Learn about Christi (Hugi), Stephen (Danny), and Becky today. In 1983, Diane Downs three children were brought to an Oregon hospital with gunshot wounds. But what happened to her kids, Christie Ann and Stephen "Danny" Daniel? In the frantic scene, hospital employees quickly determined that Cheryl was already dead and that Christie and Danny were clinging to life. That girl was later renamed Rebecca "Becky" Babcock.[6]. On a May night in 1983, the young, divorced letter carrier drove up to the emergency room of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital. Heavy is withholding that last name and the photos to protect her privacy. It was mainly about my biological mom. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. As an adult, Rebecca (Becky) appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show[18] and ABC's 20/20,[19] where she discussed how she felt about her biological mother. Via an email sent through her brother, James Frederickson, Downs told OregonLive, Every time the World News shows the big red circles on the national map, I look at Oregon because thats where Christie and Daniel are Compared to other States, it appears Oregons red circle is smaller than most places. "She saw the kids as a burden, they were in the way and he wasn't going to join her as long as she had the kids," Welch said. What happened to Diane Downs' children? [1], Elizabeth Diane Downs was born on August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona, to Wesley Linden (19302017) and Willadene (Engle) Frederickson. "She was white, she was not breathing. Under Oregon law at the time, as a dangerous offender, Downs would have been eligible for a parole hearing every two years until she is released or dies in prison. I was searching for that blood tie., I never had questions about my biological dad, Babcock continues. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs and her three children were shot on a rural road in Oregon. That's insane to think that I would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself -- that's crazy.". 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. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. Thirty-five years ago, Diane Downs, now 64, was convicted of shooting her three children- Danny, Cheryl, and Christie- in Springfield, Oregon. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. 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. Downs claimed that during this drive home, around 10 pm she saw a strange man standing in the road flagging her down. At one point, she communicated with Downs through letters, but those eventually stopped when Babcock asked Downs to stop contacting her. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Diane didn't show much grievance for her murdered daughter and her two children that were in critical conditions. She's the biggest threat to him, not three sleeping children.". Two of the kids survived the shooting with life altering injuries, and one of the children died. He responded to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and immediately interviewed Downs, a postal worker. Did I make a mistake? View our online Press Pack. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute for Woman in Clinton, N.J., March 12, 1989. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. The . I was nervous. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. Unlike her siblings, Becky Babcock has been very public about her mother, granting interviews over the years. 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. He and his wife, Joanne, adopted them in 1986. Late one May night in 1983, Diane Downs sped into an emergency room dropoff in Springfield, Ore., with a horrifying story to tell. Whether it tugs at your heartstrings or angers you to the core, these stories could have happened years ago, and they still take up space in your memories. I still worry about them and love them, though theyll never know it.. In court, according to Glamour, prosecutors argued that Downs motive to get rid of her children stemmed from the fact that her boyfriend at the time did not want kids. All the kids were asleep as it was past 9 o'clock pm and her children were fairly young. 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,. "Why would I have taken my kids to the hospital?" She said she had not seen a male stranger that night. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. Prosecutors think that Diane had sparked up a relationship with a married man who didnt want kids and that this became the motive for murder. Rebecca wrote to Downs in her younger years, and has stated that she regrets the contact, regarding her mother as a monster.[20] [21]. After being recaptured, she was transferred to a more secure facility. She shot her three children but claimed that she was carjacked and that her children were shot by a stranger. After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous behavior and returned to her parents' home in Arizona. When she got out to talk to this man, he immediately demanded that she give him her car keys, Downs claimed she refused and they got into a physical altercation that resulted in him shooting her in the left arm. "There were a number of things which didn't make sense, even that first night," Welch said. When Wilhite went to go update Downs on her daughters condition, he said he was surprised by her reaction. "The more she talked, the more things didn't make any sense.". In May of that year, the trial against Downs began with yet another inconceivable twist. A mother was driving one night down a rural road in Oregon when her three children, who were asleep in the car, were shot at point-blank range by a stranger in the dark. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. [30][31][1] Downs maintained her innocence in all parole hearings. "And it grew dark and upon their return home she decided to -- to do some sightseeing. When I hear about three children being shot, I thought, How am I going take care of three people? Because I wasn't afraid of what I needed to do. I was afraid of how am I going to handle all this? he added. But there were a number of things which didn't make any sense., Why would a mother sightsee when it's dark out? Downs' launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. Danielle Peterson/Statesman Journal via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. After Diane was convicted, the two living children were adopted by the prosecutor in the case and his wife, and it was Christie who ultimately pointed to her mother being responsible for the shooting. For ten days, Downs managed to evade law enforcementdespite a fourteen-state manhuntbefore she was recaptured. Diane Downs now: Her most recent prison photo from 2018. Diane Downs always wanted to be a mom, she told Inside Edition in its first-ever episode in 1989. He worked quickly and eventually was able to revive Christie. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute . California author Diane Burroughs studied writing and television production at Columbia College and is a writer and producer for sitcoms for television - Married.with Children, Murphy Brown, Martin, The Drew Carey Show, Yes, Dear, and Still Standing - a blogger at Left at 50, and a standup comedienne. Atty. According toHeavy, crime author Ann Rule said: "Crime author Ann Rule wrote on her website: "Christie and Danny who somehow survived their gunshot wounds have no contact with Diane. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? Heres what you need to know about where Diane Downs children are now: Shes been called evil and the devil. A mother of three, in love with a married man, who did the unthinkable. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis., Both individuals chose to live a life away from the spotlight- they didnt want prying eyes to remind them of the horrors of their past and to haunt them more than it already did. She remembers Downs' demeanor in her interviews as peculiar. A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. "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.". 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 . Her older two children have remained out of the public eye. Here's what we know. Downs said: "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much. Wilhite immediately jumped back into his car and raced to McKenzie-Williamette Medical Center as fast as he could. Despite being convicted, Downs has always maintained her innocence. Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974). Her pupils were dilated. . You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. 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. In 1983, Diane Downs said stranger shot her 3 kids. From Arizona to Oregon, the family had moved just shortly before the incident for Dianes job in the U.S. postal service. Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. Dr. Steven Wilhite had just walked into his house after a long day working at a Springfield, Oregon, hospital when his beeper went off. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. And why are the kids fatally or near-fatally wounded, and she, being right-handed, is shot in the left arm? 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 prevented her from telling police what she had seen. They have both graduated from college. 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. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. Babcocks exclusive interview airs on 20/20 on Friday, March 22 (9:00 11:00 p.m. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. "She was white, she was not breathing. I've never been so hyped in my life.. The couple divorced in 1980 over. [2] She has testified that her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old. But suspicions of Downs herself quickly began to surface. pic.twitter.com/HWkkwT86pF. We found that Diane Downs was emotionally flat. In 1987, just three years into her sentence, Downs escaped from the correctional facility in Oregon where she was being held. [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? [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. In 1984, Diane Downs was convicted of shooting her three children, 3-year-old Danny, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 8-year-old Christie. I mean, she is so close to death, it's unbelievable.. Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. Thirty-five years ago, Diane Downs, now 64, was convicted of shooting her three children Danny, Cheryl, and Christie in Springfield, Oregon. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. But as . 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.. While police increasingly suspected Downs, she adamantly denied any involvement when speaking to the media. I mean, she is so close to death, its unbelievable.. And as she drove down the road, a man stepped out from the brush, the side of the road, and she stopped the car. A 27-year-old divorced postal service worker, Downs claimed a bushy-haired stranger had shot them and maintains her innocence to this day. Christie and Danny were adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. Our MPs are worse than the Italians - it's so bad I want John Major back, Inside life of Bitcoin trader suspected of faking own death as widow says she tried to kill herself after dream imploded, The Queen knows us. She took a detour off of Marcola Road onto Old Mohawk Road to do some sightseeing., By this time it was dark, and the kids were sleeping. But Im on track and Im really happy with the way life is.. Although police had found spent .22 caliber bullet casings at the crime scene, an exhaustive search of the area did not turn up the murder weapon. "You cant replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. 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. [2] Despite her parents' disapproval of their relationship, Downs continued the relationship. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence. Today, 35-year-old Babcock works as a behavioral health coordinator for children in Salem, Oregon. A jury subsequently convicted Downs on all counts, and she was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, according to Glamour. 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Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY, March 22 at 9 p.m. And the kids-- one is fatally shot and the other two are seriously injured., Welch said there were a lot of problems with her story and by the end of the interview, we knew that she had been lying'.. "Why would I have taken my kids to the hospital?" We just ignored it, Wilhite said. She went to the University of Oregon and now lives with her husband and children in the town. Within a few weeks, the kids who had survived were placed in protective custody and were no longer in Steve's care. [15] Christie Downs, Diane Downs' first child who testified at her trial, suffers from a speech disability. Elizabeth Diane Downs talks about her conviction for killing her 7 year old daughter and wounding two of her other children in Springfield, Ore., during an interview at the Correctional Institute for Woman in Clinton, N.J., March 12, 1989. The girl was later renamed Becky Babcock. She tells ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. After her recapture, Downs was transferred to the New Jersey Department of Corrections Clinton Correctional Facility for Women after heavy lobbying from Hugi. And his response was, 'I want your car.' 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. Diane Downs attempts to murder her three young children, eight-year-old Christie, seven-year-old Cheryl, and three-year-old Danny, by faking a carjacking. 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). Her Facebook photos showcase a loving family living a normal life. By the time Wilhite arrived, Downs had driven her blood-soaked car to the emergency room. What did she look like? Wilhite said he then found a judge who issued an order making him and another doctor Christies guardians. Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, with Stephen Daniel being born in 1979. Knickerbocker also reported to police that Downs had stalked him, and seemed willing to kill his wife if it meant that she could have him to herself; he stated that he was relieved that she had left for Oregon, and that he was able to reconcile with his wife. While Danny and Christie survived, Cheryl, the middle child, was killed in the attack. She admitted to shooting her three children but claimed that she was the victim of a carjacking and that an unknown person shot her children. Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. And Christie's mother, Diane, could-- say whatever she wanted. They told of her obsession with a married man who didn't want her kids around. 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