But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. [10] Downs herself had been shot in the left forearm. A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). She was later adopted by another family. She tried to cut her wrists when she was 13 years old. Downs was initially incarcerated at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. Where are Diane Downs' children now? Two of the kids survived the shooting with life altering injuries, and one of the children died. In 2005, she gave birth to her first child, a boy, and later gave birth to a daughter who she named Cheryl after her sister. I mean, think about it. Atty. It was honestly picture perfect., Diane Downs Children Now: Christie, Danny & Becky Today, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Here's what we know. "There were a number of things which didn't make sense, even that first night," Welch said. Fearing there could be a gun-wielding killer on the loose, police released information to the public to be on the lookout. What did she look like? Why is she wounded in the arm? And the kids-- one is fatally shot and the other two are seriously injured., Welch said there were a lot of problems with her story and by the end of the interview, we knew that she had been lying'.. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. After Diane was convicted, the two living children were adopted by the prosecutor in the case and his wife, and it was Christie who ultimately pointed to her mother being responsible for the shooting. Shockingly, it was Downs daughter, Christie, who identified her mother in court as the shooter. There isnt a whole lot known about where Steve Downs is these days. That girl was later renamed Rebecca "Becky" Babcock.[6]. Becky Babcock is speaking out about her infamous mother, Diane Downs, who was convicted of killing her own 7-year-old child and attempting to murder her other two children, ages 8 and 3, in . And she's not. Did I make a mistake? Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died, but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. She was white She was not breathing. She said she pulled over and got out to talk to the man. She named one of her children after her dead sister Cheryl. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. I was nervous. Reporter Ann Jaeger remembers worrying that Downs' pregnancy could affect the way jurors viewed her. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. Author Ann Rule wrote the book Small Sacrifices (1987), which detailed Downs' life and murder trial. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. In court, according to Glamour, prosecutors argued that Downs motive to get rid of her children stemmed from the fact that her boyfriend at the time did not want kids. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. I chose to, in a sense, allow her into my life.. ET. On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. She stopped the car and asked him what he wanted. However, when all the details came to be understood by the police, Steve found out what really happened to his kids. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. However, investigators and hospital workers became suspicious, because they decided that Downs' manner was too calm for a person who had just experienced such a traumatic event. The Diane Downs case is well-known and infamous; she's accused of shooting her three children along a roadway in Springfield, Oregon on May 19, 1983. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. "People would see little sound bites of her talking on television, and I think they started getting the feeling that there's something really wrong with this person," Jaeger said. She had been shot in the left forearm, though her wound was not life-threatening. California author Diane Burroughs studied writing and television production at Columbia College and is a writer and producer for sitcoms for television - Married.with Children, Murphy Brown, Martin, The Drew Carey Show, Yes, Dear, and Still Standing - a blogger at Left at 50, and a standup comedienne. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. Downs Family Diane Downs and her three children. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Unlike her siblings, Becky Babcock has been very public about her mother, granting interviews over the years. In another one of her strange media appearances Downs spoke about the pregnancy. Star Witness at Downs' Trial: Her Daughter. Her pupils were dilated. On Facebook, Becky wrote that she works at Pain management and went to Redmond High School. Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, with Stephen Daniel being born in 1979. He responded to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and immediately interviewed Downs, a postal worker. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? It was an interesting interview. And why are the kids fatally or near-fatally wounded, and she, being right-handed, is shot in the left arm? A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. When I looked in the mailbox and saw her letter, it was like Pandoras box. The revelation would shake Becky Babcock's young world and take her on a journey of self-discovery, filled with ups and downs, she said. Prosecutors laid out the evidence against Downs, all leading up to their star witness. Now, her children are all grown up and many want to know what they are up to now 2 Becky Babcock is the fourth and youngest child of Diane Downs Credit: ABC NEws Who is Diane Downs' daughter Becky Babcock? Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. March 23, 2019 13:00 Impact x Nightline The Murders Before the Marathon They also found a diary in which she expressed a desire to be with a married man, and the focus of the investigation shifted to Downs herself. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. She was required to serve twenty-five years before being considered for parole. In the frantic scene, hospital employees quickly determined that Cheryl was already dead and that Christie and Danny were clinging to life. Diane Downs always wanted to be a mom, she told Inside Edition in its first-ever episode in 1989. Cheryl died; the other two children survived, but they suffered terrible wounds according to Glamour, the bullets paralyzed Danny and gave Christie a stroke. Diane Downs became one of the most infamous murderers in the city after she was convicted of shooting her three children, killing one of them, along a roadway in Springfield, Oregon. Via an email sent through her brother, James Frederickson, Downs told OregonLive, Every time the World News shows the big red circles on the national map, I look at Oregon because thats where Christie and Daniel are Compared to other States, it appears Oregons red circle is smaller than most places. Diane Downs and her three children They raise many concerns over her three-decade old conviction for the shooting of her three children, one of whom died, and say even the most basic tests for courts were not met or passed. On a fateful night in May 1983, she rushed to the emergency ward of a hospital . "She calculated that this would win her sympathy in her trial. Danny is said to be going about his daily routine, but specifics regarding his personal life, such as his spouse and children, have remained a mystery, according to Tuko. He and his wife, Joanne, legally adopted the children in 1986. "Wouldn't I have made sure they were dead and then cried crocodile tears? Danielle Peterson/Statesman Journal via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Downs claimed that on a drive home from a friends house, she decided to take the scenic route home. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. But what happened to her kids, Christie Ann and Stephen "Danny" Daniel? At the time Diane had told police that a stranger attempted to carjack her and shot the kids, and thats what her ex husband was told, too. According toHeavy, crime author Ann Rule said: "Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. She's the biggest threat to him, not three sleeping children.". Watch the full story on "20/20" Friday, March 22, at 9 p.m. According to The Cinemaholic, Steve was found to not be a good fit to care for his kids who would need specialized care and had been through a very traumatic event. Downs told investigators that she and her children had been shot in a carjacking, but police found a secret diary detailing her obsession with a married man who did not want kids. And she took a deserted country road with three sleeping kids in her car. 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