May 14, 2010 -- On June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was found guilty of shooting her three children, killing one. She, too, is now a mother. Diane Downs attempts to murder her three young children, eight-year-old Christie, seven-year-old Cheryl, and three-year-old Danny, by faking a carjacking. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Diane Downs with her three children Stephen, Christie and Cheryl, Diane Downs is serving a life sentence for the attack on her children, Downs gave birth to a fourth child after her trial in 1984, Christie testified against her mother, pictured. Downs was a notorious killer in Oregon, convicted in the 1983 shooting of her three children that left one of them dead. Then, 10 days after Diane was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, she gave birth to a daughter she named Amy Elizabeth. "I'm never going to see Cheryl on Earth again and I just, you can't replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. She says things to me like, Boy, this has really spoiled my vacation, and she also says, That really ruined my new car. But there were a number of things which didn't make any sense., Why would a mother sightsee when it's dark out? On a fateful night in May 1983, she rushed to the emergency ward of a hospital . Today, 35-year-old Babcock works as a behavioral health coordinator for children in Salem, Oregon. I chose to, in a sense, allow her into my life.. That girl was later renamed Rebecca "Becky" Babcock.[6]. Powered by. In 1994, after serving ten years, Downs was transferred to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. A year later, when Diane was arrested and put on trial, Christie, at just 9 years old, having just recovered her ability to speak, testified against her in court. Diane Downs remains in prison in California. However, when all the details came to be understood by the police, Steve found out what really happened to his kids. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. READ MORE: abcn.ws/2W9dzyC In 1983, Diane Downs. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died, but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. She was white She was not breathing. Downs claimed that during this drive home, around 10 pm she saw a strange man standing in the road flagging her down. Downs was found guilty in June 1984, and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. pic.twitter.com/HWkkwT86pF. 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. A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. Too much for her own good, Welch said. Christie Downs, now 44, and her brother, 39, were adopted by the prosecutor in the case. However, investigators and hospital workers became suspicious, because they decided that Downs' manner was too calm for a person who had just experienced such a traumatic event. And his response was, 'I want your car.' Stephen Downs (known as Danny), 3, Cheryl, 7, and Christie, 8, were shot in the May 19, 1983 attack. Downs told investigators that she and her children had been shot in a carjacking, but police found a secret diary detailing her obsession with a married man who did not want kids. She was afraid of her mother. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? Downs said she then faked throwing her keys to divert the gunman's attention, pushed him out of the way, jumped back in her car and raced to the hospital with her badly wounded children. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. 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. 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. "They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. She took a detour off of Marcola Road onto Old Mohawk Road to do some sightseeing., By this time it was dark, and the kids were sleeping. Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. And she's not. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. [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. Prior to her sentencing, Downs gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Amy Elizabeth. See you at 9pm for our encore presentation of #MyMomsSins #ABC2020! Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. Do I throw it away? Danny is said to be going about his daily routine, but specifics regarding his personal life, such as his spouse and children, have remained a mystery, according to Tuko. 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. 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.". The revelation would shake Becky Babcock's young world and take her on a journey of self-discovery, filled with ups and downs, she said. A judge had already placed Downs' two surviving children in protective custody. "You cant replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. Christie was the star witness in her mothers prosecution; she testified that her mother was the shooter. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. [24] In 2010, she was relocated to the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California,[23] but was transferred out when the facility was converted to an all-male institution in 2013.[25]. At the time Diane had told police that a stranger attempted to carjack her and shot the kids, and thats what her ex husband was told, too. [2] Despite her parents' disapproval of their relationship, Downs continued the relationship. 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. But what happened to her kids, Christie Ann and Stephen "Danny" Daniel? Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. Video related to diane downs children now: christie, danny & becky today, My Mothers Sins l 20/20 Diane Downs l Part 2, WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 20/20: bit.ly/2uqkFD4 Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 children Police found Downs' behavior suspicious. Wilhite said Christie's blood pressure had been so low that she suffered a stroke. They also found a diary in which she expressed a desire to be with a married man, and the focus of the investigation shifted to Downs herself. 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. Heavy is withholding that last name and the photos to protect her privacy. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? The lead prosecutor in the case, Lane County Assistant Dist. 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. Christie Ann, born in 1974, is the eldest of the Downs children, and Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, born in 1979, is the youngest. Downs is serving a life sentence for shooting her children, killing one They married in 1973, before divorcing in 1980. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. It was an interesting interview. Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TheSunUSand follow us from our main Twitter account at@TheSunUS, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Diane Downs with her three children Stephen, Christie and Cheryl, Diane Downs is serving a life sentence for the attack on her children, Downs gave birth to a fourth child after her trial in 1984, Christie testified against her mother, pictured. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? May 12, 2010 -- Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. "I'm never going to see Cheryl on Earth again and I just, you can't replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. I mean, think about it. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974).. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. DIANE Downs made international headlines for callously shooting three of her children - her fourth wasn't yet born. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. And-- so with that, then we were free to treat her as need be. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. Downs then said she pretended to throw her car keys in a bush and the man went to go look for them. She described him as a "bushy haired stranger". [13], Prosecutors argued that Downs shot her children to be free of them, so that she could continue her affair with Knickerbocker, as she claimed that he let it be known that he did not want children in his life. Why is she wounded in the arm? There was just a little part of me that felt like I was searching for something else. Missing baby is feared dead as police arrest aristocrat Constance Marten and boyfriend on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter: 200 officers search allotments and compost bins near where . 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