Without the media blast and rush to judgment from the police and DAs office, we might have uncovered the truth. 1) Gunshot residue/blood splatter. Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy: Relevance? None of this is EVIDENCE of anything in regard to the murder trial, and not once did I read that it was. The time was spent waiting for the clock to tick down the final seconds for all appeals to the parental termination to be allowed. There have many times children have had to testify against their parents so the fact that many cant believe it was ever allowed should honestly research more. That single fact collaborated by a witness, convicts her for me. Thats why Diane wouldnt agree to marry unless Knick first signed a premarital agreement that when they divorced, Knick would take nothing from their marriage. They should have taken their timeto investigatethis case thoroughly and without prejudice. I feel compelled to comment on this blog, because having recently read Ann Rules book, I feel exactly as you did. Diane, of her own admission, had plenty of affairs while she worked at the Post Office. It has nothing to do with the facts of the case. If you read the blog, it is because of the lie told by prosecutor Hugi that ignored the assessment of her therapist Dr. Jamison and was condemned by the psychiatrist that they were convinced to find her guilty. He was instead a result of an affair Diane had with a married man. He said all the police needed was for Diane to bear witness against her ex-husband. Did CK shoot at car when DD drove away? Do you remember about two days after that the two of you signing a lease on the apartment? The problem with high profile cases is that the media, the DA, the cops and authors like Ann Rule dictate the narrative and it becomes almost impossible to look any other way unless you are a critical thinker devoid of emotions related to the case. They were put in an impossible situation. Gun shot residue is not always present. At the time Diane had told police that a stranger attempted to carjack her and shot the kids, and that's what her ex husband was told, too. lol. Foote refused 30 to 50 reports by detectives of sightings or leads about the shooter but admitted reports from people in Arizona willing to badmouth Diane. Just state that at the beginning of the blog. (I know that wasnt brought up this time but it usually is.) They would have welcomed them with open arms. I try to bring out the details that were ignored because Down was so unpopular: this blog is clearly one sided. Hey Jace, I was not going to post your insulting comments but I decided to let the last sentence fly so that I could answer it. Too bad she did not interview Diane or her family. A. I told Diane before, but I certainly didnt tell her to My problem with the circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children is that they were twisted by the media. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. The lack of balance and objectivity. Whenever your shoot a gun that many times and that close to the victims, theres going to be blood and powder residues. The gun is Def a big issue, the style of gun, whether it belonged to him or her, she Def had access to itthe child drew a picture of it, having large similarity to that gunbut it did always baffle me how she could find such a great hide for it in such a short period of time. It sounds like this was not the case with Dianes children. , The lovely Farrah Fawcett who played in the movie, Anne Rule might have inflamed the case with her book, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), The Diane Downs Case Was no Small Sacrifice. Interesting that the article has one of the same elements that Diane perpetrated when she drove to the hospital the night of the murders she made more of a fuss about her arm injury than she did about one of her kids dying and two of them being gravely and permanently wounded. There were many problems with her trial and that matters. Mainly because the courts have to give every chance possible and all the services necessary to the bio family to try to preserve the relationship. The fact that the accused in this case was atypical, makes her the perfect target. What?? Diane needs some serious spiritual advancement and atonement before she ever will have or deserve peace. They played the tape in the courtroom, and the fact that Diane did not break down but tapped her foot to the music, was supposed to be another proof of her guilt. Their theory was very shaky. Yes, I had filed for divorce and then I canceled it. I especially loved reading everyones comments. I felt there was something that should be done, but I was at a loss in how to cope with the Court that had given the children to the prosecutor and allowed false testimony to seal her fate. In an earlier comment you stated that Diane had met all of the requirements for parole. Knick had NOT signed the premarital agreement, but that didnt stay his pursuit of Diane, knowing she was moving 1200 miles away. If I included the ones I dont post, it would need more than a like or dislike button. . 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. Robert was a married man in Arizona with whom Diane had been having an affair, back when she was still living there. In the spring of 1986, Christie confided to school mates that shed been coerced to lie in court, to implicate her mother (Appendix 1-2). A prosecutor inventing a new psychiatric category in court and labeling the accused is kind of unsettling. Rule defended her right to earn a living and to tell her story. I asked her brother James an answer to your question. Van Houten has made her choices and needs to own up to her actions and stop putting all the blame on drugs and Manson. Ann Rule promotes her books as true crime stories so to this day, viewers believe that the book and the movie titled Small Sacrificesdocument the true story of the Diane Downs case; in fact, it is a mix bag of truth, falsehoods, interpretation and plain fiction. It wasnt until Prosecutor Hugi said Dr. Jamison had labeled Diane a deviant sociopath that Mr. why didn't steve downs get custody. Her character was also too much on the forefront. Three weeks after the crime, Judge Foote from family courts, removed Danny and Christie from the care of Diane Downs and her family. Not in this case. The proverbial expression It takes two to tango applies here. As for where he is now, we'll be honest, we're not completely sure. It does seem time has done worse to her. She felt fulfilled when she was pregnant because she believedit was the road to unconditional love. Except for Paul Cortez. Q. Diane Downs and Alice Crummins were considered sluts and cold-blooded women and were judged on their unusual character. Simply because I researched them. Have you actually read the transcript of the trial?? Moreover, he apparently told her that he did not want children and this statement alone would seal Dianes fate. She was the first to admit that at times, she was somewhat neglectful, impatient, yelled too much, and could have been a better mother, but she seemed to have turned the corner and was doing her best with the means at her disposal. They rarely are, especially in the US. As she walked away, Detective Welch called after her, If you dont testify against Steve, youre going to lose everything. Diane turned back to say, Show me proof, and walked away. Even Ann Rule in her book, keeps mentioning that they only had a few months to get Christie to talk, otherwise they could not keep her away from her mother any longer. The Parole Board had an obligation to parole Diane between 1998 and 2002 if she could provide reasonable cause to show she was not a danger to society. 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. (This is why Foote was assigned the case. To listen to Christies taped conversation, click below. If it was not such a high profile case, Diane Downs would have been paroled a long time ago, considering her good behavior and lack of priors. He has lived a life outside the public eye and hasnt ever come out to give interviews to the media about his ex-wife. Her case was too public and they are afraid of public backlash. Mr. I agree. What a terrible injustice. Back in Phoenix, Arizona, in Moon Valley High School, Steve Downs met Elizabeth Diane for the first time. It seems like Steve and Diane were meant to be together. What they did to her daughter is unconscionable. She waseighteen and soon realized that she had jumped from the fire into the frying pan. It surely was not due process. In case you did not read the blog: 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 deviant sociopath. Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. She had a more than competent attorney and a fair trial before a jury and NOT the same judge who handled the childrens matters. However, Steve later discovered that Danny wasn't his biological son and divorced his wife. Within a few weeks, a judge had placed the surviving kids, Christie and Danny, in protective custody. I will take a screen shot of the sketch. 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. The gun problem or the absence of blood and powder residues are not make believe. A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch. Saying that I seem to be doing what I accuse Ann Rule of doing is kind of ironic because the point of this blog is to try to stay away from innuendo and fantasies like unicorns and songs that might have been playing or not during a tragic murder. It was positive only on a small portion of her upper hand where she said the gun touched her when she wrestled with the attacker (a detail she had mentioned before they did the test). It opened a huge can of worms regarding the real identity of the heart full of lies in this case. danny also said a cartoon character shot themalso he was SHOT IN THE BACK how could he see the shooter????????? Her older two children have remained out of the public eye. Then feel free to correct the facts and to provide evidence to support them. She also underwent a gun residue test that same evening that revealed no trace of gun powder on her hands. The next morning Diane appeared in the courtroom with a police report written by Detective Pond a year earlier, in which Ms. Patterson was sure Diane had gone nowhere near the bathroom the night of the shooting (Appendix 62). There are documented cases of suicides where the person has no GNR, as well as murder cases. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. It is not, as the blogger frequently refers to, evidence. Knick never signed the premarital agreement and Diane never married him. Oh 1 more thing I see a lot of comments on pro Diane web sights that say well she drove them to the hospital. Right away, the police asked her to go back to the crime scene even thoughshe did not want to leave her children behind. Seriously. why didn't steve downs get custodylagu sekolah minggu bahasa inggris Opinion Fox News's blackout of Jan. 6 points to a hidden crisis for Democrats The not-so-shocking revelation that Fox News will not carry House committee hearings about the insurrection is yet another sign that right-wing media will go to extraordinary lengths to shield . She never hurt anyone in the process of escaping. Don't get butt hurt. This really makes me angry, that prosecuter and judge should be sued along with the writter. She then went through the State (Circuit) Court habeas corpus relief for four years to no avail. more on crime HEARTBREAKING FIND The Office star's sister-in-law found dead 11 days after going missing 'DISGUSTING' Regardless of the facts you point out, there is no doubt in my mind that Diane Downs is guilty. What man has ever publicly revered a former secret mistress? And her mental health should definitely have been a factor to release her with follow up care. (Yes, speculative). 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. All of it is explained in the blog you didnt bother reading. Would you know at what speed you are going if you were shot and driving with wounded children in the car? Transgender CeCe McDonald Out of Prison but Not Out of the Woods. It really doesnt matter that much of the trial and due process was faulty, because its so obvious that Diane is the one who did it and that justice was served. Foote refused 30 to 50 reports by detectives of sightings or leads about the shooter but admitted reports from people in Arizona willing to badmouth Diane. Its a fact. The implication was not only cruel, in the light of what Diane was suffering, it was also clear. After divorcing her wife, Diane Downs, in 1980, Steve was hardly part of their life. You wondered at times, which side he was working for. It is said that they didn't go to Steve because he wasn't a fit father or well equipped to take care of children who had gone through such a traumatic experience. You said that the absence of both prove she couldnt have been to shooter and you claim it takes real scrubbing to remove GSR. Many attribute the conviction of Downs to the arrival of author Ann Rule at Downs' trial. In one of them, he knew her name and in another one, she had answered a call and been told to meet someone. But why was the judge in family court hopping over to criminal court? So she warns her to stay away. She also told media she became pregnant without Steve's "permission." 4 Steve has never spoken publicly about his ex-wife, Diane Credit: AP Where is Steve now? What mother takes her kids out at night and then stops for a stranger with her kids in the car? Leaving out a lot of info that should be included and presenting a very one sided take on these things. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. Lets not take that lightly. She may be highly vulnerable to losing control of her emotions in emotionally charged situations, creating faulty judgment and ineffective and inappropriate behavior. But in the case of DD, there were a lot of elements missing. Except after the idea was subsequently planted in his head only to be alluded to in court, in spite of an agreement to never mention the subject. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. This coercion came to Dianes attention in January 1989 (Appendix 39). Page 41 of case history. We dont know what the Hugi family was doing during this time, probably seeing the kids regularly and getting licensed and approved to take the kids home with them. If you listen to the recording, Christie clearly says I dont know who did it. She was asleep, thats why. The american system often reminds me of what Charles Dickens talked about in his novels. Some of your facts arent facts at all. He hired Jim Jagger on the 1st of June 1983, 11 days after the shooting. The guy should have walked away from the case or from adopting them. This case certainly had its share of circumstantial evidence. Just my opinion. Yes, I usually answer the emails I get about the blogs. There is also a recording where she says that she had no idea who shot them. Ive done my research. Dianes parents had high hopes for her future, a future that didnt involve Steve, so they disapproved of their relationship. Why? There is also a critical shortage of Foster Carers internationally, so that the Hugis offered to take the children in could be viewed as altruistic. 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. I say these things if I were on the jury. CK allowed DD to drive away despite the fact she could identify him and he had a gun? They now throw people in prison in the US for debts. If thats what you want then dont pretend its anything but. Evidence or not, they were going to do their best to put her away for life. Clickhere to read about faulty ballistics.. For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. This blogger thinks that if you had bothered reading the blogs that you just mentioned, you would know that I do not call anyone innocent. Are you looking for more information about Ryan Eggold? The fact that there was a rush to judgment, an investigation targeting only one result and a media coverage often presenting lies is very bothersome. The fact that the DA adopted the children, since it was after the trial, is more of a gray area. The rest of the family? In fact, with her continuing to deny committing the crime or expressing remorse, she may never get out. Brewer freely declared that Diane Downs would never have been convicted except that he believed the lie Jim Jagger permitted Fred Hugi to enter into the record. It is possible that he still resides in Arizona, but exactly where he is or what he does, we dont know. Therefore, those jagged bones were floating in a cloth wrap, merely resting in a cloth sling. And it is not like these two were white as snow. Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. It probably was not salacious enough for her readers that she polled online to establish if there was enough interest in the story to fill her pockets with a definite blockbuster. She was the prosecutions only hope. Diane didnt ask Knick to leave his wife. All the reports and even the warden thought she was not a threat anymore. She knew that Knickerbocker hated trouble of any kind, and thathe would have never come back to her after an ugly shooting where she had been wounded and her kids damaged. You seem to believe everyone is innocent. Nice to see this blog is still active in 2017, being a lot of groupsmessage boards and such, on subjects like this has no activity for years. According to your own experience Lori, dont they try to give grandparents custody or at least access in cases comparable to this one? Jen Taylor . But the guy who said to several people that he was the shooter happens to resemble the sketch they came up with at the time for a reason. Why arent you debating the faulty ballistics, and the fact that the gun they affirmed was used in the commission of the crime was not the right one? By the way, this not a Diane Downs is innocent blog. It is a lets examine the facts of the case with hindsight and try to explain some of the inconsistencies and the role of the media and crime writers. And lets wonder why the US think that letting people die in prison is the answer when most civilized countries have reached other conclusions. The incident left Cheryl dead, Danny paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie suffering from a stroke that affected her speech. This website supports restorative justice, so of course it leans towards sentences that are not life without parole if it is supported by a warden and mental health specialists. She (Diane) managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. Nevertheless, what was done seemed out of our hands and we could have no contact with them at all. Its more boring to tell the truth and the readers might not have flocked to read a fair story without no real heroes and villains. Diane asked for proof that her ex husband was behind the shooting. But Diane was not the one dragging Knick out of Charlenes bed every morning intent on making or breaking his relationship with another woman. 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. RAISING THE BAR BUT CERTAINLY NOT IN ARIZONA, http://www.glamour.com/story/i-found-out-my-mother-was-a-killer-the-rebecca-babcock-story, http://www.manipulatedtrial.de/oregon_s_small_sacrifices_1603.pdf, http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july152013/midnight-med-tb-2.php, http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n364/a03.html, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080910_Prison-happy_U_S__must_reconsider_use_of_mercy.html, http://sputniknews.com/us/20150620/1023613662.html#ixzz3djEXlSAC, http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_prison_state_of_america_20141228, https://www.google.com/search?q=diane+downs+with+christie+cheryl+and+danny&sxsrf=ACYBGNQDEM3XNQjZXlqNQpYLhZCn7ic5iw:1576689995166&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNuNT427_mAhUcJTQIHbveBMIQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1024&bih=462#imgrc=gQkU10UxNhHn_M, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPLkIcSzftE&ab_channel=DianeDownsArchives, Say Her Name But Spell It Right The Tale of Breonna Taylor, And Justice For All The Watts Family Murders, Babe in the Woods & Big Country The Murder of Nicole Vanderheyden, Colonel Russell Williams Where Have You Been? They would have tried to reopen the case. Forensics or lack thereof and blood splatter? Then ask yourself if thats how you want your son to grow up. Found the internet! In addition, the children were suffering life-changing physical and mental trauma, which would take years to heal. On May 19, 1983, Diane and her kids visited a friend to look at her new horse, and then went for a drive; not at all unusual for this family not living according to middle class rules. All Rights Reserved. Gosh Donna, you really dont have a clue. I agree that the verdict may have been very different. It should be illegal to use real names and facts from a criminal case while influencing the publicto falselybelieve that the whole content of the filmis true. What was the rationale behind this? However, Elizabeth was expelled from the religious institution as she didn't conform to the school's strong religious values. This was the prosecution and conviction of (Elizabeth) Diane Downs who has now been incarcerated for too many years in one of Californias (overcrowded) State prisons. You hit the nail on the head by stating that in the US especially, they seem to shun complex ethical problems preferring to deal with absolute evil in order to exert absolute power to crush it. It has become entertainment and there can only be good, bad and evil. In a perfect world this would always be the case. I hope she is granted parole. You need to have your own voice," she said. As soon as Diane was found guilty, Hugi demanded that Diane be evaluated by a psychiatrist before sentencing so they could declare her a dangerous offender and give her a stiffer sentence. She was also shot twice andifshe had been sitting up, the seats would have been covered with blood spatter as well as the shooter. So, what is Steve's story? Needless to say, you seem to have a problem with the American justice systemnot each individual case. Women who were somewhat normal begore, get pregnant, have the baby, then drown it a toilet, kill or beat the the baby in the first year..shaking or other means..its less often then notbut better believe these type of cases are reported constantly now on social media. It sounds pretty fair to me. I might not have put enough information to your liking, but I stuck to what came out at trial and not the fantasy factory coming from the state, the media and Rule. What I believe doesnt matter at all. Shes where she belongs. What I explain in the blog is that the fact that Foote is the one who removed the children from Dianes care is exactly why he should NOT have been presiding over her murder trial. This blogger apparently believes anything she hears to support her inaccurate theory that Diane Downs was falsely accused and convicted. We dont know. Yes, like many Americans, I think that the US system is barbaric. Tuko.co.ke featured an interesting article about the actor that has been in the industry for more than 13 years, starring in various great productions. Considering that the daughter she murdered will never get a second chance, it will never be long enough unless its for her entire life. Her daughter told the media she watched Small Sacrifices several times.
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