The infamous murder story of 1983 was like an excerpt from a crime thriller, a mother doing the unfathomable. A. I told Diane before, but I certainly didnt tell her to Again thats opinion, and neither balanced nor objective. It could be argued that he developed a relationship with the children and genuinely wanted them to join his family. I have simply bothered researching the evidence and in some instances, the lack of it. She learnedat a young age to keep her emotions in check and to always present a strong and brave front. Diane Downs' ex husband, Steve Downs, lost a lot in May 1983 when his ex wife shot their three children, following their divorce in 1980. Steve Downes has voiced the Master Chief in the Halo games since his 2001 debut, and his voice has become synonymous with the character.However, despite Jen Taylor being asked to reprise her role as the . It probably makes you feel so good. Mainly because the courts have to give every chance possible and all the services necessary to the bio family to try to preserve the relationship. Once again, Diane said a lot of things. ABC MOVIE FOR TV Small Sacrifices 1989 Farrah Fawcett, Ryan ONeal. And he grew up there. I always welcome new information, evidence and opinions if they have a strong base and are not mean spirited, but I dont get the relevance of this comment to the case itself. What mother takes her kids out at night and then stops for a stranger with her kids in the car? I found your blog to be very well written, informative and interesting. please express them and I will print them. In the nurses notes, she is described as in shock and unable to grasp the situation. The fate of Steven Downs, a 47-year-old nurse from Auburn, Maine, is now in hands of a 12-person jury in Alaska. Because she was failing quite miserably at remaining pure and chaste, she was expelled after only a year, and thus, she returned to her parents home in Arizona. This is an extremely tragic case and her children at the very least deserve justice. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. We cant. This was all logged in Christies hospital reports and is found in the Appendix of the petition filed in Federal Court in 1996 in the section Hospital Reports. It appears that you have to be a perfect mother with no lovers and not afflicted with any mental illness to be considered innocent until proven guilty in America. If the goal was to get rid of them, why didnt she emulate her lesser half in this matter? In the end, it is scary how media becomes some kind of Roman circus where people is thrown in order to become a source of business. Around 1 in 20 residents in Arkansas and Tennessee were missed during the 2020 census, and four other U.S. states had significant undercounts of their populations which could shortchange them Most people negotiate the ups and downs of . It appeared rigged: Rigged? You said that the absence of both prove she couldnt have been to shooter and you claim it takes real scrubbing to remove GSR. The strong, emotive language. Diane described the stranger that shot them on the road and a police artist came up with a sketch. The case is old and the blog dated, but it is never too late to respond. This video has Dianes attorney, Jim Jagger, at 1 minutes and 20 seconds that might have some good shots. 7 chilling clues in case of Diane Downs after she told cops a stranger That makes no sense. She has an excellent conduct report and never reacted violently to any of the harassment from other inmates. why didn't steve downs get custody. Of course, because this is what she does when people put her on the spot and ask questions concerning her mother and the shooting. Then feel free to correct the facts and to provide evidence to support them. Needless to say, you seem to have a problem with the American justice systemnot each individual case. And this makes many people wonder about his whereabouts. You are telling me to take my smugness elsewhere because it is tiresome. Its too late for me to call myself a murderer (when I am not) just to purchase my freedom. Right after the shooting, little Danny would ask the nurses, Why did the mean man shoot me? and it would be written down in the daily notes. Her parents Willadene and Wes were old school Baptist parents who raised her under strict guidelines without much warmth but complete devotion. Mother of Diane Downs Asks Oregon Governor to Review Case and I would say so. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. 0. Instead, there is blood splatter on the ceiling of the car. She has come a long way. They did not like her attitude and she did not behave the way they expected a grieving mother to act. I wish she could get a new look. What is known for a fact, is, Prosecutor Fred Hugi took physical custody of Christie and Danny shortly after Christies confessions to her school mates, and he officially adopted them in the summer of 1986. People tend to forget that the group of young women hanging out with Manson were deeply engaged in serious drug use and totally out of their mind at the time. 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. I am posting Jamesanswer: Yes the allegations were said and you cannot take back what was saideven if retracted She had been isolated from her whole family and being unethically interrogated. That testimony was left unchallenged by Mr. Jagger. The authorities believed that the children's father was not a good fit to look after the children after what they had endured when their mother tried to murder them. Movie scene alleging that Christie was scared. 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. As it was getting dark and the young ones fell asleep in the car, their mother decided to head home. Mr. Jagger said it wasnt t enough to know a witness had lied, but she would have to prove it. I have watched her parole hearing. She said no mother would stop at 10 at night, in the dark, with three young children, to help a Bush haired stranger. I recently found your website and have enjoyed it a lot. As soon as Diane was found guilty, Hugi demanded that Diane be evaluated by a psychiatrist before sentencing so they could declare her a dangerous offender and give her a stiffer sentence. There is also a critical shortage of Foster Carers internationally, so that the Hugis offered to take the children in could be viewed as altruistic. 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. The Pros and Cons of Getting Sole Legal Custody - Verywell Family Downs: And there was a big reward, too. After six weeks in Oregon where the children were happily spending time with their grandparents while Diane worked her postal route, the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. I still remember my mother picking up the paper and seeing the headline. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. How about dads side of the family? And she clearly remembered the April 1983, rape that Mr. Downs would later refer to as love making. Lori, I luv how you ended your comment Lets also remember that this is the US of A and we dont lock people up for being narcissistic, antisocial histrionic individuals. You can check this link and go online to see her picture with Cheryl and the rest of the family. They are set in stone and people refuse to see it any other way. I will talk to Dianes brother. He strung her along, played with both womens emotions, and after saying he would join her in Oregon, reneged and stayed with his wife. Seems like former husband, Steve Downs, should've been the custodial The way this investigation and the trial were conducted only left me with doubts. Spending 35 years incarcerated with time in isolation and often as a target is not going to improve mental health. Susan, I dont know if there ever was a lawsuit against Ann Rule from the Fredericksons family. 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. Hello. The police DID fingerprint the car, from grill to trunk and in between. Not that Dianes mental health was not a factor in her letter, but it was definitely taken out of context in some instances. Her mom is still alive and would love to have contact but respect that they wont. It could have been very different at almost any other time or with any other attorneys or juries too. And if you claim your innocence, it obviously creates a vicious circle of not showing contrition. They finally charged her and she did 10 years for the death of her children. But you dont mention that she again has changed her story. Weve become friends. It became judicial kidnapping to obtain a coerced confession. Steve Bannon released from custody pending trial on contempt of Same with her brother. No. The flesh and muscle had been cored three days earlier, but the steel plate and bone graft could not be effected for two weeks (a precaution against infection). Farrah had trouble with the law because of a passionate love affair with a movie director. According to the State, ballistics evidence proved that Diane Downs was guilty. I felt there was something that should be done, but I was at a loss in how to cope with the Court that had given the children to the prosecutor and allowed false testimony to seal her fate. The kind of TV series that they produce on high profile crimes will make sure to turn public opinion. Meaning it was unlikely she was the shooter. But I will answer the points you raised about the blog. Diane is not a killer or a liar! I read the letter they sent to the Downs when they were fighting to see their grandchildren. She was more interested in the affection of men, which on that fateful day in 1983 gave her an idea. The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI, which is the official psychiatric diagnostic manual. Jury begins deliberations in decades-old rape and murder case - WMTW Nobody knows but her. Usually it isnt there but every once in awhile, it comes out. CK was willing to take, or attempt to take, the lives of 4 people in order to steal their car. I have no dog in this race. Her children were obviously more severely injuredbecause being captive in the car while a shooter aimed at them gave them less of a chance to wiggle out of the situation than an adult outside the car. And how the letters became so bizarre, paranoid and psychotic that she told Diane to stop writing her. This case needed to be examined more thoroughly, but the mob mentality didnt allow it. Gregory Foote who had denied access to the children by all blood relatives and given their care over to the State, was promoted from juvenile to senior judge to preside over the trial of Diane Downs.. 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. GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. James C. Jagger who was hired by Dianes father was an ex-Prosecutor. 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. 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). It is in the blog. I changed the sites email recently to thetroublewithjustice@hotmail.com Most people described Dianes injury as minor or superficial but in reality, it was a very serious injury. Then, 10 days after Diane was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, she gave birth to a daughter she named Amy Elizabeth. 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. Someone found guilty of a crime should have a sentence that can be served and not one that is contingent on the remorse shown. What I explain in the blog is that the fact that Foote is the one who removed the children from Dianes care is exactly why he should NOT have been presiding over her murder trial. So move on. 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. And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. If you shoot at least 6 inches from a victim, you see what is around you in the car. Celebrity Author Covers Case Ann Rule wrote 'Small Sacrifices,' later released as a movie. The case NEVER made sense to me. Diane was 18 years old at the time and had run away from home to get married. Agreed. It was kind of interesting to hear Mossimo Giannullis lawyer pleading to have his client sent home or put in general population because his mental health suffered drastically in solitary confinement because of covid after 56 consecutive days in solitary. Mr. Jagger read the report and said, you were right. I am not saying that Diane was a saint or Ann Rule a demon. That they did not test the outside of the car? In an earlier comment you stated that Diane had met all of the requirements for parole. He could then have initiated the licensing process to foster and then adopt the children. According to her hospital records, every 6 hours she was given 400 milligrams of Dilantin (which is noted for causing confusion). Her father passed away in October 2017 after having fought relentlessly for her release. It is my hope that Leslie Van Houten and Diane Downs are never paroled. If appropriate family members could not be found to take placement of the children then family friends are the next step. It was obvious to the cops and the prosecution because they proceeded to get her daughter to testify against her because they had nothing to prove she was the shooter. Her release was recommended by a warden and a psychiatrist. Who is Steve Downs? The story of Diane Downs' ex-husband However, he had no interest in taking care of Dianes children. It became judicial kidnapping to obtain a coerced confession: inflammatory CK allowed DD to drive away despite the fact she could identify him and he had a gun? If a person were innocent of the crime they were convicted of this puts them in a no-win situation. What about the judge stopping a defendant from getting a new attorney? It was omnipresent in the courtroom as well as the Duran Duran song, The judge instructed them to continue on to force a verdict. I worked for county government child welfare for a decade. She was also shot twice andifshe had been sitting up, the seats would have been covered with blood spatter as well as the shooter. For the upcoming Halo TV show, original Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes was recast, despite Cortana voice actor Jen Taylor reprising her role from the iconic video game franchise. By the time Danny was born, they were having intense arguments about infidelity that Steve got convinced that he wasnt his biological son. You need real evidence in court. Id like to challenge some of the bloggers claims. She even provided the police with her own sketch. It kinda scared me, the thought that mommy could shoot me, like this mommy did. Mission accomplished. A. 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. How could they expect a normal mother/daughter reunion between a beaten inmate whose mental health had degraded and a daughter trapped in this insanity? Or maybe an upvote/downvote arrow for each. Were they involved in the plot too?? And that Ann Rule took advantage of the situation to sell her book. Either way, it appears to be a conflict of interest. Diane was in the hospital for a bone graft from June 2nd until June 6th, 1983. This is a more common route for children with parents who are incarcerated for what looks to be the entire childhood of the children. Ive been to London to Fly the Queen ~ and Back to Collect Artifacts, Haleigh Cummings Was Once Lost but Now She Is Found, Meet Rene Acoby: In-House Female Dangerous Offender, Kelli Stapleton- A Mothers Wuthering Woes. Steve Bannon won't be detained before trial on charges of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating January 6. is this a reason??? The problem was, Diane has a long-documented history of adversely reacting to tranquilizing drugs. We will never know what really happened because the authorities acted too hastily and the media was a huge hindrance. The interpretation of blood splatter is different than no blood splatter. Is there any update? Wasnt he the stranger? Plus, you do not let a newly appointed judge to criminal cases, preside over a high profile murder case when he has no experience whatsoever and has already prejudged the defendant dangerous to her children. The two older kids were Diane's with ex-husband Steve, however, Danny wasn't Steve's. And if he really was attached to them and wanted to offer them a permanent home, it means he was unfit to be the prosecutor in this case. This was very stressful. , The lovely Farrah Fawcett who played in the movie, Anne Rule might have inflamed the case with her book, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), The Diane Downs Case Was no Small Sacrifice.

Joe Campisi Obituary, Porsche 997 Slant Nose Body Kit, Articles W