It can safely be presumed, other children told their parents, and that some of those parents reported the disturbing revelation to states Attorney, Prosecutor Fred Hugi. Diane described the stranger that shot them on the road and a police artist came up with a sketch. Then ask yourself if thats how you want your son to grow up. Her daughter told the media she watched Small Sacrifices several times. This article is about due process and the legal right to a fair trial for everyone. Sheriffs Deputy Roy Pond admitted in court that he had already concluded that Diane was guilty and stopped following leads on the orders of his sergeantthree weeks after the shooting. But I think that in all fairness, many of them dont even know the details of the case and have watched Small Sacrifices instead. The children had a father. More reason to have investigated the case more thoroughly. You are right. Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy: Relevance? You wondered at times, which side he was working for. Their theory was very shaky. After divorcing her wife, Diane Downs, in 1980, Steve was hardly part of their life. Dianes brother, James, sat in court one day andnoticed Foote looking at Hugi before ruling on an objection. And she should be allowed parole! If you read the blog, you will see many examples of media hype and character assassination. The blog tries to bring balance and more objectivity to a case that was TOTALLY one sided and still is. Needless to say, you seem to have a problem with the American justice systemnot each individual case. Foote refused 30 to 50 reports by detectives of sightings or leads about the shooter but admitted reports from people in Arizona willing to badmouth Diane. It should have raised a red flag concerning her mental stability or the possibility that more people were involved. The states own witness, Dr. George Suckow and Dr. Polly Jamison denounced Prosecutor Hugis practice as improper and unethical (Appendix 101 and 104). Then feel free to correct the facts and to provide evidence to support them. I like to believe the best about people too but there are certain things that absolutely cant be ignored. I am quite bothered by what happened in that courtroom and in the media. This unexpected proposal took Diane by surprise at a large family gathering. The incident left Cheryl dead, Danny paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie suffering from a stroke that affected her speech. she flat out says, they are saying Duran Duran made her shoot her kids!..Im like HUHOkay now this is my favorite groupstill is at 44yrs old.I had to investigate this. But the high profile nature of the case might hinder the process. After all, many cases of domestic abuse and even neglect do stem from alcoholism or drug abuse. My question is: why is she still locked up? If you had, you would clearly know that I do not claim her guilt or innocence. This is a more common route for children with parents who are incarcerated for what looks to be the entire childhood of the children. They already had made up their mind that Diane was the perpetrator so they laughed off the idea of the bushy haired stranger. The problem was that they could not find the gun anywhere and they had nothing on Diane. Her quest for love had landed her into an unstable and loveless marriage. She learnedat a young age to keep her emotions in check and to always present a strong and brave front. She was expelled and reunited with him against her parents wishes. After Diane got divorced from her husband in 1980, she had taken up a job at the U.S. postal service office, and that's where she first met him. My problem with the circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children is that they were twisted by the media. In the nurses notes, she is described as in shock and unable to grasp the situation. I will talk to Dianes brother. She goes on to say that she has deep regret and mourns the loss and death of her children. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. In fact, Diane had consulted a psychologist after the tragedy and after months of consultation, she was never diagnosed as a sociopath. But my beef is with the interference by the media, TV shows and Ann Rule. Or maybe an upvote/downvote arrow for each. But what happened to Diane Downs' husband? 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. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. Considering the circumstances, it is difficult not to be a bit cynical about this grand gesture: relevance? So it would be logical to conclude that it would have left residues if anyone had shot at least 6 times. 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. Anne Rule might have inflamed the case with her book Small Sacrifices and her theory of the crime, but in reality, the case of Diane Downs was no small sacrifice. 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. It is possible that he still resides in Arizona, but exactly where he is or what he does, we dont know. How.. they attacked him. If she was such a manipulative person, she would not be in prison for life, would she? Yes, Christie said she did not know who did it. Its tiresome. Also, their union was turbulent ever since the beginning as Diane was reportedly disappearing with her children for long periods. Nevertheless, what was done seemed out of our hands and we could have no contact with them at all. Whats more intriguing is that even after Diane became the prime suspect and lost custody of her surviving children, or when she was convicted, the kids didnt go live with Steve; they were adopted by the lead prosecutor in Dianes case. it also isnt right that the rules get to keep being changed after the fact as far as how often one may apply for parole. It wasnt their fault, it was the job of the social workers and the courts to make sure the kids were not isolated from family. It does not contradict what I said, but what they said. An attractive woman whose two children were killed in mysterious circumstances and the cops decided to go after her. She has been denied parole 2x and is up again in 2020. Diane Downs was one of the most infamous murderers of the 1980s; the emotionally flat blonde was convicted of shooting her three children, killing one of them, along a roadway in Springfield,. The reason Im harsh is because Ive detected that youve paid for this site and therefore cant be wrong. At least two of those school mates reported Christies tortured confession to their mother He has also once again decided to defy . Libby, I quoted what Diane said. Diane asked for proof that her ex husband was behind the shooting. Diane was 18 years old at the time and had run away from home to get married. 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. Steven and Diane married on November 13, 1973. From what Ive read, she gets a parole hearing every decade and the next time in 2030 she will be 75. What matters to me is that her rights were trampled during her trial. That hurt our family deeply. They dont need to be adopted and have their entire identity changed. Downs went on trial on Jan. 12 for a rape and murder that happened in 1993, when he . Because she seemed "aloof". Christie was it though. A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch.. After completing his education and their short-lived high school romance, Steve Downs would move on to join the navy. Mr. Diane Frederickson was born August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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. They had high hopes for Dianes future and this bad boy was not part of it. Maybe that her mom was obviously not well after spending her life in prison so it would have been a good idea to meet the Downss family quietly and get the jest of it. 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. Q. A group of ladies formed a group called HELDD which stands for Help Exonerate & Liberate Diane Downs. Two wrongs do not make a right but illustrates that she should have never been coerced before, during or after the trial. I am glad that some articles remain. Leaving out a lot of info that should be included and presenting a very one sided take on these things. If I was of a mind to manipulate the Board by giving voice to the words they want me to utter, Id have sold my soul two decades ago when the lies would have benefited me and my youth passed long ago. How about dads side of the family? Go reading US: The American Gulag, 26 Mar 2009 Exploding prison populations in the US serve a basic need of capitalism. She was interrogated without a representative from the defense and was not taped for the most part. 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. You cant possibly shake off all the gun powder residue and avoid all the blood. They were traumatized and needed familiar faces to feel safe. 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. She is still in prison. And the flat affect and sometimes inappropriate smiling would come with the territory so you cannot judge her actions without taking into account that she might not have been acting according to the norms. Will Cheryl ever be let out of her grave? There is also a recording where she says that she had no idea who shot them. This is basically the book best kept secrets in condensed form full of outlandish theories. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History. statement regarding the effects of the childrens medications while in hospital should acknowledge where the blogger obtained information about the side effects.). Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. She had a more than competent attorney and a fair trial before a jury and NOT the same judge who handled the childrens matters. Ur not showing facts that Ann Rule lied n misled n ruined lives with. Did CK shoot at car when DD drove away? Her parents Willadene and Wes were old school Baptist parents who raised her under strict guidelines without much warmth but complete devotion. Comments about the title of the website, the blogger, the bias, details like the word bipolar and when it was used when cyclothymic disorder was diagnosed by the person who treated the subject and there is an affidavit posted. What got her convicted was two things the towel and Christie. This really makes me angry, that prosecuter and judge should be sued along with the writter. Thank you for presenting a side of the story & case apart from the usual narrative. (This is why Foote was assigned the case. 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. They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business: argumentative The gun problem or the absence of blood and powder residues are not make believe. I am a firm believer of where there is smoke there is fire. Despite all these misgivings, they chose to stay strong in the marriage and had their first child, Christie Ann, in 1974. 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). Except after the idea was subsequently planted in his head only to be alluded to in court, in spite of an agreement to never mention the subject. They felt safe there. She is a monster and belongs in prison for the rest of her life. At the very least, she should have been released by now. Not exclusively a USA trait, this happens also in many countries, but in a technologically advanced superpower like USA this attitude is more shocking, and maybe also more worldwide spread. 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. To Lisa Griggs The goal is always to keep family ties intact. The reason she is likely locked up is because she was diagnosed with narcissistic, histrionic and anti social personality disorder, that makes her a very dangerous person (especially since she is a murderer). They came up with an explanation as to why this was the wrong gun but the jig was up. I have no idea how the social workers and county attorneys justified doing their due diligence in preserving the family (mandated by law) when they were in court. It is not a hatefest and I do not wish death or life without parole on anyone. Like I said, the 2 years make it a bit more of a gray area. This same witness corroborated that Diane did not stop to do something suspicious or dispose of the gun. 6. If a person were innocent of the crime they were convicted of this puts them in a no-win situation. Its more understandable now, after all this time but it has done her so much harm, then and now And the state refusing to turn them over to the defense? Steve knew Danny was not his biological child and left Downs. I would like to believe this is the truth. Our legal system is not perfect. It was not unlike brainwashing. I hope they have. 1st, you came back from a trip?