolls, boys usually had their action figures..lol.and we loved our moms, even if they were young and liked to go out and sent us to babysitters..the book and movie, Im quite sure, over did the situation..and Im sure there was more on both sides, the family of diane, diane herself, but well never know all the details. I think u need to read the facts. I think it would give the blog more integrity and transparency. Diane was just 18 years old but determined to get married. I dont know the woman. Q. I do not care if the bushy haired stranger made no sense or if they could not explain the why of the tragedy, I do not care if she was madly in love with a guy because all that counts is proof and evidence in a court of law, and there was definitely a reasonable doubt. I am not saying she is innocent. Christie was only eight, had suffered gunshot wounds and was in shock. Maybe I should have elaborated more about this comment. This is an extremely tragic case and her children at the very least deserve justice. Usually it isnt there but every once in awhile, it comes out. But she suffered from mental illness and the circumstances were traumatic. No forensic evidence pointing to her, just conjecture based on how mothers should act. Are you still taking comments by email? Seems like former husband, Steve Downs, should've been the custodial parent after the divorce. Detective Antoine also performed a trace metal test on Diane I S hands to detect the presence of trace metals left after someone has touched or held something metallic like a gun (Appendix 65). She had been the bread winner for most of her marriage, and never wavered in her desire to bring financial stability to her family. Diane was pregnant during the trial so if found not guilty, how would she have regained the love of her life? They came up with an explanation as to why this was the wrong gun but the jig was up. 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. It does not contradict what I said, but what they said. A. I was still living in the house, yes, sir. A reader told me that I should have a website with all the comments. She never mentioned that before, and she doesnt mention the FBI agents name. Theres a lot to be said here, still. Because she had driven that area for years for her work. (He WAS shot in the back remember). The detectives took Diane to the crime scene and were able to retrieve shell cases on the ground where the incident happened. In Oregon, in 1983, she shot her 3 children, 1 daughter died. It seems that not being American might help us view the case and Rules narrative with more objectivity. And if the fact that cops lied about the gun to close the deal did not bother you, it bothered me because this is not due process. Except for Paul Cortez. Youre right to say that a GSR is not always foolproof and between 10-20% of suicide GSR kits test negative for GSR. CK was willing to take, or attempt to take, the lives of 4 people in order to steal their car. Litigating at the Supreme Court in . (witness statement the gentleman who was behind her for at least 10 minutes). She could have stayed on the side of the road. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. Diane described the stranger that shot them on the road and a police artist came up with a sketch. I agree that the verdict may have been very different. Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. A demonstration in court strongly suggested that the shooter had to be left-handed to have been able to shoot in the car at the right angle. This blogger apparently believes anything she hears to support her inaccurate theory that Diane Downs was falsely accused and convicted. 17:40, 1 MAR 2023. Without the media blast and rush to judgment from the police and DAs office, we might have uncovered the truth. Surely before Diane downs, there were other mothers who killed their kids..or allegedly did, however in 83 and 84 it made national news, nothing quite like it had come across the media world, which during that decade was really skyrocketing in sensationalismI believe is where it started, becoming less news and more entertainment. I actually can relate to things she did and was like, especially chasing after a guy that dont want youi did one night stands during my chase..to try to get over himits was a dumb idea and really made things worse, but it made sense at the time. After all, she was conditioned this way. Hey Jace, I was not going to post your insulting comments but I decided to let the last sentence fly so that I could answer it. And in fact this would have been about the time that Charlene broke a bottle of liquor that you had. Have you actually read the transcript of the trial?? Downs wanted to get rid of the kids because her new boyfriend didn't want . Almost from day one, Diane was perceived as a cancer they had to remove. The kind of TV series that they produce on high profile crimes will make sure to turn public opinion. The most recent tape of her daughter is not admissible because it is never allowed to bring out tapes that were obtained this way. I dont disagree, I just think it is another example of flaws in our justice system. They hardly investigated any other lead after a couple of weeks. I know better now than to accept blindly the truth presented to us on a silver platter by the media and the judicial system. Two jurors had voted that Diane was not guilty of attempted murder or first-degree assault, but endedup voting to convict her of murder. If Hugi got attached to the children, why did he wait 2 years when little Christie was starting to say she had no clue who shot them? http://www.glamour.com/story/i-found-out-my-mother-was-a-killer-the-rebecca-babcock-story. There was a lot of evidence pointing at OJ. She knew that Knickerbocker hated trouble of any kind, and thathe would have never come back to her after an ugly shooting where she had been wounded and her kids damaged. So, why didn't Steve Downs get custody? Yes, Im sure this stranger wanted to kill her kids but only wound her, who, coincidentally, had a towel handy neatly folded on her wound. Right after the shooting, little Danny would ask the nurses, , Even Ann Rule in her book, keeps mentioning that, Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. The interpretation of blood splatter is different than no blood splatter. Diane Downs and Alice Crummins were considered sluts and cold-blooded women and were judged on their unusual character. Why did they let her daughter testify when she could not know who shot her and said so incessantly until they made her say what they wanted? You wondered at times, which side he was working for. Why didnt they mention that he said a bad man and whatever else in his condition when they knew it was not possible? Hugi got the evidence needed to convict after numerous meetings with Christie. They brought cakes and cookies and became friends so they were not going to fight over this. She attacked her husband and ripped his neck open in a jealous rage (Appendix 81, page 1520), tearing from his neck the gold chain he still wore from his first marriage (a gift from his first wife). We make them president. This whole tale is just unbelievable. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3 . This is not the reason she is still locked up. In her case it seems to be more a matter of punishment. But I am more than willing to review any new info. Steve Howey and Sarah Shahi both grew up in the Lone Star state but their romance didn't begin until they were both acting in Los Angeles. 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. No, Im not that gullible, Okay, I just read that she faked throwing her keys. He freely admitted HE decided to ask for a divorce on his birthday without consulting Diane, who was out of town She may be highly vulnerable to losing control of her emotions in emotionally charged situations, creating faulty judgment and ineffective and inappropriate behavior. He still shouldnt have been allowed to adopt them while the appeals process was ongoing, if he had any role in those cases. When your goal is to call me dude, insult my name and trash my blog, you can go on other sites who will love to spar with you while swallowing the old narrative of high profile cases. The prescribed normal dosage for a full grown man is 30 milligrams per day. 5. I hope they have. 4.Diane was NOT arrested for almost a year after the shootings the d.a. I mean, yeah, I can see the no contact order with Diane. 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.. Not that it matters, your opinion is about the case and not subject to geography. She never hurt anyone in the process of escaping. I know several foster parents and social workers. Five doctors have observed and documented this phenomenon. The police admitting on the stand that after 2 weeks, they stopped looking at suspects appears to be a fact. How about dads side of the family? She got an apartment and I was going to move in with her. Her daughter told the media she watched Small Sacrifices several times. I try to remain objective in spite of the media storm depicting the case in a certain way, which is not accurate in every aspect. In fact, if someone was Hungry like the Wolf in this courtroom, it was a certain crime author who could already smell and taste the fortune coming her way after the publication of this juicy story. That they did not test the outside of the car? Another conflict of interest. In addition, the children were suffering life-changing physical and mental trauma, which would take years to heal. They removed them and proceeded to interrogate the poor girl until she gave them what they needed. I dont know that it could get worse than writing an asinine comment on a restorative justice website that states that only respectful and constructive comments will be posted. So move on. That makes no sense. I am not saying that Diane was a saint or Ann Rule a demon. It deserved as much attention as a Unicorn, a song or all the other hearsay floating around because at least, they came from real people signing official documents. Lise,,,,, yes you did. This unexpected proposal took Diane by surprise at a large family gathering. The rest of the family? If you had commented on one of the elements contained in the blog, it might have been enlightening. Then they just got shut out. After completing his education and their short-lived high school romance, Steve Downs would move on to join the navy. Andthe DA adopted her other two children. And by the way, I wrote the blogs about Rule way before she passed. 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. They would have tried to reopen the case. And she clearly remembered the April 1983, rape that Mr. Downs would later refer to as love making. There was no question in Dianes mind that Knick would take another mistress if she married him, and that hed move on again. 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