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. She has come a long way. Do you remember about two days after that the two of you signing a lease on the apartment? This is what Mrs Downs had to say about the situation. A. I told Diane before, but I certainly didnt tell her to The interpretation of blood splatter is different than no blood splatter. She was also shot twice andifshe had been sitting up, the seats would have been covered with blood spatter as well as the shooter. I did not shoot my children.. She signed an affidavit to that effect and wanted the jury informed of it but it was never done. Thanks again. It is a research done on the case according to many sources. This really makes me angry, that prosecuter and judge should be sued along with the writter. Imagine knowing that your adoptive dad was responsible for putting your natural mom in the slammer? In fact, watching that was the first time I heard her voice and saw her presence, it was a year or so later that old interviews showed up on YouTube. They were in foster care for two years before the prosecutor adopted them. Hysteria. Its a fact. So how she behaved at the time, should not have been a factor influencing the authorities. According to Rule and the court, the unicorn was a memorial to her children that she purchased after premeditating their murder. The crucial point is that she is so void of emotion. But you are right, some members of the jury and public had a reasonable doubt. But the birth of little Danny did not make this bad boy change his stripes; he remained a cad and a destabilizing force in their lives. Hello. We make them president. While Rules book is biased, it was a look into the view of those who wanted justice for those children, wether you agree w/ their conclusion or not, that was their goal. Danny downs did indeed say a man shot him he also blamed a cartoon character. 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. She followed all the correct Parole Boardprocedures for two years with no hearing. I almost felt bad for her.that being she seemed so lost in her lies..she just hangs in limbo now. Her flat affect is even more pronounced now and it did her in at the time, but she was lucid enough to clearly see that Rule and the media used Becky for their personal gain. Because she seemed "aloof". ?.the fact you are ignoring something SO OBVIOUS is a red flag. Hey Jace, I was not going to post your insulting comments but I decided to let the last sentence fly so that I could answer it. You make an interesting observation when you say: Anyways. We talked about Steve's love of Marvel films and we joked about the staff knowing we were on a blind date because the waitress had . There were a few calls and on one occasion,Christie said They just, they knew that, you know, that she did it and I should say that she did it. When asked if she thought her mother did it or someone else did it, she replied, I dont know if she did it or someone else did, cause I dont know. Then Angel says: They told you that was the right thing to do, huh? Christie responds, But like the person, my attorney, and thats who Fred is, that Im living with, hes the guy, he works for me.. I will talk to Dianes brother. 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. It did not matter that they had no evidence; they did not like her attitude and she was going to pay for it: opinion, not fact There were a few calls and on one occasion, The most frequent remarks I hear about the case when confronted by the state misconduct and the lack of evidence are gut feelings , So the hell with no gun, no GSR, no blood and no witnesses except a sick child who denied knowing who shot them until she could not anymore and happened to be adopted by the prosecutor; making it look like she could never change her mind and reveal that she has no memory of the shooting and maybe have the case reversed. The states own witness, Dr. George Suckow and Dr. Polly Jamison denounced Prosecutor Hugis practice as improper and unethical (Appendix 101 and 104). Even more now with hindsight because of the gun and the fact that her daughter kind of recanted by demonstrating that if pushed, she will say what is expected of her. 1) Gunshot residue/blood splatter. During Dianes examination at trial, Fred Hugi said in front of the jury, in the form of a question, that she had been diagnosed as a deviant sociopath.. The US is a very strange bird when it comes to crime and punishment. The Parole Board had an obligation to parole Diane between 1998 and 2002 if she could provide reasonable cause to show she was not a danger to society. Thanks Kit, It is a bit of a mystery to me that not more people see that if we removed the high profile name and the accompanying media storm, the case was no slam dunk. Steve knew Danny was not his biological child and left Downs. For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. Lets not take that lightly. I write about cases where due process is in question and important aspects were ignored or twisted. It would not benefit you, my children, or society for me to perpetuate that lie. Instead, there is blood splatter on the ceiling of the car. When I hear some people say that they would have liked to smack that smirk off Dianes face when she interacted with the cops or the media, I sayreadthis to understand accounts of people laughing at the wrong time and how it is related to their personality disorder. And other inmates were released with worst backgrounds. I wanted to ask you something on this case. The judge instructed them to continue on to force a verdict. They went through the process which demonstrates a certain level of commitment in itself. Diane was sentenced to life plus 50 years. If, as Proctor said, it was exchanged right away, and the other Ruger was subsequently stolen by Steven, how was it remotely possible for him to have this info? Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. When you hear her in interviews she sounds more concerned with herself than her kids. Diane didnt ask Knick to leave his wife. I am interested in the truth. Ann Rule has always been sensationalist, and her books were almost unreadable at the end of her publishing days. She has been in prison for so long that we dont know what her mental health situation is so it is a moot point for me. (Yes, speculative). If she was the shooter, it had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 3. This reminds me of what a jail counselor named Rachel Roth said at the trial of Debra Milke Its my opinion that this young woman has been judged in a way that signifies something to do with how we view women in our society. Usually it isnt there but every once in awhile, it comes out. Rule even talked about writing a book about her but it never materialized. I worked for county child welfare services in Colorado for a decade. The rest of the family? I guess Diane forgot to have that part engraved on the Unicorn. Someone can have an evil vibe and not be guilty of a crime. 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. John Shea who played Fred in the TV movie Small Sacrifices even looks like him. But Diane was not the one dragging Knick out of Charlenes bed every morning intent on making or breaking his relationship with another woman. In her book, Ann Rule made sure to mention that running water was heard by a dispatcher when Diane was at the hospital; insinuating that she was washing her hands and getting rid of evidence. You seem to believe everyone is innocent. What followed was a tragedy subject to many interpretations. (This is why Foote was assigned the case. I had visited Dr. Billings site several times and it is too bad that it was removed. 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. The notes taken daily by the nurses became a point of contention at trial. Diane may very well be guilty, but YIKES this investigation and trial seemed so butchered and tilted in the prosecutions favour. At that timeand now!! Its as if they cant control it. I look forward to reading your other blogs. They now throw people in prison in the US for debts. There were days she was unhappy to see the staff and her family because she was very ill. That poor girl had a lot of bad moments where she would cry constantly or trigger the machines and to have defined this single incident as one of terror instead of excitement over seeing her mom was biased and self-serving. ABC MOVIE FOR TV Small Sacrifices 1989 Farrah Fawcett, Ryan ONeal. In 1991, David Brewer, a juror who deliberated Dianes fate in her 1984 trial, came forward to say he and another juror had decided to acquit Downs by the close of the States presentation. They should have taken the time necessary to find enough evidence. The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb: opinion, not fact I am sorry but I got to laugh a little. CMOH said 2 doses = minimal protection against infection . If you use this mixed water, you can lift off a gunpowder stain.. If it doesnt matter to you, it should. She never hurt anyone in the process of escaping. The tape is real and probably not admissible, but it seems to indicate that her testimony was coerced. The way Christie was coached did not correspond to the reality of the direct evidence. But I would not know what her state of mind is because I did not witness it. Instead of grieving, Alice went partying and had sex. Is it too late to respond to this? I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. I am a Mortuary science student, true crime fanatic, and have been following the Downs case since it happened. Guilt or innocence no longer need to be debated in this case. did he have eyes in the back of his head.???? Nothing in this blog claims Diane is innocent. I have no dog in this race. 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. She has done her time in prison and I hope that she gets the chance to get out and spend time with her mother and siblings. In the nurses notes, she is described as in shock and unable to grasp the situation. Halo 4. Common sense will tell this Court, when Diane accidently slammed her mangled arm into the steering wheel of Detective Tracys car, it was ANYTHING but a laughing matter. The prosecutor didn't even know that after the Mother's Day road rage incident in 2020, Rivas was charged in Maryland with leaving the scene of another accident involving bodily injury. He separated from his wife and was going to follow Diane who, by now, had decided to move and work in Oregon to be closer to her parents. Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy. The weird behavior (laughing and joking in the shooting reenactment), bullets found at her home and the constant changing of her story only is icing on her guilty cake. Whether or not Steve Downs was in some way behind the shooting, the man who fired the weapon was a stranger to Diane. Criminalist James Pex was pretty clear about this. They lied about the ballistics. The fact that there was a rush to judgment, an investigation targeting only one result and a media coverage often presenting lies is very bothersome. This blogger apparently believes anything she hears to support her inaccurate theory that Diane Downs was falsely accused and convicted. The popular TV movie Small Sacrifices was based on Ann Rules book and it painted a horrid picture of the mother accused of shooting her children on Old Mohawk Road. In this article, we can clearly see that Becky struggled and tried to justify her woes (maybe rightly so) by blaming it on her DNA. Re Diane Downs I invite reading Synopsis quite similar to above: OREGONs Juridical Small Sacrifices There is a court sketch artists rendering of him in this video. A. I was still living in the house, yes, sir. Her character was also too much on the forefront. Steve Howey and Sarah Shahi both grew up in the Lone Star state but their romance didn't begin until they were both acting in Los Angeles. What about the fact that they never found the gun? And on this site, I mention that I take a restorative approach. Nevertheless, what was done seemed out of our hands and we could have no contact with them at all. That testimony was left unchallenged by Mr. Jagger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPLkIcSzftE&ab_channel=DianeDownsArchives. Right after the shooting, little Danny would ask the nurses, , Even Ann Rule in her book, keeps mentioning that, Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. Her arm was severely damaged, so shattered that she needed a graft from a hip bone. So it was a relentless game totry to reel her in. Seems like former husband, Steve Downs, should've been the custodial parent after the divorce. The price of celebrity for her was losing her freedom and her children for life. Thank you Lise. A fair trial is a right in this country, not a judicial suggestion. She complained about it, but that does not mean she did not suffer for her kids. Foote denied the motion and declared you have an attorney, use him.. 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