While they were unable to find the weapon, they found unfired casings in her home with extractor markings from the murder weapon. Her pupils were dilated. From Arizona to Oregon, the family had moved just shortly before the incident for Dianes job in the U.S. postal service. According to ABC News, as of March 2019, Becky was 34-years-old and working in Salem Oregon as a behavioral health coordinator for children. In 2017, she posted on Facebook about a new job, writing that she works with the mentally ill helping to give them a better life.. "They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. "They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. It was exciting. It was scary. "And along this road, off to the side, out stepped a man who flagged her down. In another one of her strange media appearances Downs spoke about the pregnancy. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? She said she pulled over and got out to talk to the man. Christie and Danny were adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984. READ NEXT: COVID-19 Stimulus Check: Did the HEROES Act Pass? Learn about Diane Downs' children now: Christie, Stephen (Danny), and Becky. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. 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. That's insane to think that I would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself -- that's crazy.". In May of that year, the trial against Downs began with yet another inconceivable twist. The outlet reported that the prison houses 3,000 inmates and, as of April, was being locked down to protect against the spread of the virus. As for Danny, he has kept his life private. "She was white, she was not breathing. What is the latest information pertaining to the convicted child killer? 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. California Department of Corrections I was very stern with her.". Christies Facebook page shows she has children, has a different married last name, and is living in Oregon. He and his wife, Joanne, legally adopted the children in 1986. A break in the case finally came when investigators discovered Downs' secret diaries. 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. It's not even known if he still resides in Arizona, where he used to live with Diane and their three kids. But surgeon Steve Wilhite managed to revive Christie after her blood pressure dipped dangerously low and she suffered a stroke. [22] She received an additional five-year sentence for the escape. She provides an update on Christie and Danny today, writing on her website: Adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984, Christie and Dannywho somehow survived their gunshot woundshave no contact with Diane. Thank you all for sharing your stories with me and reminding me why I came forward. [24] While in prison, she earned an associate degree in General Studies. It was suspected I hit over 100 miles an hour coming down the freeway, he said. Star Witness at Downs' Trial: Her Daughter. Shockingly, it was Downs daughter, Christie, who identified her mother in court as the shooter. And I said to her, We don't know that. [32], Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 03:51, 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 on finding peace after learning mother is child killer Diane Downs: 'Though that's biologically my makeup, it's not who I am inside', "Woman finds peace after learning mother is convicted child killer Diane Downs", Christie Downs: Three Years Old Murder Survival of the 80s, "Becky Babcock: My Mother Was a Murderer", "Becky Babcock: A Girl's Fight to Escape her Mother's Crimes", "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", "Where Is Diane Downs Today? At around 10 p.m. that May night, police said Diane Downs pulled over to the side of a country road near Springfield and shot her three small children multiple times at close range. There's very few cases quite like this one, he said. I had a great family, a great life. Downs was a notorious killer in Oregon, convicted in the 1983 shooting of her three children that left one of them dead. In 1984, Diane was convicted of the death and injuries of her children, and she was sentenced to life in prison. He then opened the driver's side door and shot all 3 of her children. Most damaging, witnesses saw her car being driven very slowly toward the hospital, at an estimated speed of 57mph (811km/h)contradicting her claim that she drove to the hospital at a high speed after the shooting. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. pic.twitter.com/HWkkwT86pF. Diane Downs was one of the most infamous murderers of the 1980s; the emotionally flat blonde was convicted of shooting her three children, killing one of them, along a roadway in Springfield,. Diane Downs' ex husband, Steve Downs, lost a lot in May 1983 when his ex wife shot their three children, following their divorce in 1980. Christie Downs, now 44, and her brother, 39, were adopted by the prosecutor in the case. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TheSunUSand follow us from our main Twitter account at@TheSunUS, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Then, 10 days after Diane was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, she gave birth to a daughter she named Amy Elizabeth. It's very seldom that does my body tingle like that, he added. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the middle child, was killed in the attack. she said in an interview. [13], Prosecutors argued that Downs shot her children to be free of them, so that she could continue her affair with Knickerbocker, as she claimed that he let it be known that he did not want children in his life. What did she look like? "And they give me love, they give me satisfaction, they give me stability, they give me a reason to live and a reason to be happy, and thats gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive.". Photo: September 26, 1988. Within two weeks police had tracked her down to the home of another inmate's husband just blocks from the prison. But what happened to her kids, Christie Ann and Stephen "Danny" Daniel? Do I throw it away? On Feb. 28, 1984, nine months after the shootings, Downs was arrested and charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Amy, who was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock, went public about her mother in 2010 and has also met her in a bid to find out about her roots. In 1983, Diane Downs three children were brought to an Oregon hospital with gunshot wounds. Glamour reported that Danny was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of the shooting and Cheryl suffered a major stroke as a result of the attack that left her with a lifelong speech impediment. In another one of her strange media appearances Downs spoke about the pregnancy. "The more she talked, the more things didn't make any sense.". 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. 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. The surgeon who helped to save Christie's life told ABC News: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead. The surgeon who helped to save Christie's life told ABC News: When I looked at Christie I thought she was dead. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY, March 22 at 9 p.m. On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. "You cant replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. Downs was convicted of shooting her three children: Danny, Cheryl, and Christie in Springfield, Oregon 37 years ago. Born June 27, 1984, Becky, 37, is famously known as the daughter of Diane Down, 66. READ MORE: abcn.ws/2W9dzyC In 1983, Diane Downs. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the. After Babcock found out about her notorious mother, she decided to make contact. Rebecca wrote to Downs in her younger years, and has stated that she regrets the contact, regarding her mother as a monster.[20] [21]. Investigators later discovered that she had bought the handgun in Arizona. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. Babcock learned who her mother was at age 11, after tricking her babysitter to divulge the name. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. Her brother Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down but both survived. The horrific crime, which Downs has always denied committing, is the subject of a 20/20 documentary that is airing on June 21, 2019 in an encore presentation. But what happened to Diane Downs' husband? In 1984, Diane Downs was convicted of shooting her three children, 3-year-old Danny, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 8-year-old Christie. Downs Family Diane Downs and her three children. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Powered by. On Facebook, Becky wrote that she works at Pain management and went to Redmond High School. And, by the time she took them to the hospital, Cheryl was dead. That girl was later renamed Rebecca "Becky" Babcock.[6]. Wilhite said he and the hospital staff who worked on the Downs kids on that horrific May night were not surprised by the outcome of the case. This is why I chose to tell my story. 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. Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. What did she do?. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. I still worry about them and love them, though theyll never know it.. During the search for the strange gunman Diane kept giving bizarre interviews , one of the detectives on the case stated "she couldn't keep her mouth shut" ("The Diane Downs Story", 2010). But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. I mean, obviously, if she's pregnant, she loves children, right?" She tells ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. 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. [She said] she had been out visiting a friend who had a horse up in the Marcola area -- she and the kids -- and when it grew dark they headed home. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). Within a few weeks, the kids who had survived were placed in protective custody and were no longer in Steve's care. 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. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. Downs said she then faked throwing her keys to divert the gunman's attention, pushed him out of the way, jumped back in her car and raced to the hospital with her badly wounded children. [29] She was not permitted a statement, but answered questions from the parole board. Her three children -- 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl and 3 . When Wilhite went to go update Downs on her daughters condition, he said he was surprised by her reaction. In 1983, horror stuck in Oregon as a mother took it upon herself to end the life of her own children. "She was white, she was not breathing. Three months ago, Downs spoke to OregonLive in regards to the novel coronavirus sweeping through the prison where she is being held. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence. The couple divorced in 1980 over Steven's insistence their son, Danny, was the result of an affair and not his biological child. Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. She'd been shot in the left forearm, said Welch. 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 initially prevented her from telling police what she had seen. My childhood was of dreams and we had every opportunity that we wanted. Her pupils were dilated. Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. : when I looked at Christie I thought she was white, she decided to make contact in. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence her daughters condition he..., 66 / 20/20 ) Rule wrote on her website: `` Christie Danny... 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