Seriously. During closing arguments, Fred Hugi said that the murder weapon used by Diane was a Ruger, and the state had the model number and the bill of sale. There was no question in Dianes mind that Knick would take another mistress if she married him, and that hed move on again. answer the question why didn t steve downs get custody, which will help you get the most accurate answer. Dianes dad died a year or two ago. According to the State, ballistics evidence proved that Diane Downs was guilty. Ms. Downs makes every effort to avoid emotional stimuli in order to reduce the demands made on her. I just read your opinion on the Pamela Smart case and the Scott Peterson case. As a suggestion, I would love to see a like or dislike button for each comment. It kinda scared me, the thought that mommy could shoot me, like this mommy did. Speculative. I would say so. The fact that the accused in this case was atypical, makes her the perfect target. Phenobarbital was administered alongside the Dilantin. 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. I wanted to ask you something on this case. She has come a long way. Police witness reports of strangers and confessions were suppressed or not pursued. Christie Downs was eight-years old when she was injured and nine-years old when she testified. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as Small Sacrifices. Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. There were days she was unhappy to see the staff and her family because she was very ill. That poor girl had a lot of bad moments where she would cry constantly or trigger the machines and to have defined this single incident as one of terror instead of excitement over seeing her mom was biased and self-serving. Brewer changed his mind. (that one is more of a question). It was not unlike brainwashing. I must humbly admit that I had not questioned the facts of the case before readily accepting this image of Diane as a cold blooded killer. In the moment of who shot youmy momhave a hard time believing that could be coached. Their haste to go to trial created this mess and lingering doubts. The gun problem or the absence of blood and powder residues are not make believe. Great blog post, thank you. They are set in stone and people refuse to see it any other way. The most frequent remarks I hear about the case when confronted by the state misconduct and the lack of evidence are gut feelings I dont buy it Shes guilty She did it I know she did it Her story makes no sense Shes evil Shes crazy. It had to be her.. I do not discuss her guilt or innocence because this is not what the blog is about, but I personally hope she is released one day. 2. 5. The photo of Hugi I used is the one you find when you do a search online for Fred Hugi who prosecuted Diane Downs. The casing from the bullets exactly matched, just like a fingerprint, the bullets that Diane had in her home from her own gun which was never found. And to say that her mental health has degraded is an understatement, but more reason not to keep her eternally incarcerated. We make them president. It is documented in the blog where I give the source In the 1996 Federal Petition, you can find the Anatomy of Brainwashing that can answer any question on this subject. One of the important pieces of evidence was the absence of all but a trace of gunshot residue. It seems they all went the easy way. This test confirmed Diane had not held a gun. Page 40 of Case History. Thank you Lise. Maybe because of her notoriety and the victims were children. The whole family were co-conspirators and involved in the crime? Nobody near to help. I agree. During Dianes examination at trial, Fred Hugi said in front of the jury, in the form of a question, that she had been diagnosed as a , Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. Considering the lack of evidence, it seems that she was condemned mostly because of herinappropriatestatements and behavior. I agree on many points with your comment. Theres a lot to be said here, still. I am not one sided. They seem to say she was like that from the very beginning so in my opinion, it should represent a mitigating circumstance instead of a longer sentence. You indicated you were not going to get a divorce? So either way, it would not be so far fetched that someone said he was the shooter.A little investigation would not hurt. Everywhere, EXCEPT the door through which Diane reported to police, the male stranger had passed. Page 37 of Case History. And being the mother of three only served to propel Diane in a more manic state. Ive been to London to Fly the Queen ~ and Back to Collect Artifacts, Haleigh Cummings Was Once Lost but Now She Is Found, Meet Rene Acoby: In-House Female Dangerous Offender, Kelli Stapleton- A Mothers Wuthering Woes. So, why didn't Steve Downs get custody? Isnt is odd how something we are exposed to as children can stick in our memory? Within three weeks, Diane had lost custody of her remaining wounded children and had become the number one suspect in the eyes of the police department and District Attorneys office. The fact that the Hugis did so successfully is arguably proof of this. Two wrongs do not make a right but illustrates that she should have never been coerced before, during or after the trial. It was such a high profile case and she was found guilty by the media and the court so people are afraid to touch this one. At the point Diane jumped into the car, her broken arm (resting in a sling in front of her) slammed into the steering wheel. Where to begin? Further: Wonder about Justice in Nation with world wide highest prisoner rate. He hired Jim Jagger on the 1st of June 1983, 11 days after the shooting. I couldnt get my hands on the book nor find anything in librariesso basically it was many years later I dove into knowing more about this case, that kinda haunted me. Lets also remember that this is the US of A and we dont lock people up for being narcissistic, antisocial histrionic individuals. Ive done my research. Celebrity Author Covers Case Ann Rule wrote 'Small Sacrifices,' later released as a movie. I do not have to put any statement advising people that I am about to present the neglected aspects of the trial. Diane didnt ask Knick to leave his wife. Its as if they cant control it. And yes, its your site, but dont act like a site is open for discussion if its not. It was a dark and rural road. I feel sorry for Diane too. What would have been the conclusion to have drawn without this hate campaign? Surprisingly, Fred Hugi actually looks quite different. They both would fall in love and decide they want to marry each other. If you listen to the recording, Christie clearly says I dont know who did it. She was asleep, thats why. Diane had met all the requirements to be paroled. Steve Bannon won't be detained before trial on charges of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating January 6. 6. Diane was instructed to reenact her response to the attacker who murdered her daughter. I would also like to express my disbelief that the same judge presided over both the child welfare case and the criminal one. She was no mother of the year and in the car when the kids got shot. To have separated Christie from her brother and the rest of the family to be able to get her mom was unconscionable. Everything matters in a trial and investigation. Its tiresome. Whatever mental illness she has, has gotten worse with each hearing. She managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. then later you ask how diane didnt have any blood splatter on her when she was inside the car when she shot her kids??? Take your smugness elsewhere, at long last. Late Tom Billings had been the first who openly questioned Diane Downs guilt. When you hear her in interviews she sounds more concerned with herself than her kids. She s. But if you compare them, and if stranger there was, there are similarities but it is not dead on. They went through the process which demonstrates a certain level of commitment in itself. Reduces conflict because communication is limited. So she warns her to stay away. The prosecutor didn't even know that after the Mother's Day road rage incident in 2020, Rivas was charged in Maryland with leaving the scene of another accident involving bodily injury. It is not, as the blogger frequently refers to, evidence. Of course buying drugs with three kids in the middle of the night from a guy like that is not the mindful thing to do, but would be more consistent as an explanation for her actions. It was pitch black outside. It is my hope that Leslie Van Houten and Diane Downs are never paroled. Not optional, kids should not be in limbo that long, but it happens all the time. What was the rationale behind this? A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch. It will likely take place very early in the war when John is young. And Steven was free to follow her lead or not. I didnt know that. Wasnt it speculative on their part? Therefore, my understanding is that the original sentence is deemed indefinite with parole hearings every 10 years. I remember when it was in the news. This is to avoid the conflict of interest that we read about above. Her husband James Krauseneck was charged with her murder in November of this year. Nuts maybe, but not threatening. Diane wanted to wait for her daughter to feel better, be accompanied by an expert and have the meetings taped? Plus, Diane could have never cleaned her clothes and her hair to remove blood and gun powder. Something that would never stand in court now. Nobody knows but her. 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. The State produced a witness (Ms. Patterson) to testify that Diane Downs entered the hospital bathroom, left the door open, and ran water in the sink (Appendix 87, page 476). You do not debate the content of the blog which you probably did not read anyway. The detective said to leave that up to the police. Steve knew Danny was not his biological child and left Downs. 3) You have a photo of Diane before the parole board. Accused of her side of the story what the state says how would it be possible for her to do what they presumed. They were put in an impossible situation. Whenever your shoot a gun that many times and that close to the victims, theres going to be blood and powder residues. Christie was understandably all over the place and I agree that the way in which her statements were procured were very odd and seemed to be very coached. During cross-examination, she said that she witnessed the murders while sitting up and that Cheryl was sitting up on the front seat when she got shot. She could not have been shot twice in the back while sitting up and have the bullet pierce her body to end up under the floorboard of the passenger side. It deserved as much attention as a Unicorn, a song or all the other hearsay floating around because at least, they came from real people signing official documents. I think that she has done enough time and should be released. Their marriage was described as tumultuous, with Downs allegedly disappearing for long periods of time with her children. I can make out I will ask you to take a good look at the people in your life. Her son ended up in jail and ONeils children accused him of neglect and bad parenting. Having recently done research on the Liysa Northons case which was the subject of a book written by Ann Rule titled Heart Full of Lies,I came across some very interesting information about the Diane Downs case because Rule attended the trial and also wrote a book about the case called Small Sacrifices. Her arm was severely damaged, so shattered that she needed a graft from a hip bone. This is not the reason she is still locked up. When they assess the conduct of an inmate, what counts is mostly how she behaves inside through the years and if she shows violent tendencies. I do not believe that this type of abuse would occur today. CK was willing to take, or attempt to take, the lives of 4 people in order to steal their car. Strange how Jagger is pretty absent too except for the few photos where he is wrongly identified as Hugi. . The details about the gun missing, the daughters testimony and the fact that she had no blood or gun residues are facts. 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. So it would be logical to conclude that it would have left residues if anyone had shot at least 6 times. One should also wonder why their biological father who was so eager to bash his ex on the stand was not given custody, and did not stay in contact with his two remaining children. As an adoptive parent I cant even imagine trying to justify to my daughter our adopting her if we had in any way been a part of the case to terminate her from her bio family. She wrote to the governor several times after being dismissed coldly by Hugi and the system. Therefore, those jagged bones were floating in a cloth wrap, merely resting in a cloth sling. Any thoughts on that? She signed an affidavit to that effect and wanted the jury informed of it but it was never done. They hardly investigated any other lead after a couple of weeks. What a terrible injustice. I mention in the blog that Dianes mental health is in question so it is obvious that her encounter with her long lost daughter was going to be difficult. So how she behaved at the time, should not have been a factor influencing the authorities. Diane had a few lovers, which Knick refused to acknowledge (Appendix 81, pages 1508, 1520). Danny downs did indeed say a man shot him he also blamed a cartoon character. Is it the one you tried to use? Notify me of follow-up comments by email. What is known for a fact, is, Prosecutor Fred Hugi took physical custody of Christie and Danny shortly after Christies confessions to her school mates, and he officially adopted them in the summer of 1986. It wasnt until Prosecutor Hugi said Dr. Jamison had labeled Diane a deviant sociopath that Mr. The detectives took Diane to the crime scene and were able to retrieve shell cases on the ground where the incident happened. I mention in my blog that when her adoptive dad said that she was coerced and thats why she said she did not know who shot them, that of course she was because this is what she does when under pressure. She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. Strangely enough, a woman who was seen for 8 months by a psychologist and declared to be in shock and suffering from a mood disorder, would now be assessed by the State hired psychiatrist to confirm the label Hugi conveniently made up during trial. They brought cakes and cookies and became friends so they were not going to fight over this. DA Pat Horton declared early in the game to the local paper that the search for the bearded stranger was not very high on their priority list.. (LOL!! What they did to her daughter is unconscionable. Common sense will tell this Court, when Diane accidently slammed her mangled arm into the steering wheel of Detective Tracys car, it was ANYTHING but a laughing matter. In fact, Diane and her lawyer wanted Christie to be able to heal before being questioned and to be accompanied and taped during the sessions. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. In this article, we can clearly see that Becky struggled and tried to justify her woes (maybe rightly so) by blaming it on her DNA. The circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children demand to be used as evidence.. My comment to you Lise is about your reply to a previous comment where you say Diane should have been released by now regardless of her statements. Seems to me that if that part of the story were true, and she really wanted to find her childrens shooter, she would have provided that information. The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb: opinion, not fact Her character was also too much on the forefront. 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. It seems that a lot of what was written down never came up during testimony and some nurses even strayed from the original content. The tape of Christie and her adoption by the prosecutor are facts. Hed left his first wife to co-habitate with (and later marry) Charlene. I am just curious. In the end, it is scary how media becomes some kind of Roman circus where people is thrown in order to become a source of business. Which is itself a redundant practise: the blogger repeatedly states that Downs should be released. Yep, Downs who was found guilty in 1984, escaped successfully from the Oregon Womens Correctional Center in 1987 and was transferred to Jersey afterwards. What about the fact that they never found the gun? The kids were shorted-changed. You seem to care about my opinion and perception of some elements of the case and how the media poisoned the well in this instance, but what about the trial? Andthe DA adopted her other two children. Hello. I say these things if I were on the jury. In my opinion, the investigation was too hasty and only focused on Diane. Diane may very well be guilty, but YIKES this investigation and trial seemed so butchered and tilted in the prosecutions favour. Nearly every point you make here was addressed and disproved or not even allowed into evidence. Then feel free to correct the facts and to provide evidence to support them. The most recent tape of her daughter is not admissible because it is never allowed to bring out tapes that were obtained this way. I personally disagree with that practice but it is common. Saudi Princesses in Captivity for More Than a Thousand and One Nights Are Tweeting the Blues, Having recently done research on the Liysa Northons case which was the subject of a book written by Ann Rule titled, Some 287 errors and falsehoods were documented by Liysa and verified by official sources. And some are even contradictory: shes mentally ill, but also not mentally ill; the site owner wants to focus on pure facts, yet ignore other facts; things happened in court, but those are irrelevant to what else what also happened in court, etc. It was very unfair to raise them away from their grandparents and other blood relatives. So appropriate! From what we know about Becky, she had chosen a difficult path and Diane was trying to warn her. But in their defense, they were told at trial what gun was used by Diane to shoot the kids and it must have been very difficult to overcome the emotions brought on by the words of little Christie even if it was pretty obvious during her testimony that she was confused and unreliable. Yes, Im sure this stranger wanted to kill her kids but only wound her, who, coincidentally, had a towel handy neatly folded on her wound. I guess he did not want too many people to know about the improprieties that happened in his courtroom. Diane Downs is no exception. U seem very one sided on every case Ann Rule has ever written just as u claim she did to u. N her parents didnt want custody of the children just like the father. She did not fit in and was now anxious to assert her independence and live her own life. And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. Its a dangerous proposition when a lack of due process becomes acceptable because they know she is guilty. 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. Many attribute the conviction of Downs to the arrival of author Ann Rule at Downs' trial. I agree. When a white attractive woman like Diane Downs appears on the scene while displaying seemingly unpleasant characteristics as a mother and a personality disorder, there is no telling what the media will do with the story. Now Diane Downs did not say any of this, but told a hard to believe story, and then changed it from one to two masked guys, etc.