So now they blame some guy that's dead & can't defend himself? [22] After three hours of interviews and thirty minutes of deliberation, she was denied parole. Tim: Right. Lisa had been incapable of having children since a 1990 operation, but she fooled her husband, his parents and the whole community, Judy said. Diane Downs is serving a life sentence. Wes: The judges don't think it's important. I would get "locked up", myself, because I COULDN'T cope. [7] Downs herself had been shot in the left forearm. [19] The book documents accounts by friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and her surviving daughter Christie, who question the quality of her parenting. It's not about money because I have plenty of money to... but she says they have it blocked. In that situation they would call a personal injury lawyer. There was a lack of blood spatter in places within the car, and Diane didn’t seem emotional enough to some investigators. They raise many concerns over her three-decade old conviction for the shooting of her three children, one of … The children/family could claim what is called "personal injury" in that situation and sue for emotional damages they have suffered due to the tragic death, followed by separation from their mother and cutting ties with all their relatives, if the real guilty party or parties is realized and brought to justice. At 14, against her parents’ wishes, she got into a relationship with 16-year-old Steven Downs, who lived across the street. [2] Prior to her arrest, Downs was employed by the United States Postal Service, assigned to the mail routes in the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon. Wes: They didn't have him testify in court, but in the hospital he asked 'why that man shot me, why that man shot me?'. (DALLAS, Texas) - 30 years have passed, but the parents of Diane Downs, Wes and Willadene Frederickson, still remain hopeful that their daughter can find justice in Oregon's courts for a wrongful conviction and life sentence. [2] Much of the case against her rested on the testimony of her surviving daughter, Christie, who, once she recovered her ability to speak, described how her mother shot all three children while parked at the side of the road and then shot herself in the arm. - Tim King Salem-News.com, Apr-17-2013: Midnight Meditations: Diane Downs Murder Case in Oregon - Dr. Thomas Arthur Billings, Aug-17-2012: Diane Downs: Child Killer or Victim of Injustice? This would be laughable if the nature of the case wasn't so serious. In a two-hour 20/20 documentary, Babcock opens … Tim: So how often do you hear from Diane? The Downs incident occurred on May 19, 1983, when the 27-year-old mother insisted that she and her three children had been shot by a stranger on a deserted road in Springfield, Oregon. How convenient again. The truth is that all people do not react as expected in every case or situation. Tim: OK, I think that is something James (Frederickson) and I had run into, that he had some type of brand new red car. I had to quit reading it because it's so ridiculous. Wes: No question abut it, no question about it. I went and met with them and she gave me the first affidavit that Diane didn't shoot her children but her son-in-law did. Don't worry, if you are NOT an American citizen; it's OK for any one to sign it. Downs' sentence meant she could not be considered for parole until 2009. Wes: I wouldn't believe the police in Eugene, Oregon any more than if somebody came up and said, 'I think Diane did it' when then don't know anything. As a matter of fact I might have it around here too. [Oregon]. Wes: Oregon has a way of rewarding people. In fact, Downs would have already been released if she admitted to the crime, but she refuses, she will spend the rest of her life in prison before making that claim, she says. Her words and her tone were sincere, and should be considered, even at this late date. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. Tim: And his wife became a judge right after this? You don't drive them to the hospital as fast as you can. They might not refer to it the same way. [22] Lane County District Attorney Douglas Harcleroad wrote to the parole board, "Downs continues to fail to demonstrate any honest insight into her criminal behavior...even after her convictions, she continues to fabricate new versions of events under which the crimes occurred. [16] The Salem prison was located 66 miles from Hugi's home in Springfield; during her ten days of freedom, Hugi had feared that Downs would attempt to travel there in hopes of contacting Christie and Danny. That was the start and it has been a long trail since then. After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous behavior, and soon returned to her parents' home in Arizona. Following the crimes, she told police a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. Diane Downs bore none of those most basic signs of evidence, yet she was still convicted. Diane Downs was convicted because she didn't appear "sorry enough" during her TV appearances. Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, with Stephen Daniel being born in 1979. Wes: What she did was she went into a room where the drug trade was... She had been told, 'You can go any place you want but don't go into this area here because that's off limits.' Wes: Oh I think they perhaps were fair, they reported what they knew but I didn't mean to say that. The District Attorney, Fred Hugi, convicted Downs and adopted her remaining children. The DA, Fred Hugi, adopted both of Downs' surviving children, and though it seemed an odd move, reporters made little of that massive conflict of interest. It was damning to say the least. With James Hanes, you have a number of people that knew him who have said they believe he is the killer. Wes Frederickson, father of convicted murderer, Diane Downs. [1] After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous behavior, and soon returned to her parents' home in Arizona. [17] In 2010, she was located in the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California,[16] but transferred out when the facility was converted to an all-male institution in 2013.[18]. And he didn't ask any questions in regard to that did he? To join us by phone, dial 1.559.726.1200 with Access Code: 660481 To connect via computer and/or join the broadcast chat room, click to "See More" under our program description facebook.com/CrimesOfTheCentury/info. Tim: Nope, did they have different writers working on it over the years, I imagine? She only later learned that Downs became pregnant with her while on trial. "[22] He also wrote that "she alternately refers to her assailants as a bushy-haired stranger, two men wearing ski masks or drug dealers and corrupt law enforcement officials. After her recapture, Downs was transferred to the New Jersey Department of Corrections Clinton Correctional Facility for Women after heavy lobbying from Hugi. _________________________________________. Postal service when Diane was around eleven years old. She was the oldest of four children. The person who followed Diane reported that she was driving extremely slowly, about 5 to 7 mph, not "rushing" to the hospital at all. She has never done anything to indicate that she was involved in that crime. Say what you want about how people handle tragidies differently, because of different "coping mechanisms", but I personally have NEVER seen a parent who loses a child, "cope" like that. "Over the years," she said, "I have told you and the rest of the world that a man shot me and my children. Under Oregon law at the time, as a dangerous offender, Downs would have been eligible for a parole hearing every two years until she is released or dies in prison. Their first child, Christie Ann, was born in 1974. Wes: I've been told that he, after his accident, he went to stay in a motel to recuperate, I don't have any way to prove it. Tim: It is completely amazing that that was not allowed in court, that would have... Wes: The nurse wrote it down in the hospital records. [25], California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, "Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love", "The True Story of Diane Downs: How a Mother Shot Her 3 Kids for Her Lover", "Woman finds peace after learning mother is convicted child killer Diane Downs", "Becky Babcock: My Mother Was a Murderer", "Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love, "Diane Downs maintains innocence as parole hearing looms", "Diane Downs Denied by Oregon Parole Board", "Diane Downs Latest Parole Hearing is Next Month", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diane_Downs&oldid=1004827063, American people convicted of attempted murder, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, People with antisocial personality disorder, People with histrionic personality disorder, People with narcissistic personality disorder, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Oregon, Articles with short description added by PearBOT 5, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Incarcerated; earliest possible release 2020, This page was last edited on 4 February 2021, at 16:13. However, investigators and hospital workers became suspicious because they decided her manner was too calm for a person who had experienced such a traumatic event. Wes: I did have a phone working so that she could call home if she wanted but for some reason she has been unable to contact us by phone. In this sense it is the ultimate expression of being convicted in the media and because it involved the violent death of a child, the official story outrages those exposed to it, and so little was done for Downs by the media, the courts, or even her own attorney. Tim: And Jagger didn't use these tools, so to speak? Becky Babcock is speaking out about her infamous mother, Diane Downs, who was convicted of killing her own 7-year-old child and attempting … Convicted child killer Elizabeth Diane Downs, who describes herself as the most hated woman in America, giggles nervously as she talks of her plans to … Tim: And this is the prosecutor who, after the case was over, went to work for the same people he had been convicting, or not convicting. I have read through this several times now and my mind is just boggled. Tim: I understand it broke the bones, (in her forearm) not one but both, both bones. Is he practicing today as far as you know, still? Tim: No, I guess that would rock their boat. There is a facebook discussion group on the case I created quite recently here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DianeDowns/ Excellent article Tim. 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