Downs was employed by the United States Postal Service, assigned to the mail routes in the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Cheryl died; the other two children survived, but they suffered terrible wounds according to Glamour, the bullets paralyzed Danny and gave Christie a stroke. And got out and ask what he wanted. That's insane to think that I would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself -- that's crazy.". Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. All the kids were asleep as it was past 9 o'clock pm and her children were fairly young. 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. In a sense, Diane was her own worst enemy.". Babcocks exclusive interview airs on 20/20 on Friday, March 22 (9:00 11:00 p.m. She says it was during the struggle with the stranger that she was shot in the arm. "Wouldn't I have made sure they were dead and then cried crocodile tears? Wilhite immediately jumped back into his car and raced to McKenzie-Williamette Medical Center as fast as he could. "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much," she said. Famed true-crime author, Ann Rule, provided an update on them by writing on her now defunct website: Christie and Dannywho somehow survived their gunshot woundshave no contact with Diane. It was scary. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. 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. "And so the quickest, simplest way was to eliminate the children.". Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. [4] On May 8, 1982, Diane gave birth to a baby girl, whom she named Jennifer, while acting as a surrogate. They have both graduated from college. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Powered by. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. 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. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. Doug Welch remembers getting the call for what would turn out to be his first homicide investigation. 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. Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, March 22, at 9 p.m. 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. Do I open it? 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. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. Her adoptive parents called her Rebecca Becky Babcock. Downs was denied parole in December 2008, December 2010, and in 2020. And, Cheryl Lynn, had reportedly told a neighbor of her grandparents that she was afraid of her mother. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. The more she talked, and she talked a lot and frequently, the more she talked, the more things didn't make any sense. On May 19, 1983, Diane shot the children Cheryl, 7, Christie, 8, and Danny, 3 multiple times at a close range. [12], Diane did not disclose to police that she owned a .22 caliber handgun, but both Steve and Knickerbocker informed authorities that she did. Growing up, Diane followed those values, however, after the age of 14, she became more rebellious and eventually dropped "Elizabeth" from her name and went by Diane. Look at her," Jaeger said. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. 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. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). "Why would I have taken my kids to the hospital?" Her pupils were dilated. 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. Do I throw it away? She's doing well. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. By the time she arrived at the hospital, Cheryl, seven, was already dead and the other two children had suffered devastating injuries. "People would see little sound bites of her talking on television, and I think they started getting the feeling that there's something really wrong with this person," Jaeger said. View our online Press Pack. We just ignored it, Wilhite said. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. Fearing there could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to the public to be on the lookout. Atty. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. She named the fourth baby Amy Elizabeth before the state handed her over to her adoptive parents. 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.. Her older two children have remained out of the public eye. "There were a number of things which didn't make sense, even that first night," Welch said. Diane didn't show much grievance for her murdered daughter and her two children that were in critical conditions. Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. He and his wife, Joanne, legally adopted the children in 1986. The girl was later renamed Rebecca Babcock. 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. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. Now, as Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out. 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. One died; two survived but had serious injuries. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the middle child, was killed in the attack. Diane Downs now: Her most recent prison photo from 2018. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. Steve Downs, their father, actually left Diane in 1980 because he thought that Danny was the result of an extramarital affair that she had. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. According to ABC News, as of March 2019, Becky was 34-years-old and working in Salem Oregon as a behavioral health coordinator for children. In 2017, she posted on Facebook about a new job, writing that she works with the mentally ill helping to give them a better life.. But as . And I said to her, We don't know that. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. The outlet reported that the prison houses 3,000 inmates and, as of April, was being locked down to protect against the spread of the virus. Today, Downs is incarcerated at the Central California Womens Facility in Chowchilla, California. After being recaptured, she was transferred to a more secure facility. Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. What did she look like? 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. Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. By the time she arrived at the hospital, Cheryl, seven, was already dead and the other two children had suffered devastating injuries. For other inquiries, Contact Us. The two older kids were Diane's with ex-husband Steve, however, Danny wasn't Steve's. [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. When she [Downs] showed up, her [Christies] pulse rate went up high and you could see terror on her face, Wilihite said. Her pupils were dilated. 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. 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. On Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings, Downs was arrested and charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. As an adult, Rebecca (Becky) appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show[18] and ABC's 20/20,[19] where she discussed how she felt about her biological mother. She has a son (born 2005) and a daughter, whom she named Cheryl in memory of her late sister. She named one of her children after her dead sister Cheryl. But what happened to Diane Downs' husband? But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable.. "She calculated that this would win her sympathy in her trial. There are some stories that stick with you for a long time. It was honestly picture perfect., Diane Downs Children Now: Christie, Danny & Becky Today, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. She briefly escaped in 1987, but was quickly recaptured. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. [29] She was not permitted a statement, but answered questions from the parole board. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. My parents wanted us to prosper, to learn and to grow, she told ABC. Christie and Danny were adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? As for Danny, he has kept his life private. Prior to being sentenced, Downs gave birth to a girl she named Amy Elizabeth. Downs was a notorious killer in Oregon, convicted in the 1983 shooting of her three children that left one of them dead. I wanted to relate to her not as a mother, because I had a mother just as somebody who felt the pain and the emptiness that I felt in that time., She wrote back super quickly, Babcock says. The outlet also reported Downs as saying that prisoners at the facility started suffering from COVID-19 symptoms in February. 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. Anne Bradley Jaeger was a local reporter for ABC affiliate KEZI in Eugene, Ore., at the time. Shockingly, it was Downs daughter, Christie, who identified her mother in court as the shooter. The stroke Christie Downs suffered impaired her speech and initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. A judge had already placed Downs' two surviving children in protective custody. Wilhite said he then found a judge who issued an order making him and another doctor Christies guardians. She has been housed in California for the Oregon Department of Corrections since Aug. 30, 1993.. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. she said in an interview. It was May 19, 1983, a warm spring night. In a two-hour 20/20 documentary, Babcock opens up about learning the truth regarding her infamous mom. Therefore, they grew up privately and continue to live their adult lives privately. Powered by. In 1984, Diane was convicted of the death and injuries of her children, and she was sentenced to life in prison. [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? Becky Babcock was born while Diane was incarcerated. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Downs had picked someone on her postal route to seduce prior to the start of her trial. 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. 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. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. This is why I chose to tell my story. I chose to, in a sense, allow her into my life.. Dr. Steven Wilhite had just walked into his house after a long day working at a Springfield, Oregon, hospital when his beeper went off. [15] Christie Downs, Diane Downs' first child who testified at her trial, suffers from a speech disability. 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. A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. Offers may be subject to change without notice. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. The Daughter of Diane Downs. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. In 1983, horror stuck in Oregon as a mother took it upon herself to end the life of her own children. "I knew within 30 minutes of talking with that woman that she was guilty": Surgeon who helped save one of Diane Downs' kids in 1983 after she shot her recalls chilling interaction. She loves us. 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