Of course, being married, she has also changed her last name. Downs was initially incarcerated at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem. Diane Downs continues to this day to proclaim her innocence, even though she has changed her story dozens of times as to what exactly happened the night her 3 little children were shot, and even though one of her other daughter's admitted in open court that it was her mother that shot all 3 children. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. "They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. Ten days before Downs' sentencing, Amy was seized by the State of Oregon, and adopted by Chris and Jackie Babcock, who subsequently renamed her Rebecca. Diane Downs Today: Where Is the Convicted Child Killer Now? 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 prevented her from telling police what she had seen. Fearing there could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to the public to be on the lookout. Therefore, they grew up privately and continue to live their adult lives privately. Star Witness at Downs' Trial: Her Daughter. Elizabeth Diane Downs ( ne Frederickson; born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter and attempted to murder her other two children near Springfield, Oregon, in May 1983. He responded to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and immediately interviewed Downs, a postal worker. Downs was employed by the United States Postal Service, assigned to the mail routes in the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Most of Downs' sentence is to be served consecutively. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable.. "She was white, she was not breathing. During the time they were together, Diane gave birth to three children, Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). The lead prosecutor in the case, Lane County Assistant Dist. Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. 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 circumstances of Becky Babcocks birth were troubled to say the least. [11] The forensic evidence did not match her story; there was no blood spatter on the driver's side of the car, nor was there any gunpowder residue on the driver's door or on the interior door panel. 1983: Diane Downs Attempts to Murder Her Three Children. 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. 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. There was just a little part of me that felt like I was searching for something else. And I thought to myself, What am I going to do with three shot children?. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. Hospital employees determined that then-7-year-old Cheryl was already dead and that then-8-year-old Christie and then-3-year-old Danny were clinging to life. She loves us. Look at her," Jaeger said. Stephen danny downs was the son of Diane Downs is a murderer who was convicted in the United States and is currently serving a life term for the crime she committed in 1984. 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. Downs was denied parole in December 2008, December 2010, and in 2020. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. But as . I knew my entire life that I was adopted, Babcock tells the show in an exclusive clip obtained by PEOPLE. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. Downs told investigators that she and her. After that, she was charged with killing her 7-year-old daughter. March 23, 2019 13:00 Impact x Nightline The Murders Before the Marathon 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).. Downs had picked someone on her postal route to seduce prior to the start of her trial. Convicted child killer Diane Downs is seen on a video as the Oregon parole board unanimously rules that she remains dangerous and must stay in prison during a hearing at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Ore., Dec. 10, 2010. She, too, is now a mother. My parents wanted us to prosper, to learn and to grow, she told ABC. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. And, considering how the emotionally flat blonde responded to the whole experience of the shooting, the trial, and the conviction, it was no surprise that ABCs 20/20 decided to cover the case. And Christie knew that.. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. In 2005, she gave birth to her first child, a boy, and later gave birth to a daughter who she named Cheryl after her sister. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Too much for her own good, Welch said. My childhood was of dreams and we had every opportunity that we wanted. A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. 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. After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous behavior and returned to her parents' home in Arizona. After leaving the public eye in 2010, she spoke to ABC News' "20/20" to share her life now. The outlet also reported Downs as saying that prisoners at the facility started suffering from COVID-19 symptoms in February. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. "And it grew dark and upon their return home she decided to -- to do some sightseeing. [8][9] Upon arrival, Cheryl (aged 7) was already dead, Danny (aged 3) was paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie (aged 8) had suffered a disabling stroke. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. However, when all the details came to be understood by the police, Steve found out what really happened to his kids. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable.. At around 10 p.m. that May night, police said Diane Downs pulled over to the side of a country road near Springfield and shot her three small children multiple times at close range. 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. Downs was found guilty in June, and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. Wilhite, a general surgeon, checked the page -- in those days you didn't have cell phones, he said -- and was instantly filled with dread and adrenaline. DNA Test Kits Are Helping Solve Cold Cases Decades Later, After Nearly a Year, There Could Finally be an Investigation Into the Death of Elijah McClain. That's insane to think that I would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself -- that's crazy.". [23] The Salem prison was located 66 miles from Hugi's home in Springfield; during her ten days of freedom, Hugi had feared that Downs would attempt to travel there in hopes of contacting her children, Christie and Danny. ', I didnt just tear it open and start reading, Babcock tells the show. 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.". According to witnesses, she then drove at a pace of between 5-7 mph to the local hospital, where she then claimed to hospital staff she had been car-jacked by a stranger who shot herself and her children. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the middle child, was killed in the attack. According to Glamour, the motive given for why Diane shot her kids was thought to be because the married man she was seeing at the time did not want any children. 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. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis., Both individuals chose to live a life away from the spotlight- they didnt want prying eyes to remind them of the horrors of their past and to haunt them more than it already did. She went to the University of Oregon and now lives with her husband and children in the town. "Sightseeing when it's pitch black out? There are some stories that stick with you for a long time. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. Despite her difficult start, Becky was adopted and says she had a good childhood. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. District Attorney Fred Hugi asked Christie if she remembered who shot her. And Christie's mother, Diane, could-- say whatever she wanted. 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. She lives and is from Bend, Oregon, and is single. It was as if she thought that if she kept talking enough, that you would believe her, Jaeger said. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. ET on ABC. Born June 27, 1984, Becky, 37, is famously known as the daughter of Diane Down, 66. Doug Welch remembers getting the call for what would turn out to be his first homicide investigation. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. And as she drove down the road, a man stepped out from the brush, the side of the road, and she stopped the car. [26] The book documented accounts by friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and her surviving daughter, Christie, who questioned the quality of her parenting. Officers began an inquiry into her peculiar behavior, which included calling her lover from the hospital, her children claiming they were afraid of her, and Christie Ann responding in a fearful manner when her mother visited her in the hospital. Downs was a notorious killer in Oregon, convicted in the 1983 shooting of her three children that left one of them dead. Despite significant security upgrades at the women's facility after the escape, state officials accepted Hugi's argument that the risk of harm to Christie and Danny, in the event of another escape, was too great for Downs to remain incarcerated in Oregon. 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. There could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to public! Welch said adult lives privately to live their adult lives privately giving birth to a daughter after Trial. Shes been called evil and the devil, what am I going to do some sightseeing troubled to say least! Was of dreams and we had every opportunity that we wanted her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to daughter! To Murder her three children that left one of them dead remembers getting the for. 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