Interest Successfully Added. "Just know that someone very powerful has been watching over you all your life for me," Downs wrote in one letter. Smith like Downs, also pursued a man who didn't want to be with her because she had children. "Being taken away from [Downs] was the best thing that could have ever happened," she said. The film premiered on ABC on 12 November 1989 and features "Hungry Like The Wolf. New interviews and details - Tonight at 9/8c on ABC. Christy Sheats called her family into the living room for a family meeting in June 2016, hours after husband Jason Sheats told her he planned to divorce her. Diane Downs, The Killer Mom Who Shot Her Kids So She Could Be With Her Lover. Diane Downs' story of how her children were shot begins to unravel. One of the most notorious crimes in Oregon history will be revisited this Friday, in a 20/20 two-hour documentary about Diane Downs, the woman convicted of shooting her own three children, and killing one. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the . Dr. Steven Wilhite opened up in the documentary about his interaction with Downs at the hospital. Downs briefly attended Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California but was forced to leave after just one year for "promiscuous behaviour". They had been shot multiple times at close range; 7-year-old Cheryl was already dead. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Yates' then-husband, Rusty, filed for divorce a few years after the killings. In fact she seems never to have gone after them. When her son, Christian, was 3 years old, Becky got pregnant again. (AP Photo/Peter Cannata) 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 Springfield, Ore., back in 1983. All of the babies were either strangled or suffocated after Huntsman gave birth to them at home, which she admitted to police. Downs was ultimately convicted of one count of murder and two counts each ofattempted murderandcriminal assault in 1984. Reunited in Arizona, the two got married on Nov. 13, 1973. NR | 03.29.2019. 45:57. A look at the cold-hearted criminal who was convicted of murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children in 1983. "I asked the babysitter and I made it sound as if I knew," Babcock said. But I believe that I may possibly be your biological daughter." Downslaunched a violent attackon three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. She saw the kids as a burden, as one of the interview subjects in the 20/20 documentary says. Kitaplk. Rachel, who agreed to testify against her mother, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Diane Downs became increasingly negligent of her kids. '", The exchange of letters left Babcock shaken. And I did a lot of harsh drugs. 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.Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. In the footage from Down's parole hearing, Babcock's biological mom is heard talking about "milk carton kids" and boasting about her intelligence. by Ann Rule | Jul 5, 1988. On July 11, 1987, a Saturday morning, Downs escaped a woman's prison by climbing a 12- to 15-foot-high chain-link fence around the detention center. She reveals alleged misconduct by arresting authorities and gives detailed accounts from court transcripts to . Years later, a boyfriend whom Becky had let in on her secret invited her over to watch a movie, "Small Sacrifices." THESE are the five most chilling Diane Downs documentary details from the killer mom's bizarre jail letters to a "scary book.". "The precautions that we took were to let people know that were coming in contact with Becky, her daycare person, her babysitter for Becky's own safety.". Becky Babcock, the fourth and youngest child of Downs, explained in the documentary MY MOTHER'S SINS the reasoning behind why she began writing letters to her jailed mom. Then, learn about Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the sick child who killed her mother. "I told her that her mom was in jail," said the adoptive mother. It made me physically sick to think about hurting my child in any way. For her high school education, she enrolled at Moon Valley High School. Alabama 4-year-old Zadie Wren Cooper died on July 7, 2016. I fell off the path for awhile. Refusing to take rejection, Smith also fabricated a story about being car jacked by a strange man causing her two children to drown while strapped in their mother's car. psaume de protection contre la sorcellerie. Police found Downs' behavior suspicious. The Babcocks were determined to keep Becky's parentage a secret from her. You know, she just asked, How is she doing? Not one emotional reaction. "I wish you'd taken me with . Boris Becker has revealed he started crying in jail as he watched Novak Djokovic win Wimbledon in 2022. "I dropped out of high school. Drama. Now, as Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out new interviews and staggering details. Jessie Buckley goes full Hollywood glam in a glitzy floor length dress . Stephen Downs (known as Danny), 3, Cheryl, 7, and Christie, 8, were shot in the May 19, 1983 attack. She is the subject of a book by Ann Rule and a . Small Sacrifices: With Farrah Fawcett, Gordon Clapp, Ryan O'Neal, John Shea. But he told Oprah Winfrey last year that he forgives his ex-wife for drowning their children. Babcock first went public about her mother in 2010 and has also met her in a bid to find out about her roots. The couple regularly argued about financial issues and fought over alleged infidelities. $8.99 $ 8. "My adopted parents. The special will look at the case, in which Elizabeth Diane Downs -- her full name -- was accused of trying to kill all three of her children after she became infatuated with a married man. Shes been called evil and the devil. A mother of three, In love with a married man, who did the unthinkable. Ann Rule's shocking and powerful account of the destructive forces that drove Diane Downs, a beautiful young mother, to shoot her three young children in cold blood. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. They followed the mother's murder trial carefully. They & Downs' daughter she had in 1984 were adopted. Farrah Fawcett is riveting as a murder suspect in this story about a sensational case that unfolded in Oregon in 1983. She was married to her high school sweetheart, worked part-time at a local thrift store, and had three children, Christie Ann, Cheryl Lynn, and Stephen Daniel. How Jayme Closs, Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard and Others Survived Headline-Making Abductions, After Being Denied Prison Release, Pamela Smart Whose Teen Lover Killed Husband Files Appeal, Chris Watts Case: After Investigators Speak Out on Confession, a Look Back at Tragic 2018 Killings, Texas Girl Getting Snack at Home Was Killed by Bullet from Outside, Man Who Targeted Wrong Home Sentenced, Susan Smith 'Cries For Her Children' Every Christmas Since Murdering Them, Says Source. Cheryl was killed, Danny & Christie survived, but suffered life-altering injuries. Almost immediately, however, their relationship began to suffer privately. But she was lying: Smith ultimately admitted to letting her car roll into a lake with the boys strapped in their car seats. Shortly after her death, Zadie's mother, Stephanie Diane Smith, mourned her daughter's death on Instagram. Diane and Rachel both pleaded guilty in the deaths and the assault of Sarah. In August 2020, Smith was sentenced to life in prison. After being recaptured, Downs was sent to prison out of Oregon. "The cold look in her eyes scared me and seeing her hands, that you know were just like mine, and the reality set in that that's who gave birth to me.". One of them was Steven Downs, from whom she became inseparable as the pair roved the streets of Phoenix looking for fun. He says yes. See State v. Downs , 733 P.2d 119 (Or. This documentary relates the tales of four female killers, one you might have heard of. The couple watched their new daughter for signs of emotional disturbance, they said. She began to think about her birth mother. A woman shoots her three young children, seriously injuring two and killing one. She's not able to have or understand love. During the documentary, Babcock reacted to viewing her biological mom's creepy 2010 parole hearing. On May 19, 1983, Elizabeth Diane Downs and her three small children were shot on a country road near Springfield, Oregon. 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 . Sometimes lust can become lethal for a woman. Christie Ann, born in 1974, is the eldest of the Downs children, and Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, born in 1979, is the youngest. I slept around with a lot of people. At birth, her parents named her Elizabeth Diane Frederickson. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1945. . The witness who saw her drive slowly after the shooting only furthered suspicions. Inside The Chilling Crimes Of John Joubert, The Eagle Scout Who Became A Serial Killer, Why The Story Of John And Lorena Bobbitt Is More Complex Than Just Castration, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. But the pizza has no mushrooms on it, it is clearly plain. May 14, 2010 — -- On June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was found guilty of shooting her three children, killing one. With seven-year-old Cheryl dead, three-year-old Danny paralyzed from the waist down at three years of age, and eight-year-old Christie suffering a stroke that impaired her speech, authorities initially believed Downs. The documentary also includes new interviews with Doug Welch, lead investigator on the case; Wayne Seifer, the ex-husband of one of Downs fellow inmates, who housed Downs during her brief 1987 escape in Oregon; Loren Glover, who was a detective with the Oregon State Police when Downs escaped; Anne Jaeger, former anchor at KEZI, who covered the case; former Oregonian reporter Eric Mortenson; Jim Pex, a former criminalist with the Oregon State Police Crime Detection Lab; and ABC News archives footage. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. "I wanted to know how she felt, if she loved me, if she wanted me if she connected with me before she had given me up for adoption," Babcock explained. Downs' claim of a "bushy-haired stranger' ambushing them fell apart quickly. Just days after her conviction, Diane gave birth to a daughter. Downs tried to become a surrogate but failed when the psychiatric tests indicated signs of psychosis. Babcock, the high school dropout, is now a straight-A college student who hopes to go to medical school -- in addition to being a loving mother. Becky Babcock, the daughter of convicted child killer Diane Downs, is part of a 20/20 documentary on the case. "I don't want to be here without you. Psychiatrist: As a psychiatrist, it is my professional opinion that Diane Downs' personality disorders qualify her as a dangerous offender. Shows. Guns in America. NR. However, after exchanging words, Babcock said the letters "kept coming and were strange, to say the least.". Diane Downs Story info:https://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/famous-murders/diane-downs/ Becky Babcock grew up in a beautiful house in Bend, Ore., only 100 miles -- but a world away -- from the legacy of her birth mother. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. After finding the book, she said: "I opened it and I looked at a picture of Diane Downs sitting at a table. And in 1984, Diane Downs was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. App. Joziak: John Shea. Learn about Diane Downs' daughter now. People judge me for that.". Marybeth Tinning being led to bail hearing. Authorities called to say Diane Downs had escaped from prison. The special will look at the case, in which Elizabeth Diane Downs -- her full name -- was accused of trying to kill all three of her children after she became infatuated with a married man. During the documentary, Babcock reacted to viewing her biological mom's creepy 2010 parole hearing. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. "Oh, gosh, she was adorable," Jackie Babcock told "20/20" in a recent interview. . "We were always hiking, biking, traveling," Becky Babcock said in a recent interview. The letters eventually led her to realize her mom was crazy. She was sentenced to life in prison and an additional 50 years after shooting her three children, killing one. The Downs documentary airs on 20/20 from 9 to 11 p.m. Friday, March 22 on ABC. Mo. The Babcocks knew the child they were to adopt was Diane Downs'. Ara. She said: "She doesn't make any sense and it honestly sounds like It just she thinks that she's smarter than the law and that she believes her own lies. With Jane Edwina Seymour, Janis Amatuzio, John Stark Bellamy II, Michael Bennett. Centering on the romantic ups and downs of a group of friends as they attend the events listed in the title, the movie was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. Babcock told her story to Glamour. She decided to put her baby up for adoption. For Knickerbocker, who was married, Diane Downs children were the equivalent of too many strings attached. And so, on June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was convicted of all charges against her and was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. "It was a face to what I had been looking for and it wasn't a face that I wanted to see. Then, she killed herself. Downs had vowed that she would get her children back, so her escape . When Babcock was a child, she tricked her babysitter into saying her biological mom's name leading her to search Barnes and Nobles to find a true crime book about her mom, the documentary revealed. Behind closed doors, however, she was being molested by her father, Wesley Linden, as early as the age of 12 while he and her mother, Willadene, portrayed themselves as upstanding conservatives. Downs isn't imprisoned in Oregon, the state that sentenced her, because shortly after her sentencing, she escaped from Oregon Women's Correctional Center. "Stained Glass by John La Farge." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 3, no. The couple was together between 1973 and 1980 when Steve left her because he believed that Diane was cheating on him. 99. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. So Downs decided to murder them so she could be with him. The Real Jigsaw Murderer Full Documentary Stephen Marshall. Downs tried to become a surrogate but failed when the psychiatric tests indicated signs of psychosis. Pure T Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdxTGygvkRU4fABcuCTBLhQ, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdxTGygvkRU4fABcuCTBLhQ. View full size The Oregonian/1984 Elizabeth Diane Downs is led in handcuffs into the Lane County Courthouse by Christine Rosage on the first day of her trial on accusations that she shot her . When 19-year-old Sarah Stern's car is mysteriously found on a New Jersey bridge, a former classmate comes forward with information that helps authorities discover what happened. She is in jail in California after being denied parole in 2008 and 2010. Diane Downs is currently serving her sentence of life plus 50 years at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, Calif., where she's been since August 1993. Daughter given up for adoption talks about uncovering secret of mom's identity. ", Former Lane County District Attorney Pat Horton explained: "Her demeanor at the hospital did not conform to a traditional grieving mother whose children had just been shot, one murdered, the other two seriously clinging to life. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. View our online Press Pack. He saved her life and updated Downs to suspicious results. 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