I know people who know or knew people is not a valid argument. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention. The DA adopting the children is an integral part of this and definitely needs to be included in the blog. The State had the same gut feeling and made sure she would pay. Are you still taking comments by email? Anyway, it takes a good scrubbing with soap and water to get rid of gun powder residues and doing so with only one arm would be quite difficult. They were in a group home and he was getting unsupervised visitation with them. I believe DDs case needs to be re looked at and all evidence reviewed. If Diane was bipolar, the non-stop chatter would have been inherent to the situation. Instead, they treated the Downs with great cruelty long after their daughter was incarcerated and they fought hard for them. From what we know about Becky, she had chosen a difficult path and Diane was trying to warn her. If you listen to the recording, Christie clearly says I dont know who did it. She was asleep, thats why. Where to begin? A trial should be based on facts and solid direct or circumstantial evidence. The police DID fingerprint the car, from grill to trunk and in between. Hardly circumstantial or coincidental what are the chances that a bushy haired stranger, masked men, or someone that knew her (take your pick from Dianes ever shifting account) would have the exact same bullets matching to bullets from a gun owned by Diane ? They checked her shoes and they were clean. But he overestimated the kind of people that would go along with this soap opera. The kids were shorted-changed. If the answer is, revenge, then it has been achieved. Why does the blogger not clarify this? It was Judge Footes first criminal case and it was against a woman whose children he had removed from her care even though she had not been convicted or sentenced; a conflict of interest and pure madness. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. The grandparents were babysitting the children often and had several children who were well adjusted. Fred Hugi looks nothing like Jim Jagger. We dont know. And the state refusing to turn them over to the defense? There is a court sketch artists rendering of him in this video. View theaffidavits. tell someone else. It was positive only on a small portion of her upper hand where she said the gun touched her when she wrestled with the attacker (a detail she had mentioned before they did the test). (LOL!! Q. It is in the blog. As a result, joint legal custody which means parents share in the decision-making 1 is becoming the default decision in many family court systems. Everything I outlined should be public knowledge. It does not contradict what I said, but what they said. The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb. Diane may very well be guilty, but YIKES this investigation and trial seemed so butchered and tilted in the prosecutions favour. The states own witness, Dr. George Suckow and Dr. Polly Jamison denounced Prosecutor Hugis practice as improper and unethical (Appendix 101 and 104). Robert Schlosser, Cathy's father, lives in a 900 . As a suggestion, I would love to see a like or dislike button for each comment. lol. But the fact that the prosecutor called her a deviant sociopath in court without any assessment became another nail in her coffin. If it was not such a high profile case, Diane Downs would have been paroled a long time ago: speculative, Ill stop there. There is so much to say about this blog I wouldnt know where to start. The fact that the Hugis did so successfully is arguably proof of this. As it was getting dark and the young ones fell asleep in the car, their mother decided to head home. Christie could not speak but after some rehab, she said repeatedly that she did not know who shot them. Their marriage was described as tumultuous, with Downs allegedly disappearing for long periods of time with her children. why didn't steve downs get custodylagu sekolah minggu bahasa inggris Opinion Fox News's blackout of Jan. 6 points to a hidden crisis for Democrats The not-so-shocking revelation that Fox News will not carry House committee hearings about the insurrection is yet another sign that right-wing media will go to extraordinary lengths to shield . In hindsight Im sure the grandparents wish they had pursued visitation more aggressively. 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. The blog tries to bring balance and more objectivity to a case that was TOTALLY one sided and still is. One of the flaws was the relationship between the DA and the children. The BBC weather presenter, 60 . She wanted a lawyer to defend her vigorously but the judge stopped her from getting good representation. It was the story of two troubled young souls trying to survive without a safety net. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. Diane did not get a fair trial. Lack of blood spatter is not evidence of innocence Especially when a shooter is leaning in and shooting into a box (car) while standing outside. I am quite bothered by what happened in that courtroom and in the media. Is it the one you tried to use? 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 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. Besides, none of those diagnoses are illegal. It seems that not being American might help us view the case and Rules narrative with more objectivity. Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. Celebrity Author Covers Case Ann Rule wrote 'Small Sacrifices,' later released as a movie. She had a more than competent attorney and a fair trial before a jury and NOT the same judge who handled the childrens matters. Probably a 911 button. Diane was found guilty and sentenced to life and she has been in prison ever since. I did not shoot my children.. You left and you and Diane Downs spent an evening at a motel? Yes, Christie said she did not know who did it. She goes on to say that she has deep regret and mourns the loss and death of her children. Actor Robert Blake was found not guilty of the shooting murder of his wife. It will not make me popular, but I dont mind. According to Detective Welch, Steve Downs followed Diane to Oregon, they fought and Steves rage took the last step on the path hed been treading for a long time. They should have looked for a possible accomplice and checked all the leads. At the very least, she should have been released by now. Her father also insisted shetry to help catch the shooter. We cant. DA Pat Horton declared early in the game to the local paper that the search for the bearded stranger was not very high on their priority list.. He has lived a life outside the public eye and hasn't ever come out to give interviews to the media about his ex-wife. I do not declare her innocent. But before you get too deep into the drug stuff with Van Houten, she chose to take drugs. Police witness reports of strangers and confessions were suppressed or not pursued. Diane had spent three days in the hospital ingesting massive doses of Morphine, Demerol, Percodan, and visterol. After arriving at the nearest hospital where the nursing staff and doctors attended to the children, the police were called in and her parents arrived promptly. Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial: speculation If Diane was bipolar, the non-stop chatter would have been inherent to the situation: bipolar wasnt a diagnosable condition at the time of her first trial. She was extremely intelligent but her emotional IQ was no match and her desire for freedom, love and affection were dangerously dragging her down a path of self-destruction. Diane had met all the requirements to be paroled. While not evidence of guilt or innocence, it is certainly worth noting as part of the overall wrongs perpetrated during this fiasco of a trial and subsequent appeals. We make them president. As for how to answer this question,,, seems like he is assuming guilt and because of this my parents or me or my brothers and sister, our uncles and aunts were not considered because of an unproven allegation Does he truly believe this is ok??? As far as her innocence goes and the possibility of being paroled if she admitted her crime, Diane strongly maintains her innocence. Mr. I think that you are right about certain things not being ignored. The DA that put away their mom is not an appropriate placement choice. Just similar stuff.and that I guess, makes it easy for me to see how that song could of fueled her up.never underestimate the power if a song..what feels intense and exciting to you, may not to another, but shoot, anytime I hear pink floyd run like hell.takes me right back 1991 in the heat of my chase..for me, I got the answers I wanted from 89 when my friend said that about the Duran song and it involved in that case. The lack of balance and objectivity. But I am realistic. HUGE conflict of interest. The tape is real and probably not admissible, but it seems to indicate that her testimony was coerced: Why is it not admissible? Im from Australia and have recollections of this case. Posted by October 30, 2021 apush gilded age test on why didn't steve downs get custody The way it was. The timing of her arrival at the hospital should have been discussed and explained in more details. Im not saying I know for a fact in my mind shes innocentbut there is NOT enough evidence for her to be guilty. She felt fulfilled when she was pregnant because she believedit was the road to unconditional love. I am so tired of the victims being forgotten. Or why the fact that he was a con artist made him such a credible guy in this case. And some are even contradictory: shes mentally ill, but also not mentally ill; the site owner wants to focus on pure facts, yet ignore other facts; things happened in court, but those are irrelevant to what else what also happened in court, etc. It was pretty apparent during the course of this saga that the media and the state were willing to give a free pass to anyone willing to badmouth Diane. Speculative. You can believe what you like. And on this site, I mention that I take a restorative approach. I am a true crime junkie. They removed them and proceeded to interrogate the poor girl until she gave them what they needed. 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 , Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. Click to listen to podcast explaining the gun test, Dianes mental condition and the lack of forensic evidence. Dianewas jealous ofthe other woman, but Robert Knickerbockers wife said that she foundher rather friendly during their encounter. I have no idea whether or not she was guilty of the crime. I am a Mortuary science student, true crime fanatic, and have been following the Downs case since it happened. 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 . In 2008, a psych evaluation by L. Williams, Ph.D., Chief of Mental Health at Valley State Prison for Women, explained Dianes lack of emotions and its relationship to her case. Doesnt change the fact that it was still a conflict of interest. Not even the gun. The absence of the gun or gun powder residues on Diane is fact. Oh 1 more thing I see a lot of comments on pro Diane web sights that say well she drove them to the hospital. GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. Did she act like a average person? Why? Diane described the stranger that shot them on the road and a police artist came up with a sketch. I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. The police admitting on the stand that after 2 weeks, they stopped looking at suspects appears to be a fact. It really doesnt matter that much of the trial and due process was faulty, because its so obvious that Diane is the one who did it and that justice was served. that you told Diane to tell steve that she was Knicks One of the more bizarre scenes in this farce of an investigation was about to unfold. Christie was born in October of 1974 and Cheryl Lynn in January of 1976. In Rules book, Diane is portrayed as a horrible selfish mother but her family and friends saw another version; she lovedher childrendearly and worked hard to be a good provider. Most were married because Diane had no desire to remarry. I didnt know that. She was a first time offender who has shown no violent tendencies and is afflicted with a mental illness. A. I dont recall telling her to get an apartment. Or can have an accomplice. If I included the ones I dont post, it would need more than a like or dislike button. 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 . And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. Diane found a full-time job with the U.S. Post Office in 1981, and was stationed in Chandler. It was not unlike brainwashing. Within three weeks, Diane had lost custody of her remaining wounded children and had become the number one suspect in the eyes of the police department and District Attorneys office. She (Diane) managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. The fruit of this abduction was the May 23, 1983, videotape re-enactment staged by Detective Tracy in which Diane is clearly hysterical. 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. She says she was outside the car n watched the man shoot her children n then the only adult n person who could tell police about him only gets a shot in the arm n takes time to bandage her arm. I went on ebay and ordered multiple stuff from the 80s, news footage, just to hear what she sounded like, because of all the talk in the book about her demeanor. They checked her nails to see if she could have buried the gun and they were clean. An earlier commenter wrote that it doesnt matter that the trail or the investigation was faultyWHAT !? I was shocked any asked why she thought that. Then they just got shut out. She has an excellent conduct report and never reacted violently to any of the harassment from other inmates. Makes major decisions easier because only one parent is legally responsible. As you said, the system has to work for everyone and you cant change the rules because a case is high profile without muddying the waters. From reading the blog and my little understanding of this case, Ms Downs remains in custody as she is considered a dangerous offender. But there were discrepancies; the tool marks did not matchand the detective lied on the stand about it. And by the way, I wrote the blogs about Rule way before she passed. If she was such a manipulative person, she would not be in prison for life, would she? Her children deserved the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Knick never signed the premarital agreement and Diane never married him. The Six Degrees of Separation of Nancy Grace, Kelli Stapleton- A Mother's Wuthering Woes, http://www.glamour.com/story/i-found-out-my-mother-was-a-killer-the-rebecca-babcock-story, http://www.manipulatedtrial.de/oregon_s_small_sacrifices_1603.pdf, http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july152013/midnight-med-tb-2.php, http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n364/a03.html, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080910_Prison-happy_U_S__must_reconsider_use_of_mercy.html, http://sputniknews.com/us/20150620/1023613662.html#ixzz3djEXlSAC, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_prison_state_of_america_20141228, https://www.google.com/search?q=diane+downs+with+christie+cheryl+and+danny&sxsrf=ACYBGNQDEM3XNQjZXlqNQpYLhZCn7ic5iw:1576689995166&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNuNT427_mAhUcJTQIHbveBMIQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1024&bih=462#imgrc=gQkU10UxNhHn_M, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPLkIcSzftE&ab_channel=DianeDownsArchives, Say Her Name But Spell It Right The Tale of Breonna Taylor, And Justice For All The Watts Family Murders, Babe in the Woods & Big Country The Murder of Nicole Vanderheyden, Colonel Russell Williams Where Have You Been? Accused of her side of the story what the state says how would it be possible for her to do what they presumed. On the single count of murder, the jurors needed a unanimous decision. I lived through the media coverage. So glad you wrote and provided this information. I dont understand how the family court managed to isolate 2 severely traumatized and grievously injured children from their entire family. This is a conflict of interest. He could not during the marriage so he walked away. I removed the dumb and crass part of your comment. I am publishing your comment because once in a while, I need to post the pitiful representation of true crime readers who made Anne Rule a rich author. It is not a hatefest and I do not wish death or life without parole on anyone. But for what it is worth, I believe she tried to kill her 3 kids. Until the end of the trial. Would you know at what speed you are going if you were shot and driving with wounded children in the car? A. I believe Charlene and I had a big blowout around Thanksgiving and I left, called Diane. I think that Van Houten was recommended for parole by a system that assessed that after 40 years, she was not a threat to society and a reformed woman. They hated her attitude and thought she was promiscuous and showed no sorrow or remorse. It is my hope that Leslie Van Houten and Diane Downs are never paroled. 2. Also, aside from her original mental state, which may or may not excuse her aloofness (doesnt prove shes a killer by the way! The fact that the accused in this case was atypical, makes her the perfect target. 2.Diane herself has stated that the shooter was outside the car and shot THROUGH the window, no blood spatter. Diane followed the detectives to their car. For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. They were tons of witnesses that saw him at work. 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. If it doesnt matter to you, it should. She functions best in highly structured environments where she has a sense of control. Have you actually read the transcript of the trial?? After all, she was conditioned this way. I dont know the woman. They both fainted when they saw their dead child, but it did not count. To this day, his record is mixed; his law license was suspended for6 monthsin 2011, and there was also talk of a suspension in 2015. Being a patient of the doctor who saved the childrens lives has nothing to do with the facts of a case. He had an attorney, Fred G. Campbell Jr., send us a letter denying our request and telling us: You are legally, as well as factually, a stranger to them. Who does he think he is? So it looks and sounds like she is getting special treatment because of her notoriety. While I appreciate your empathy for the victims of this crime, I have to wonder if all murderers should be locked up their entire life? It should have raised a red flag concerning her mental stability or the possibility that more people were involved. At first I thought she did it, now I made further research and I dont know what to think. The two mental disorders that cause excessive talking are Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. In reality,the whole caseturned out to beno small sacrifice for Diane Downs, but it was a huge victory for the State, the media anda very lucrative deal for theQueen of crime fiction herself; Ann Rule. Diane Downs is no exception. If you read the blog, it is because of the lie told by prosecutor Hugi that ignored the assessment of her therapist Dr. Jamison and was condemned by the psychiatrist that they were convinced to find her guilty. The detectives and the state failed to act properly and it should not be an accepted practice. I know that most people think she is guilty. That conflict of interest alone would incline Christie to testify against her mother. 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. Child Protective Services takes confidentiality to the extreme (warranted in most cases). On June 2nd, 1983, Juvenile Court Judge Gregory Foote held a hearing to take Christie and Danny away from ALL blood family (thus isolating them). She had been isolated from her whole family and being unethically interrogated. Foster Carers says either Australia or England to me. If personal diaries were to be believed, half of the population would be in great jeopardy. And according to the law, she should have been released by now, independently of what she says or not. Great blog post, thank you. And Im really not on the fence the little girl was coachedI believe the ex husband , his freinds, and her lovers were invalid either way. The court can just do an APR, Assignment of Parental Rights. Hello. Here are the pros and cons of sole legal custody. why didn't steve downs get custody. In fact, if appropriate family is found, termination is not required. It was also said at trial that the shooter would have been left handed, which was not the case for Diane. Her case was too public and they are afraid of public backlash. The fact that the children were in no way protected by Child Protection Services is undeniable. I couldnt get my hands on the book nor find anything in librariesso basically it was many years later I dove into knowing more about this case, that kinda haunted me. The underlying basis of this article. It sounds like Diane was trying to tell her to stay away from bad influences. And when kids are hurt, emotions keep flowing endlessly. Even if I have no doubt that Hugi loved the kids, we have to wonder why he adopted them two years later just when little Christie started saying she had no clue who shot them. Hugi didnt rush in and take the kids, he had time to consider. From what Ive read, she gets a parole hearing every decade and the next time in 2030 she will be 75. If she did have memories of the actual shooting, that would be very rare. Hugi did not want that. They believed the testimony of her former boyfriends who were far from stellar individuals. So they did everything in their power to slant the media and the public in their favor. Just like Rule though, your blog is extremely biased, and reads almost as though she told you exactly what to write at times. but I think there are some extreme cases that knock women in a bad psychotic way that can be life threatening. The bitches own daughter identified Downs as the shooter. Brewer stood ready to testify in June 1991, that it was because of Prosecutor Hugis lie that he changed his mind to convict and that he alone was responsible for silencing the dissenting votes of two other jurors (Appendix 97). I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. ?.the fact you are ignoring something SO OBVIOUS is a red flag. In what world is that O.K. She knew that Knickerbocker hated trouble of any kind, and thathe would have never come back to her after an ugly shooting where she had been wounded and her kids damaged. The fact that she and her brother Danny were eventually adopted by Fred Hugi who prosecuted Diane Downs is the most blatant case of conflict of interest I have ever heard of. What man has ever publicly revered a former secret mistress? And thats fair enough. The jurors had doubts. I agree that the verdict may have been very different. I think that the US system is barbaric Exactly Libby why did they say during the trial that he saw his mom? 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. She folded it neatly around her arm. Seems like former husband, Steve Downs, should've been the custodial parent after the divorce. That they did not test the outside of the car? Despite all of this: that the attorney became a Foster Carer irrelevant, inflammatory, subjective and bears no reflection on the trial, or indeed the trial outcome. So when Dr. George Suckow from the Oregon State Hospital in Salem was called as a States rebuttal witness and he made a professional diagnosis of Diane as histrionics, antisocial and narcissistic, he openly said in court that he interviewed Diane for 1 hour and read evidence presented by the state to make his diagnosis. 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