Diane found a full-time job with the U.S. Post Office in 1981, and was stationed in Chandler. Dianes daughter started saying that she did not know who shot them right when she got adopted. There was no blood on the front seats so Cheryl was laying down and Christie was asleep laying down and never witnessed anything. If personal diaries were to be believed, half of the population would be in great jeopardy. Not right at all. Her family members were quite capable of taking care of the children. 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. In fact, I am surprised that people are not flabbergasted by the way this case was handled and tried and that what bothers them most is that I try to discuss it in a blog and dare defending this woman. Either way he could NOT have seen who shot him unless he has eyes in the back of his head. I dont know how familiar she was with the area, but I do not think that it matters anyway. why didn't steve downs get custody. Not giving you free reign here. Diane was 18 years old at the time and had run away from home to get married. The best policy for Diane Downs would have been to remain silent, but she fought back and smiled at the wrong time and according to them, enjoyed the attention. But her behavior became the most important factor in the investigation that followed. Agreed. This case needed to be examined more thoroughly, but the mob mentality didnt allow it. They finally charged her and she did 10 years for the death of her children. Instead, they treated the Downs with great cruelty long after their daughter was incarcerated and they fought hard for them. The guy should have walked away from the case or from adopting them. Just my opinion. ..a little over year before the shooting had a surrogate babypregnancy and giving the baby awayumits donnoits the gal already had a fragile mentality.may not have been the best idea. 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. Instead of talking about her being locked up for so long, answer some very legitimate questions regarding this case. He needed, now more than ever, to vacate the area asap. Cheryl was shot twice in the back and one of the bullets ended up on the floorboard. But why was the judge in family court hopping over to criminal court? One of them named Angel, called 15-year-old Christie on the phone. It means you dont orphan the kids. And according to the law, she should have been released by now, independently of what she says or not. Im from Australia and have recollections of this case. 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. The reason she is likely locked up is because she was diagnosed with narcissistic, histrionic and anti social personality disorder, that makes her a very dangerous person (especially since she is a murderer). It isnt there all the time. Evidence from a ballistics expert. 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. Did u learn nothing?? Its a rather large part of the story. why didn't steve downs get custody. It would not benefit you, my children, or society for me to perpetuate that lie. It does not get any bigger than this. All the years in prison probably made her way more disturbed than she ever was. I point out some obvious facts and discrepancies, and that due process was shoved aside because the state and the media presented a guilty image right from the start. Unfortunately, he hasn't been as outspoken as people expected, considering the gruesome details of the crime committed by her ex-wife. No OTHER reason. Guilty or not, we should know better than to use the justice system as a psychic tool when theres not enough evidence. They checked her nails to see if she could have buried the gun and they were clean. There is her story, the prosecution case and the defense arguments. 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. I am not saying that Diane was a saint or Ann Rule a demon. she flat out says, they are saying Duran Duran made her shoot her kids!..Im like HUHOkay now this is my favorite groupstill is at 44yrs old.I had to investigate this. And if he really was attached to them and wanted to offer them a permanent home, it means he was unfit to be the prosecutor in this case. John Kitzhaber, Governor of Oregon 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. What about the judge stopping a defendant from getting a new attorney? Fitness fanatic, 27, broke her spine lifting weights but didn't realise until she woke up the next morning unable to move - and why her terrifying injury should be a warning to all gym-goers 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. That she had no blood or gun powder anywhere when she allegedly shot at close range? You do not debate the content of the blog which you probably did not read anyway. Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial: speculation Considering the circumstances, it is difficult not to be a bit cynical about this grand gesture: relevance? Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy. I do have to take issue with this article about Diane Downs. But I am realistic. Justice is all that is left. 5. May be the guy who says he did it. This unhealthy marriage survived and became a daily struggle. If not, why not? 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. Why does the blogger not clarify this? Thank you Lise. Since he was in possession of a similar gun, he was a suspect as well, but, when the ballistics did not match, Diane Downs quickly became the prime suspect. CK allowed DD to drive away despite the fact she could identify him and he had a gun? The way Christie was coached did not correspond to the reality of the direct evidence. 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. The last time I checked, it is my website and if you find it tiresome, no one is inviting you to stay or read the content; which you evidently did not read anyway. 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. But if you compare the time she was seen by the witness to the timing of her arrival at the hospital, it seems to indicate she went pretty fast, butnone of it was explained ordemonstrated properly. Here's everything you need to know. WTF? 1st, you came back from a trip? I actually do not know what really happened. She attacked her husband and ripped his neck open in a jealous rage (Appendix 81, page 1520), tearing from his neck the gold chain he still wore from his first marriage (a gift from his first wife). But due to a law enacted in Oregon after she first became eligible for parole, she can now only apply every 10 years. It was far fetched, unfoundedand convenientlyrelayedby Rule to boost the sales of her book. A. Diane was diagnosed as being bipolar and subsequently diagnosed by a psychiatrist before sentencing. 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. time it was the situation was down. A fact strongly denied by Diane and by the nurses reports. Her 7 yr old daughter was already dead, her other 2 children were in critical condition. View theaffidavits. Q. What matters to me is that her rights were trampled during her trial. This is Budhu's story, as told to Kelly Burch . Do you remember a couple of days after that, December did he have eyes in the back of his head.???? Too bad it triggered you, maybe try to stay away from sites that might not go along with the mob mentality and usual media narrative. So yes I think she did it, I think ration left her a long before she did itI think post pardum played in this, I think, she was scattered all over the map.againjust hearing it in her own words. Yes, dad relinquished his rights but he knew that they loved their grandparents and had allowed Diane to take them for a visit without telling the authorities. This case certainly had its share of circumstantial evidence. I think it would give the blog more integrity and transparency. In fact, watching that was the first time I heard her voice and saw her presence, it was a year or so later that old interviews showed up on YouTube. Yes, but it is a fact that she was starting to say that she did not know who shot them when it happened. That is not a quick process and is very invasive to a familys privacy. The man you have listed as Fred Hugi is actually Dianes attorney Jim Jagger. The prosecutor and his wife adopted both children that survived and although the boy is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, they trived with their new parents. Even if I have no doubt that Hugi loved the kids, we have to wonder why he adopted them two years later just when little Christie started saying she had no clue who shot them. Diane then replied, so, put her back on the stand and make her tell the truth. He said he would when it was his turn, but never did. The bitches own daughter identified Downs as the shooter. But without proof, Diane couldnt implicate Steve Downs any more than she could shoot him as he violated a restraining order threatening to beat her AGAIN. 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. Our laws are not written that way. I read the letter they sent to the Downs when they were fighting to see their grandchildren. And being the mother of three only served to propel Diane in a more manic state. What would have been the conclusion to have drawn without this hate campaign? It was never a slam dunk. Devoting ur life to taking down a dead author is a waste of ur talents. That is the reason effective trial counsel challenges the competency of a nine-year-old child to testify in a court of law. After the trial that convicted Diane Downs, Fred Hugi, the Prosecutor adopted Christie and Danny (they were in foster care for 2 years before he decided to adopt them), the two surviving children. I care about the experts reports written about Diane because they know her situation and mental state. She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. They lied about the ballistics. They claimed to have found two lead cartridges in Dianes rifle at home that supposedly matched the ones used during the crime. They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business: argumentative She did it.