0. Now Diane Downs did not say any of this, but told a hard to believe story, and then changed it from one to two masked guys, etc. The car was splattered with blood, but Diane had none on her. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History Then ask yourself if thats how you want your son to grow up. I agree that the phone call from Angel was totally inappropriate. He didn't indicate whether Downs would appeal. I am not sure. Maybe someone needs to read Part two in Dr. Billings in-depth review of the Diane Downs Murder Case in Oregon. If the answer is, revenge, then it has been achieved. She is nowhere near being paroled and if she admitted guilt, I am not even convinced they would release her. As we have reported in great detail in the past, Diane Downs could not possibly have committed the crime of shooting her children, or there would have been evidence of gunpowder residue and blood. The State produced a witness (Ms. Patterson) to testify that Diane Downs entered the hospital bathroom, left the door open, and ran water in the sink (Appendix 87, page 476). McPherron: I mean, it was plastered all over. What this is evidence of is one more piece of the overwhelming amount of bias that was involved from the start of the case. But you sure did comment like a true asshole, huh? I cannot be more transparent than that and integrity was one of the missing pieces of the entire case. She was in solitary confinement for years and even escaped from prison once but was recaptured. It kinda scared me, the thought that mommy could shoot me, like this mommy did. As far as Hugi is concerned, it was a total conflict of interest. In fact, Diane had consulted a psychologist after the tragedy and after months of consultation, she was never diagnosed as a sociopath. The children were in the hospital, it isnt like they could have taken them home. Steve and Diane had three children, Danny, Cheryl, and Christie Ann. I think that she has done enough time and should be released. Diane, of her own admission, had plenty of affairs while she worked at the Post Office. 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. I mean, yeah, I can see the no contact order with Diane. I am sorry but I got to laugh a little. The fact that the DA adopted the children, since it was after the trial, is more of a gray area. 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. They hardly investigated any other lead after a couple of weeks. Foote refused 30 to 50 reports by detectives of sightings or leads about the shooter but admitted reports from people in Arizona willing to badmouth Diane. Is it too late to respond to this? The very suspicious aspect of this ballistic saga is that Hugi said they had the bill of sale and serial number for the first Ruger and it was definitely the murder weapon. My problem with the circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children is that they were twisted by the media. Plus according to an expert at trial, her testimony did not match the blood spatter analysis in the car. I enjoyed your take, and agree their are several reasons with this, and lets be honestevery other case ever prosecuted, to take pause and question but Diane continues to lie, make up brand new stories about people after her, and has made no moves to better herself in any way shape or form while shes been in prison, by her own admission. So not addressing the content of the blog and rambling about everything else while asking for a disclaimer is nailing it? She waseighteen and soon realized that she had jumped from the fire into the frying pan. When you hear her in interviews she sounds more concerned with herself than her kids. One of them named Angel, called 15-year-old Christie on the phone. Which is itself a redundant practise: the blogger repeatedly states that Downs should be released. However, in 1980, the couple divorced. And if she did it, she has served her time without displaying any violent tendencies whatsoever. Hello. And the flat affect and sometimes inappropriate smiling would come with the territory so you cannot judge her actions without taking into account that she might not have been acting according to the norms. To listen to Christies taped conversation, click below. Almost from day one, Diane was perceived as a cancer they had to remove. As an adoptive parent I cant even imagine trying to justify to my daughter our adopting her if we had in any way been a part of the case to terminate her from her bio family. But they tended to ignore other important aspects. Diane did not get a fair trial. Sad situation. Blood, cuts, limo driver who saw him come in, the shoe print, the blood in the car and on the socks in his bedroom. You are right. And in fact this would have been about the time that Charlene broke a bottle of liquor that you had. What was the rationale behind this? She had one arm totally out of commission. They lied about the ballistics. Child Protective Services takes confidentiality to the extreme (warranted in most cases). And so, very quickly, they formed a relationship. It was omnipresent in the courtroom as well as the Duran Duran song Hungry like the Wolf that supposedly was playing when the children were shot in the car. I still dont buy her story. It has nothing to do with the facts of the case. The problem with high profile cases is that the media, the DA, the cops and authors like Ann Rule dictate the narrative and it becomes almost impossible to look any other way unless you are a critical thinker devoid of emotions related to the case. 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. It goes on and on. 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). The unreliability of childrens testimony has been documented by cognitive psychologists such as Elizabeth Loftus of the University of Cornell and others. But there was a lot left unsaid about this relationship. The scene described in Small Sacrifices with little Christie hooked up to a machine and her pulse accelerates because she is terrified ofher mother is doubtful and subject to interpretation. 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. The best policy for Diane Downs would have been to remain silent, but she fought back and smiled at the wrong time and according to them, enjoyed the attention. So, what happened to the children's father? Steve Bannon released from custody pending trial on contempt of We make them president. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. Rule made up stories to sell books and the rights to a movie. I do not post rude comments. I just read your opinion on the Pamela Smart case and the Scott Peterson case. As her brother mentioned, it would not be that farfetched for his sister to stop for someone considering that she was a person who lacked impulse control and the era. He said all the police needed was for Diane to bear witness against her ex-husband. 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. Diane Downs is guilty beyond any doubt and I do not believe that her daughter was coached. Not hard to go there. https://www.google.com/search?q=diane+downs+with+christie+cheryl+and+danny&sxsrf=ACYBGNQDEM3XNQjZXlqNQpYLhZCn7ic5iw:1576689995166&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNuNT427_mAhUcJTQIHbveBMIQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1024&bih=462#imgrc=gQkU10UxNhHn_M: If youre talking about the picture in the blog that is labeled as Christie, it is Christie. The way this investigation and the trial were conducted only left me with doubts. But the fact that the prosecutor called her a deviant sociopath in court without any assessment became another nail in her coffin. In fact, with her continuing to deny committing the crime or expressing remorse, she may never get out. 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. It took months to get Christie to say that her mother was the culprit and that is when they arrested Diane. In this Battle of Cutthroats, Who has lost their head? The Case of Liysa Northon Who Said True Crime Does not Pay? There is so much to say about this blog I wouldnt know where to start. Tuko.co.ke featured an interesting article about the actor that has been in the industry for more than 13 years, starring in various great productions. why didn't steve downs get custody - Kerryandjessica.com Being bipolar, she had no impulse control so it should not have surprised anyone. You do not debate the content of the blog which you probably did not read anyway. And that is why Diane chose to murder her children to regain his affection. I do not believe that this type of abuse would occur today. She signed an affidavit to that effect and wanted the jury informed of it but it was never done. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. But showing no remorse is part of claiming her innocence and part of the vicious circle of parole hearings. She met Robert "Nick" Knickerbocker and started having a relationship with him earlier. Her ex-husband has been of great interest, considering his absence from the media despite the case getting significant attention. She could not have been shot twice in the back while sitting up and have the bullet pierce her body to end up under the floorboard of the passenger side. But as usual, it was slanted in the worst possible way. Or be mentally ill. More reason to have investigated the case more thoroughly. And it is not like these two were white as snow. Her lover and former husband testified against her but it did not represent evidence but character assassination. They were put in an impossible situation. Only after these avenues are exhausted should non-relative placement be looked at. This test confirmed Diane had not held a gun. Page 40 of Case History. The tape of Christie and her adoption by the prosecutor are facts. Why does the blogger not clarify this? 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. The men in her life were in no shape or form called on their irresponsible or wild behavior. Hugi did not want that. It is not because a defendant is found guilty or disliked that it is acceptable to bend the rules. The following article hopes to help you make more suitable choices and get more useful information So, what is Steve's story? Ginsburg didn't think women should get to do what men did because she believed they would do the job better; she wanted equality for its own liberating sake. Just a thought. At what point during these meetings did she start calling him Dad? statement regarding the effects of the childrens medications while in hospital should acknowledge where the blogger obtained information about the side effects.). Since he was in possession of a similar gun, he was a suspect as well, but, when the ballistics did not match, Diane Downs quickly became the prime suspect. And, one of them was her ex-husband, the father of the children that Diane had shot. It was such a high profile case and she was found guilty by the media and the court so people are afraid to touch this one. 4. Guilt or innocence no longer need to be debated in this case. 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.. I am a strong believer that pregnancy can do serious harm to some women. I then question how she would not have blood splatter if she shot them inside the car at close range. Evidence from a ballistics expert. She may be highly vulnerable to losing control of her emotions in emotionally charged situations, creating faulty judgment and ineffective and inappropriate behavior. She states, I did not shoot my children and I cant say I did. Blood spatter is not an exact science, and is interpreted differently by experts. 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. It is a research done on the case according to many sources. They were tons of witnesses that saw him at work. Diane recanted the stories about her dad who vehemently denied them. One could argue that this blog does not stick to what came out at trial. Dianes father tried to hire Melvin Belli, but the judge refused to give him some time to prepare and come back to the US. The jurors had doubts. 3. It is not my point. Diane found a full-time job with the U.S. Post Office in 1981, and was stationed in Chandler. 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. Same with her brother. Tracy, I never said she was in the car. Take your smugness elsewhere, at long last. Removing the children from her and presiding over her criminal trial? Yes, but it is a fact that she was starting to say that she did not know who shot them when it happened. The strong, emotive language. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. It became judicial kidnapping to obtain a coerced confession. But without proof, Diane couldnt implicate Steve Downs any more than she could shoot him as he violated a restraining order threatening to beat her AGAIN. I would also like to express my disbelief that the same judge presided over both the child welfare case and the criminal one. They never found the gun and she showed no signs of having fired one. She never mentioned that before, and she doesnt mention the FBI agents name. you quoted what diane said as to what happened When she resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. It should have raised a red flag concerning her mental stability or the possibility that more people were involved. 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. that you told Diane to tell steve that she was Knicks Seems like she was her worst enemy. The grandparents were babysitting the children often and had several children who were well adjusted. This blogger apparently believes anything she hears to support her inaccurate theory that Diane Downs was falsely accused and convicted. The blog I read is all about the improprieties and flat out misconduct in Dianes trial (and the way Ann Rule profited off of it with fiction). Im not arguing the facts of the trial, and Im not about to. If she did have memories of the actual shooting, that would be very rare. but I think there are some extreme cases that knock women in a bad psychotic way that can be life threatening. 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. Mind you, it is before the trial. Thanks for posting for readers. It was Judge Footes first criminal case and it was against a woman whose children he had removed from her care even though she had not been convicted or sentenced; a conflict of interest and pure madness. You wondered at times, which side he was working for. It sounds like Diane was trying to tell her to stay away from bad influences. Click here to read the complaint. But there were discrepancies; the tool marks did not matchand the detective lied on the stand about it. It was faulty. Also, I agree he does look a little like the actor who played Fred Hugi but I think it might be a coincidence. Thank you Lise.