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. Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, and Stephen Daniel was born in 1979. At the time, among 49 prisoners denied parole, the board had given only four inmates, including Downs, a 10-year wait. Not unlike Diane, Alice did not want to share her pain in public. Thank you for presenting a side of the story & case apart from the usual narrative. If I feel that due process was violated, I will go there anyway. Seems like former husband, Steve Downs, should've been the custodial The roller coaster ride had nothing to do with Diane s children and Diane knew it. Maybe I should have elaborated more about this comment. Most importantly why would anybody shoot 3 children potentially fatally and leave the adult with a wound in her arm. You have that part absolutely right, so why was this protocol ignored? The child was adopted and was later named Rebecca. The unreliability of childrens testimony has been documented by cognitive psychologists such as Elizabeth Loftus of the University of Cornell and others. 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. I cant believe anyone even believes or even follows you. I am not saying that Diane was a saint or Ann Rule a demon. I was a patient of the doctor who worked so hard to save her childrens lives that night. Ive not seen the movie or read the book. I am glad you read it anyway and I appreciate your comment. Do you remember probably about four or five days after These women did not show emotions and did not fold when asked to. 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. The gun is Def a big issue, the style of gun, whether it belonged to him or her, she Def had access to itthe child drew a picture of it, having large similarity to that gunbut it did always baffle me how she could find such a great hide for it in such a short period of time. Movie scene alleging that Christie was scared. Tis why at 10 years old I was hearing about this case in Ohio, and family members talked about it around me.it hit with great force that way. Moreover, he apparently told her that he did not want children and this statement alone would seal Dianes fate. It is said that they didnt go to Steve because he wasnt a fit father or well equipped to take care of children who had gone through such a traumatic experience. Diane found a full-time job with the U.S. Post Office in 1981, and was stationed in Chandler. Her daughter told the media she watched Small Sacrifices several times. So not addressing the content of the blog and rambling about everything else while asking for a disclaimer is nailing it? It is not, nor should be, a Conflict of Interest for a caring adult to Foster one or more siblings. Wasnt it speculative on their part? Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. The board said that her mental or emotional disorder makes her a danger to society. Being interested in a subject without bringing emotions to the table is always the most important step. At that timeand now!! Yeah, Ive noticed a lot of people thing Jim Jagger is Fred Hugi. The fact that the DA adopted the children, since it was after the trial, is more of a gray area. They were in their care during the time Diane worked when she moved to Oregon. When they graduated from high school, the two reunited and rekindled their love despite their brief separation. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. WTF? The scene described in Small Sacrifices with little Christie hooked up to a machine and her pulse accelerates because she is terrified ofher mother is doubtful and subject to interpretation. On May 19, 1983, Diane and her kids visited a friend to look at her new horse, and then went for a drive; not at all unusual for this family not living according to middle class rules. They came up with an explanation as to why this was the wrong gun but the jig was up. But you told Diane Downs to go ahead and get an apartment? You mention her youngest daughter, and how Ann made sure she only heard negative information about Diane.. (LOL!! At what point during these meetings did she start calling him Dad? The bio family should have been given the same opportunity to see the kids and demonstrate their ability to be the guardians. But I will answer the points you raised about the blog. The case was so one sided that it is about time some of us bring up the other side. It had nothing to do with the evidence of the case and represents useless labeling anyway. For example, the abhorrent decision regarding Keli Lane: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.whimn.com.au/talk/news/why-i-think-keli-lane-should-not-be-in-prison/news-story/069a09c79589645c48de5bfa91e4ca0f. What about the judge stopping a defendant from getting a new attorney? Why? They are still part of their birth family. But the Parole Board refused to hear her. I found nothing. Diane had learned from nine months of interaction with Knick, that the man was consistent only in his inconsistency. Then, 10 days after Diane was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, she gave birth to a daughter she named Amy Elizabeth. So they did everything in their power to slant the media and the public in their favor. What got her convicted was two things the towel and Christie. You fail to mention what her daughter actually said about her communication with Diane, like Diane telling her that a very powerful person, a secret man, has been watching her, and that if she loved her son she would move away or else her son will grow up to be a murderer. She was no mother of the year, I will grant them that, but a trial is supposed to be based on evidence. Evidence from a ballistics expert. 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 are many cases where investigators jump to conclusions either because in their gut they think they know or pressure to make an arrestand i guess with all the attention this case got they gave their gut and the public what they wanted. And the fact that Tracy wrote in his notes that Christies reaction could have been excitement to see her mom but they decided to only mention extreme fear? HUGE conflict of interest. Because she had driven that area for years for her work. As you might know, Dianes father passed away after many years of anguish over the fate of his daughter. Dianes automobile was secured and examined and no gun was found. Why on earth would anyone recommend leaving the kids with the grandparents? There have many times children have had to testify against their parents so the fact that many cant believe it was ever allowed should honestly research more. In hindsight Im sure the grandparents wish they had pursued visitation more aggressively. There are documented cases of suicides where the person has no GNR, as well as murder cases. Nevertheless, what was done seemed out of our hands and we could have no contact with them at all. 4.Diane was NOT arrested for almost a year after the shootings the d.a. .well yay for youtubelol..is when I first heard her in old interviews. Tracy, I never said she was in the car. I know that most people think she is guilty. Steve Downs was the husband of the infamous child killer, Diane Downs. They never found the gun and she showed no signs of having fired one. An earlier commenter wrote that it doesnt matter that the trail or the investigation was faultyWHAT !? 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. Usually it isnt there but every once in awhile, it comes out. Therefore, to make their marriage work, they started a family, believing that it would make everything okay. This really makes me angry, that prosecuter and judge should be sued along with the writter. Agreed. He didn't indicate whether Downs would appeal. If he was getting too close to the witness emotionally he should have stepped away from the case. 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. It should be removed from the blog. But without proof, Diane couldnt implicate Steve Downs any more than she could shoot him as he violated a restraining order threatening to beat her AGAIN. Ultimately, the blogger is entitled to their opinion as is everyone else. To have separated Christie from her brother and the rest of the family to be able to get her mom was unconscionable. 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. Is. One could argue that this blog does not stick to what came out at trial. I almost felt bad for her.that being she seemed so lost in her lies..she just hangs in limbo now. Steve Bannon released from custody pending trial on contempt of But I would not know what her state of mind is because I did not witness it. Instead, the person accused of attacking them and wanting them out of her life, fought for them. In addition to treating brain cancer, he works toward health equity. John Shea who played Fred in the TV movie Small Sacrifices even looks like him. She was expelled and reunited with him against her parents wishes. I just read your opinion on the Pamela Smart case and the Scott Peterson case. They rarely get a break. Once again, Diane said a lot of things. Up. So obviously, she was the prime suspect. And their plan worked. It seems that the Downs were totally ignored. On the single count of murder, the jurors needed a unanimous decision. If she did have memories of the actual shooting, that would be very rare. Mission accomplished: Relevance? She signed an affidavit to that effect and wanted the jury informed of it but it was never done. The tape is real and probably not admissible, but it seems to indicate that her testimony was coerced: Why is it not admissible? The jury verdict was guilty on all counts, but there was a mixture of votes. And what happened to her little daughter is beyond unethical. Why would anyone think Christie could remember the night of the shooting anyway?? The harm done to families by unscrupulous district attorneys who bully children into falsely testifying against their parents has been recorded in a documentary called Witch Hunt by Sean Penn about Kern County (CA) District Attorney Ed Jagels. Not right at all. The following article hopes to help you make more suitable choices and get more useful information Hugi did not want that. There isnt a whole lot known about where Steve Downs is these days. When Dianes youngest daughter, who was adopted after being taken away by the state, found out who her real mother was and decided to reach out to her, the media and Rule grabbed hold of her to promote their agenda. It was a fairly new science at the time so thats all it took to find him not guilty. Any thoughts on that? Knick never signed the premarital agreement and Diane never married him. Actor Robert Blake was found not guilty of the shooting murder of his wife. 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 . For all you readers of this blogger, I lived through the Diane Downs case. You can believe what you like. It is not clear whether he still resides in Arizona, where he started his relationship with Diane those many years ago. Let me tell you, it wasnt just the investigators and the prosecution that didnt believe herwe, Oregonians, (who ACTUALLY live here and watched what was happening) believe she is guilty. I appreciate the way you dont try to determine guilt or innocence in your blogs but instead focus on due process and the right of all to a fair trial. The inconsistencies and obvious lack of evidence in this case should have called for a wider investigation instead of solely focusing on their prime suspect. She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. (Feature Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). I lived in Eugene, Oregon for years. Even though his wife shot their children multiple times, and the case was national news, he never surfaced and kept a low profile. But to convince this young and vulnerable girl to turn on her mother, they needed to isolate her from her family and work relentlessly on her confession.. 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?