My parents wanted us to prosper, to learn and to grow, she told ABC. View our online Press Pack. A surgeon told ABC News of treating Christie: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead, he said. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. "She couldn't keep her mouth shut," Welch said. A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. Whats fascinating, though, is to see how differently her children including the fourth one, who she conceived after her original surviving ones were taken away from her responded to her doings. READ NEXT: COVID-19 Stimulus Check: Did the HEROES Act Pass? The couple divorced in 1980 over Steven's insistence their son, Danny, was the result of an affair and not his biological child. Elizabeth Diane Downs (ne Frederickson; born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter and attempted to murder her other two children near Springfield, Oregon, in May 1983. 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. They have both graduated from college. She didn't know when to keep her mouth shut.. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. On July 11, 1987, she escaped from her cell by scaling an eighteen-foot razor wire fence. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. In 1983, Diane Downs three children were brought to an Oregon hospital with gunshot wounds. Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 children: Part 2 Police found Downs' behavior suspicious. She was white She was not breathing. [8][9] Upon arrival, Cheryl (aged 7) was already dead, Danny (aged 3) was paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie (aged 8) had suffered a disabling stroke. Diane's 2 children who survived the shooting . Would love your thoughts, please comment. On May 19, 1983, Diane shot the children Cheryl, 7, Christie, 8, and Danny, 3 multiple times at a close range. The surgeon who helped to save Christie's life told ABC News: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead. Within a month of the shootings, with her two surviving children still in the hospital, Downs began giving a series of bizarre interviews to the media. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. Wilhite said he was immediately directed to start working to save Christie while another surgeon took Danny. The lead prosecutor in the case, Lane County Assistant Dist. Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). Dr. Steven Wilhite had just walked into his house after a long day working at a Springfield, Oregon, hospital when his beeper went off. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. And got out and ask what he wanted. It was suspected I hit over 100 miles an hour coming down the freeway, he said. Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TheSunUSand follow us from our main Twitter account at@TheSunUS, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Diane Downs with her three children Stephen, Christie and Cheryl, Diane Downs is serving a life sentence for the attack on her children, Downs gave birth to a fourth child after her trial in 1984, Christie testified against her mother, pictured. But as . Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. Investigators later discovered that she had bought the handgun in Arizona. Hospital employees determined that then-7-year-old Cheryl was already dead and that then-8-year-old Christie and then-3-year-old Danny were clinging to life. "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much," she said. On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs and her three children were shot on a rural road in Oregon. Wilhite said Christie's blood pressure had been so low that she suffered a stroke. 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? Why does a mom with three sleeping children in the car stop for a stranger or anyone for that matter? We believe the motive for the shooting was to get Nick up here to Oregon to be with her. Wilhite said he then found a judge who issued an order making him and another doctor Christies guardians. Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. ET) on ABC. Stephen danny downs was the son of Diane Downs is a murderer who was convicted in the United States and is currently serving a life term for the crime she committed in 1984. Downs had also been shot, in the left forearm, though her wound was not life threatening. She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. And he replied, I want your car. She said, You've got to be kidding, at which time he pushed her aside and reached in with a gun and began shooting the kids-- the three kids.. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. 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. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). Prior to her sentencing, Downs gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Amy Elizabeth. Within a few weeks, the kids who had survived were placed in protective custody and were no longer in Steve's care. 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. And as long as he said that he wasn't going to be a father to anyone's children, they had to go.. I've never been so hyped in my life.. It was mainly about my biological mom. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. Cops decided she was lying. Look at her," Jaeger said. Despite significant security upgrades at the women's facility after the escape, state officials accepted Hugi's argument that the risk of harm to Christie and Danny, in the event of another escape, was too great for Downs to remain incarcerated in Oregon. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. Diane considered the kids to be a burden or a hindrance to Nick's arrival, Welch said. At least, that's the story Diane Downs told police. Downs claimed that on a drive home from a friends house, she decided to take the scenic route home. They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. Downs had been a suspect from the beginning. When then-prosecutor Fred Hugi asked Christie if she remembered who shot her, Christie Downs replied, "My mom.". Her Facebook photos showcase a loving family living a normal life. She replied, 'You've got to be kidding,' at which time he pushed her aside and reached in and shot the sleeping kids.". And Christie Downs, the only witness to the crime (her younger brother Danny was believed to have been asleep at the time), had suffered a stroke that impaired her speech and prevented her from telling police what she had seen. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Diane Downs with her three children Stephen, Christie and Cheryl, Diane Downs is serving a life sentence for the attack on her children, Downs gave birth to a fourth child after her trial in 1984, Christie testified against her mother, pictured. Christie and Danny were adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984. Reporter Ann Jaeger remembers worrying that Downs' pregnancy could affect the way jurors viewed her. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. [10] Downs herself had been shot in the left forearm. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. Missing baby is feared dead as police arrest aristocrat Constance Marten and boyfriend on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter: 200 officers search allotments and compost bins near where . Elizabeth Diane Downs ( ne Frederickson; born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter and attempted to murder her other two children near Springfield, Oregon, in May 1983. The girl was later renamed Becky Babcock. [2] She has testified that her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old. When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead, he said. 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. And Christie's mother, Diane, could-- say whatever she wanted. [2] Despite her parents' disapproval of their relationship, Downs continued the relationship. In May of that year, the trial against Downs began with yet another inconceivable twist. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. She claimed that she was carjacked on a rural road near Springfield by a strange man who shot her and the children. Diane Downs was convicted of shooting her 3 children, killing 1, in 1983. "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much," she said. She's the biggest threat to him, not three sleeping children.". Would love your thoughts, please comment. The stroke Christie Downs suffered impaired her speech and initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. Christie is now in her forties, according to Tuko, and the accident left her with a speech handicap. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute for Woman in Clinton, N.J., March 12, 1989. All the kids were asleep as it was past 9 o'clock pm and her children were fairly young. Where is Diane Downs today? Christie was the star witness in her mothers prosecution; she testified that her mother was the shooter. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. Downs told investigators that she and her. Babcocks exclusive interview airs on 20/20 on Friday, March 22 (9:00 11:00 p.m. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3 . She was afraid of her mother. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. "Why would I have taken my kids to the hospital?" But what happened to Diane Downs' husband? But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? [28], In her first application for parole in 2008, Downs reaffirmed her innocence. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Video related to diane downs children now: christie, danny & becky today, My Mothers Sins l 20/20 Diane Downs l Part 2, WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 20/20: bit.ly/2uqkFD4 Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 children Police found Downs' behavior suspicious. Application for parole in 2008, Downs has always maintained her innocence to day. 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