Diane Downs, The Killer Mom Who Shot Her Kids So She Could Be With Her Lover. Inside The Chilling Crimes Of John Joubert, The Eagle Scout Who Became A Serial Killer, Why The Story Of John And Lorena Bobbitt Is More Complex Than Just Castration, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. In 1980, her husband, Steven Downs, divorced her after he became convinced that young Danny wasnt his son. $37.75 8 Used from $37.75. Diane Downs' story of how her children were shot begins to unravel. And to be born of a monster is not something I'm proud of.". Diane and Rachel both pleaded guilty in the deaths and the assault of Sarah. The Dropout The story of Elizabeth Holmes and the fall of her start-up Theranos is an unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong. "Never," she said. did diane downs get parole in 2020how often does louisville water company bill. Diane Downs, born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1955, is a convicted murderer who is serving life in prison. Christie and Cheryl were a product of Diane's marriage to her ex-husband, Stephen (Danny) Downs. Sometimes lust can become lethal for a woman. Becker, who used to coach the current Australian Open champion until 2016, told press at the . Ann was a full-time true crime . NR | 03.29.2019. During the documentary, Babcock reacted to viewing her biological mom's creepy 2010 parole hearing. kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist. She said we all write our own stories, despite our past. The secret was out, but Becky didn't know -- yet. childhood straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. They had another sibling, born in the middle, in 1976, Cheryl Lynn, but she didn't survive the shooting. Despite her troubled past and remaining in jail, her daughter Babcock still chose to send her biological mom letters in prison. Downslaunched a violent attackon three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. Diane Downs shot her three children, killing her seven-year-old daughter Cheryl and wounding her other two children.An in-depth look at the lives and crimes . A troubled woman uses poison to get her way, a mother's infatuation turns deadly for her children and passion twists two teens into cold-hearted killers. Early Documentary Photography . In 1983, Diane Downs' three children were brought to an Oregon hospital with gunshot wounds. More than a year prior, Pasztor had lost custody of the pair due to substance abuse problems. The case became a national sensation when Downs, who appeared to show little to no remorse, turned up pregnant during her 1984 trial. Now, as Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out new interviews and staggering details. Farrah Fawcett is exceptional as Diane Downs, the woman who manages to kill one out of three kids. Ann Rule's shocking and powerful account of the destructive forces that drove Diane Downs, a beautiful young mother, to shoot her three young children in cold blood. Ann Rule promotes her books as true crime stories so to this day, viewers believe that the book and the movie titled Small Sacrifices document the true story of the Diane Downs' case; in fact, it is a mix bag of truth, falsehoods, interpretation and plain fiction. The case received even more attention when the late true-crime author Ann Rule wrote a book about Downs life and the trial, called Small Sacrifices. The book was adapted for a TV-movie starring Farrah Fawcett, that aired in 1989. : 1) LL "If you do something so horrific, at some point you have to ask for forgiveness.". "The cold look in her eyes scared me and seeing her hands, that you know were just like mine, and the reality set in that that's who gave birth to me.". It aired on ABC on November 12-14, 1989. They had been shot multiple times at close range; 7-year-old Cheryl was already dead. What did Bob Proctor say about the Law of Attraction in The Secret? Dr. Steven Wilhite opened up in the documentary about his interaction with Downs at the hospital. When Becky was 17, she got pregnant and became a teenage mother -- as Diane Downs had been. The letters eventually led her to realize her mom was crazy. Small Sacrifices. "I dropped out of high school. Smith like Downs, also pursued a man who didn't want to be with her because she had children. She said that opening up her mom's letter in October 2006 was like "pandora's box" as she "chose" to allowed her mom into her life. Woman Seeks Clemency After 1985 Conviction for Killing Husband Did Sexism Put Her Behind Bars? A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. "You probably won't. Interest Successfully Added. They followed the mother's murder trial carefully. Utah mom Megan Huntsman admitted in 2014 to killing six of her newborn babies soon after giving birth between 1996 and 2006. In an interesting development, in 1986, Christie and Danny Downs were adopted by Fred Hugi, the lead prosecutor who put their mother behind bars for the rest of her life. Paperback. Not one tear, even though she knew that Cheryl had died," he said. On July 11, 1987, a Saturday morning, Downs escaped a woman's prison by climbing a 12- to 15-foot-high chain-link fence around the detention center. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. When Indiana police issued an AMBER Alert for 7-year-old Liliana Hernandez and 6-year-old Rene Pasztor in September 2016, they feared the children were with their estranged mother, Amber Pasztor. ', "I've never seen a reaction like that at all. "Forgiveness kind of implies that I have ever really blamed her," Rusty said then. 99. He rushed back for the emergency and recalled thinking Christie was dead. They & Downs' daughter she had in 1984 were adopted. May 14, 2010 -- On June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was found guilty of shooting her three children, killing one. Her children were often seen unkempt and appeared malnourished. All rights reserved (About Us). WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 20/20: https://bit.ly/2uqkFD4Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 childrenPolice found Downs' behavior suspicious. She received a five-year additional sentence for the escape. "She started writing back about people that want to harm me andshe told me that if I loved my little boy I would take him far away from there," Babcock continued. Sometimes lust can become lethal for a woman. Between 1972 and 1985, all nine of Marybeth Tinning's children died young, eight of them under suspicious circumstances. Watchlist. The baby was secretly driven to a hotel room and given to her adoptive parents, Jackie and Chris Babcock. Downs isn't imprisoned in Oregon, the state that sentenced her, because shortly after her sentencing, she escaped from Oregon Women's Correctional Center. She said: "She doesn't make any sense and it honestly sounds like It just she thinks that she's smarter than the law and that she believes her own lies. Viewers of ABC's 20/20's true crime documentary aboutDiane Downs have gotten a deeper look into the mom's life. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. After learning about Diane Downs, read about Marianne Bachmeier, Germanys Revenge Mother who shot her childs killer. 45:57. Wilhite later added: "When I was finished taking care of Christie, then I sought out her mother. She was sentenced to life in prison and an additional 50 years after shooting her three children, killing one. When Babcock was a child, she tricked her babysitter into saying her biological mom's name leading her to search Barnes and Nobles to find a true crime book about her mom, the documentary revealed. Diane Downs's bio is filled with facts like Bio, Books, Net Worth, Murder, Movies, Affari, Husband, Children, Family, Parents, Age, Facts, Wiki, Famous, Birthday, Documentary, Daughter, Married, Divorce, Salary, Career, Famous for, Biography, Ethnicity, News, Killer and more can also be found. When their new daughter arrived -- it was their second adoption -- they named her Rebecca. THESE are the five most chilling Diane Downs documentary details from the killer mom's bizarre jail letters to a "scary book." Viewers of ABC's 20/20's true crime documentary about Diane Downs . "I wrote her a letter," Babcock said. "It just makes my skin crawl, just to hear her voice and see her. And to my complete surprise, Diane was not emotional not a tear in her eye. I've fought my own battles between emotion and reason. But I was born of a child killer. For a young woman already struggling with her identity, the discovery was devastating. For her high school education, she enrolled at Moon Valley High School. Wilhite later added: "When I was finished taking care of Christie, then I sought out her mother. Inside were three children, two girls and a boy, covered in blood. One of the most notorious crimes in Oregon history will be revisited this Friday, in a 20/20 two-hour documentary about Diane Downs, the woman convicted of shooting her own three children, and killing one. After both her husband, Mark, and son, Shaun, died untimely deaths in 2012, and her then-24-year-old daughter, Sarah, was hospitalized for organ failure, Diane Staudte was charged with murdering Mark and trying to kill Sarah. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. "The precautions that we took were to let people know that were coming in contact with Becky, her daycare person, her babysitter for Becky's own safety.". 3.5M views, 9.1K likes, 134 loves, 6.7K comments, 7.7K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from ABC 20/20: She's been called "evil" and "the devil." A mother of three, In love with a married man, who did. "I asked the babysitter and I made it sound as if I knew," Babcock said. A two-hour "20/20" documentary special on ABC explores the shocking case of Diane Downs, who was convicted of shooting her three children, and includes an interview with the daughter with whom . Babcock said that once she knew the blood of Diane Downs was inside her, she began to mimic her birth mother's impulsive behavior. When asked who shot her, the girl replied simply, My mom. Diane Downs had tried to murder her own kids and driven slowly to the hospital in hopes they would bleed out. Jayne Maynes. ", Former Lane County District Attorney Pat Horton explained: "Her demeanor at the hospital did not conform to a traditional grieving mother whose children had just been shot, one murdered, the other two seriously clinging to life. In August 2020, Smith was sentenced to life in prison. She then ran away from home and married husband, Steven Downs, in 1973, with whom she had . Rachel, who agreed to testify against her mother, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She says things to me like, Boy, this has really spoiled my vacation, and she also says, That really ruined my new car. Daughter given up for adoption talks about uncovering secret of mom's identity. And when Christie regained her speech, the facts were clear. In April 1983, Diane Downs moved to Springfield, Oregon, and got a job as a postal worker. The court hopes the defendant will never again be free; I've come as close to that as possible. But I believe that I may possibly be your biological daughter." Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TheSunUSand follow us from our main Twitter account at@TheSunUS, Harry and Meghan evicted from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles after Spare memoir, Emmerdale's Amy Nuttall caught cheating hubby after sexy lingerie slip-up, Constance Marten and lover arrested over manslaughter, Woman found murdered is missing mum who had not been seen since before Xmas, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. After everything was said and done, psychiatrists diagnosed Diane with narcissistic . View full size The Oregonian/1984 Elizabeth Diane Downs is led in handcuffs into the Lane County Courthouse by Christine Rosage on the first day of her trial on accusations that she shot her . In 1981, however, she met Robert Nick Knickerbocker and embarked on an affair that waived her troubles away. The film was based on her mother's life. She has a brilliant mind with no conscience to guide it. She also sent photographs of herself. Incapable of reconciling, the couple divorced in 1980. Farrah Fawcett played the role of Diane Downs for the TV movie "Small Sacrifices," alongside Ryan O'Neal. It's always white people. Becky Babcock, the fourth and youngest child of Downs, explained in the documentary MY MOTHER'S SINS the reasoning behind why she began writing letters to her jailed mom. 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I knew within 30 minutes of talking with that woman that she was guilty.. Related content. A must-see for crime buffs. She is 67 years old as of 2022. 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, Viewers of ABC's 20/20's documentary about Diane Downs, pictured, have gotten a deeper look into the killer mom's life, BeckyBabcock's biological mom is Diane Downs, Diane Downs launched a violent attack on three of her children in 1983, Downs is serving a life sentence for horrific crimes she committed against her own kids, Diane Downs documentary 5 chilling revelations about killer mom on ABC 20/20 from bizarre jail letters to scary book, 'Shooter' Jamel Flint arrested after killing high school football star Isiah O. Robinson, 18, & injuring 4 others, Richard Samuel Gray, 32, arrested for 'killing girlfriend' after manhunt and Amber Alert as 'kidnapped' kids found safe, Inside Nashville Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking deadly restaurant rampage that killed 4 after GUILTY verdict. "I wish I was born of my real parents," she said. Downs escaped, was captured 10 or so days later a short distance from prison in Salem, making no attempt to flee the state. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. She's not able to have or understand love. Babcock said the letters "progressively got more and more insane" something she noticed after asking about her biological father. Over the years, she has told her story numerous times and has been seen on 20/20,The Oprah Winfrey Show,Kids of Killers, and the Happy Face podcast series. She said: "She doesn't make any sense and it honestly sounds like It just she thinks that she's smarter than the law and that she believes her own lies. Refusing to take rejection, Smith also fabricated a story about being car jacked by a strange man causing her two children to drown while strapped in their mother's car. He told Downs he had no interest in being a daddy and ended the affair. So Downs decided to murder them so she could be with him. Cops found her ten days later living with another inmate's husband. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3 . For other inquiries, Contact Us. Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. A look at the cold-hearted criminal who was convicted of murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children in 1983. John Shea is also good as the D.A. The 20/20 special includes an interview with Becky Babcock, the child with whom Downs was pregnant during the trial. NR. Then, on May 19, 1983, she drove her children down Old Mohawk Road just outside of town, pulled over to the side of the road, and shot each of her kids with a .22-caliber pistol. "They were in the way.". Babcock decided to cut off all contact. Boris Becker has revealed he started crying in jail as he watched Novak Djokovic win Wimbledon in 2022. How Jayme Closs, Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard and Others Survived Headline-Making Abductions, After Being Denied Prison Release, Pamela Smart Whose Teen Lover Killed Husband Files Appeal, Chris Watts Case: After Investigators Speak Out on Confession, a Look Back at Tragic 2018 Killings, Texas Girl Getting Snack at Home Was Killed by Bullet from Outside, Man Who Targeted Wrong Home Sentenced, Susan Smith 'Cries For Her Children' Every Christmas Since Murdering Them, Says Source. Before killing herself last June, Carola Arnau, 40, fatally shot her two children daughter 10-year-old Bellailani and son Noah, 4 in their Pennsylvania home. That is until Christie recovered and told them who really shot her. The documentary comes as Downs who gave birth to four children is serving a life sentence for horrific crimes she committed against her own kids. Shortly after her death, Zadie's mother, Stephanie Diane Smith, mourned her daughter's death on Instagram. But Babcock realized that, deep down, she was nothing like her mother. Guns in America. What is the Spanish language plot outline for Fatal Attraction (2008)? Serial Killers - John George Haigh (Acid Bath Murderer) - Documentary. She found brief solace in a new lover until he left her because of her children. Downs was recaptured in Salem, Oregon, on July 21. Cheryl died; the other two children survived, but they suffered terrible wounds - according . As Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out. CLICK HERE to see photos of Becky through the years, Jackie Babcock thought it best to give her daughter vague answers. 95 times out of a hundred it's a male. "Being taken away from [Downs] was the best thing that could have ever happened," she said. "I think we kind of maybe subconsciously watched for any signs of anything unusual," said Jackie Babcock. Marianne Bachmeier, Germanys Revenge Mother who shot her childs killer, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the sick child who killed her mother. She was given a life sentence plus 50 years. She successfully escaped the Oregon Women's Correctional Center and used clothing to keep herself from getting harmed by the barbed-wire fence, according to ABC News. After shooting herself in the left forearm, Diane Downs drove to the hospital at a snails pace. Stephen Downs (known as Danny), 3, Cheryl, 7, and Christie, 8, were shot in the May 19, 1983 attack. Judge Foote: The death of a child is one of life's greatest tragedies, what might have been. Alabama 4-year-old Zadie Wren Cooper died on July 7, 2016. But that idyllic image shattered in the early 1980s. Her fourth baby, Amy Elizabeth, was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock. The film is about Diane Downs and the attempted murder of her three children. Farrah Fawcett is riveting as a murder suspect in this story about a sensational case that unfolded in Oregon in 1983. Oturum an. She often left them with her parents or ex-husband without much notice, seemingly indifferent and more interested in the affection of other men. Marybeth Tinning being led to bail hearing. An Excellent True Crime movie about a woman who tries to kill her kids to get a man. But after several letters, Downs' tone changed. And to my complete surprise, Diane was not emotional not a tear in her eye. Babcock still has the first letter she sent Downs. Shes been called evil and the devil. A mother of three, In love with a married man, who did the unthinkable. "I was worried that she could turn out like her biological mom," Hammond said. The couple was in the midst of a bitter divorce and custody battle. 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 . Reunited in Arizona, the two got married on Nov. 13, 1973. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. She saw the kids as a burden, as one of the interview subjects in the 20/20 documentary says. Authorities learned about the deaths after Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, contacted police after finding a baby wrapped in a plastic bag in the garage. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). "She immediately pulled the weapon out and pointed it at Mr. Sheats and wanted to blame him: 'You made me do this, you're making me do this,'" Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls previously told PEOPLE. Behind closed doors, however, she was being molested by her father, Wesley Linden, as early as the age of 12 while he and her mother, Willadene, portrayed themselves as upstanding conservatives. The film premiered on ABC on 12 November 1989 and features "Hungry Like The Wolf. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. "If you do something so horrific, at some point you have to ask for forgiveness.". "We didn't know what [Downs] would do," she said. Born on Aug. 7, 1955, in Phoenix, Arizona, Elizabeth Diane Downs (ne Frederickson) appeared to have a normal childhood. The two surviving kids are also stand-outs, especially the small daughter who must choose whether or not to testify against the monstrously narcissistic Downs. Babcock felt lost after the adoption, she said. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Downs tried to become a surrogate but failed when the psychiatric tests indicated signs of psychosis. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. They were in the way.. The mother of three who fell in love with a married man did the unthinkable in 1983: she murdered her 7-year . For years, Diane Downs seemed to have a wonderful life. Authorities called to say Diane Downs had escaped from prison. The female psycho is rare although for domestic violence against children women have greater representation, but I don't think Diane downs falls into that category. A woman shoots her three young children, seriously injuring two and killing one. "We were always hiking, biking, traveling," Becky Babcock said in a recent interview. After a 10-day manhunt, police arrested her in a small apartment where she was staying with a fellow inmate's husband, less than a mile from the prison. '", The exchange of letters left Babcock shaken. In October 1994, South Carolina officials launched a nine-day search for Susan Smith's two sons, 14-month-old Alex and 3-year-old Michael. And so begins a wild tale of murder, sexual abuse, and mental health. Christie Ann, born in 1974, is the eldest of the Downs children, and Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, born in 1979, is the youngest. Her defense had long claimed she suffered from severe postpartum psychosis and was delusional during the killings and believed Satan had taken over her soul. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. But she was lying: Smith ultimately admitted to letting her car roll into a lake with the boys strapped in their car seats. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Then, learn about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the sick child who killed her mother. And that's how I found out.". Downs would routinely leave Christie in charge of her other two kids when the girl was only six years old. 9 (May, 1945). Viewers of ABC's 20/20's true crime documentary aboutDiane Downs have gotten a deeper look into the mom's life. "It was a face to what I had been looking for and it wasn't a face that I wanted to see. Officials said they believe Edens and husband Ben Edens were in the midst of a messy divorce and custody battle and that she planned to do something that would have "everlasting consequences for her husband.". So Downs decided to murder them so she could be with him. Diane Downs had vowed for years that she would get her children back. "I was about 8 years old when I started probing my mother for information," said Babcock, whose story appears in this month's Glamour magazine. Diane Downs was sentenced to life plus 50 years and is currently incarcerated at Central California Women's Facility. As a freshman at Moon Valley High School, Downs dressed like a grown woman of the 1960s and dated older boys. Becky had no idea what she was about to watch. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. It was a childhood straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. In 1989 SMALL SACRIFICES was made into the popular TV movie of the same name starring Farrah Fawcett, which earned her an Emmy nomination. THESE are the five most chilling Diane Downs documentary details from the killer mom's bizarre jail letters to a "scary book.". Her fourth baby, Amy Elizabeth, was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock. The letters eventually led her to realize her mom was crazy. See production, box office & company info. Diane was born on August 7, 1955, in Phoenix, Arizona. "She saw the kids as a burden," as one of the interview subjects in the "20/20" documentary says. Diane Downs was born August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona. Christy Sheats called her family into the living room for a family meeting in June 2016, hours after husband Jason Sheats told her he planned to divorce her.
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