and so on. And according to the law, she should have been released by now, independently of what she says or not. This unhealthy marriage survived and became a daily struggle. 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. A. I dont recall telling her to get an apartment. You indicated you were not going to get a divorce? Dianes brother, James, sat in court one day andnoticed Foote looking at Hugi before ruling on an objection. It was pitch black outside. But the birth of little Danny did not make this bad boy change his stripes; he remained a cad and a destabilizing force in their lives. No conflict of interest there? What?? Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. Even put in different hospitals. LMFAO!!!! But for what it is worth, I believe she tried to kill her 3 kids. She is supposed to be locked up for murder, etc. Five doctors have observed and documented this phenomenon. I talked about her still being locked up, all these years later, because I really want to know is it because we believe she will commit more crimes or is it because we need more revenge? Yes, Christie said she did not know who did it. The judge who took away her children presided over her criminal trial. 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). ?.the fact you are ignoring something SO OBVIOUS is a red flag. Downs was constantly provoked by inmates because of the nature of her situation, and she never once attacked or defended herself in a violent manner. I am not saying she is innocent. Her family members were quite capable of taking care of the children. It was writtenrepeatedly in the daily notes that the children were happy to see their mom and asked for her. And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. It was demonstrated at trial that the shooter shot the kids at close range. But the Parole Board refused to hear her. No one bothered with these details so I did. Would you know at what speed you are going if you were shot and driving with wounded children in the car? Being a patient of the doctor who saved the childrens lives has nothing to do with the facts of a case. (I know that wasnt brought up this time but it usually is.) Basically, I dont believe the site owner has produced enough proof of anything. I think that she has done enough time and should be released. 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. 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. By the way, Dianes parents mourn the loss of their grandchildren to this day. Diane followed the detectives to their car. I am just curious. Not in this case. Litigating at the Supreme Court in . Her 7 yr old daughter was already dead, her other 2 children were in critical condition. Two wrongs do not make a right but illustrates that she should have never been coerced before, during or after the trial. 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. Back to DD, I think she suffered some kind of mental breakdown, her account of the facts was never reliable, all the case appears murky, which points to an incompetent handling of the situation by the police and justice system. The whole case is crazy. Christie was it though. I encourage you to read all the facts before being so sure that she was guilty or that she acted alone. Diane needs some serious spiritual advancement and atonement before she ever will have or deserve peace. Foote then handled the juvenile docket and first encountered Downs when he ordered her two surviving children into state protective custody. 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. I still dont buy her story. And Ann Rule said that the unicorn that was omnipresent in court was part of the premeditation. When you hear her in interviews she sounds more concerned with herself than her kids. I watched the highlights of her hearing. But my beef is with the interference by the media, TV shows and Ann Rule. Fair question. The DA that put away their mom is not an appropriate placement choice. At the time, among 49 prisoners denied parole, the board had given only four inmates, including Downs, a 10-year wait. The whole family were co-conspirators and involved in the crime? Click here to read the complaint. I found your blog to be very well written, informative and interesting. My opinion of why Mr. Hugi adopted Christie and Danny was to seal their lips. Police witness reports of strangers and confessions were suppressed or not pursued. She was no mother of the year and in the car when the kids got shot. This same witness corroborated that Diane did not stop to do something suspicious or dispose of the gun. It was kind of interesting to hear Mossimo Giannullis lawyer pleading to have his client sent home or put in general population because his mental health suffered drastically in solitary confinement because of covid after 56 consecutive days in solitary. If appropriate family members could not be found to take placement of the children then family friends are the next step. All the reports and even the warden thought she was not a threat anymore. Rule sued the Seattle Weekly after they published the article titled Ann Rules Sloppy Storytelling, but she lost and had to make restitution. Therefore, those jagged bones were floating in a cloth wrap, merely resting in a cloth sling. She always seems to have not a very close contact with reality. Like in their movies. When analysing this blog, look at three statements from the blogger: Diane Downs and Alice Crummins were considered sluts Its a dangerous proposition when a lack of due process becomes acceptable because they know she is guilty. Diane now had the title of dangerous offender. Dianes story does not contradict that. That is not a quick process and is very invasive to a familys privacy. How asinine. 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. Sheriffs Deputy Roy Pond admitted in court that he had already concluded that Diane was guilty and stopped following leads on the orders of his sergeantthree weeks after the shooting. 1st, you came back from a trip? He has lived a life outside the public eye and hasn't ever come out to give interviews to the media about his ex-wife. It should be removed from the blog. Not optional, kids should not be in limbo that long, but it happens all the time. BUT like you rightly explain, there was no real evidence of her guilt. 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. In Rules book, Diane is portrayed as a horrible selfish mother but her family and friends saw another version; she lovedher childrendearly and worked hard to be a good provider. On May 19, 1983, Elizabeth Diane Downs and her three small children were shot on a country road near Springfield, Oregon. The most recent tape of her daughter is not admissible because it is never allowed to bring out tapes that were obtained this way. Steve Bannon won't be detained before trial on charges of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating January 6. If you have an opinion on drugging a child to make her talk, a judge presiding over a criminal case when he was in family court and removed the children from the defendants or the forensics, ballistic, etc. She is a monster and belongs in prison for the rest of her life. The fact that she was driving five miles per hour to the hospital says it all as a mother myself, I dont care how hurt or mentally damaged I was, I would drive that car 100 MPH to get my children to safety. Ive been to London to Fly the Queen ~ and Back to Collect Artifacts, Haleigh Cummings Was Once Lost but Now She Is Found, Meet Rene Acoby: In-House Female Dangerous Offender, Kelli Stapleton- A Mothers Wuthering Woes. But due to a law enacted in Oregon after she first became eligible for parole, she can now only apply every 10 years. I agree. This is an extremely tragic case and her children at the very least deserve justice. 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. This whole case is flawed. 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. I just read your opinion on the Pamela Smart case and the Scott Peterson case. Evidence from a ballistics expert. Robert and Diane even decided toget matching rose tattoos, but as soon as the ink on her tattoo was dry, he refused to get his done. You are wondering about the question why didn't steve downs get custody but currently there is no answer, so let kienthuctudonghoa.com summarize and list the top articles with the question. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History One of the jurors finally declared we started as a group and finished as a group., He also said we dont want to put pressure on the group, we dont want to end up bickering. Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. Not speculative? Diane Downs was convicted because she didn't appear "sorry enough" during her TV appearances. It was the story of Diane Downs. Wow. After asking her to have an affair, he kept vacillating between his wife and her. How about dads side of the family? Due process always matters. ..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. Wasnt it speculative on their part? Lockdowns in . As usual, Diane had resorted to the soothing comfort of a pregnancy to pretend life would get better; she would create a nest around her, come hell or high water. In fact, what investigator Tracy had written in his notes is that the heart monitor jumped because of excitement or intense fear. There is so much to say about this blog I wouldnt know where to start. They hardly investigated any other lead after a couple of weeks. Hi Nanette, it is not a matter of being gullible. I also found it interesting that when he had visited Diane in prison, he had remarked a strange air about her; which did not mean guilt. I like to believe the best about people too but there are certain things that absolutely cant be ignored. But you dont mention that she again has changed her story. They were in a difficult situation becausewithout evidence, they could notcharge her for the crime. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as Small Sacrifices. And to try not to bash Dianes Downs character and stick to evidence instead. Diane ran away from her husband many times between 1976 and 1977, but with nowhere to go except her parents house, she would come back. In the nurses notes, she is described as in shock and unable to grasp the situation. The old toilet block which could be replaced by a cafe (Image: Adam Postans) A new caf planned for the Downs in Bristol would likely be blocked by a 160-year-old Victorian law . He strung her along, played with both womens emotions, and after saying he would join her in Oregon, reneged and stayed with his wife. He didn't indicate whether Downs would appeal. Dianes father tried to hire Melvin Belli, but the judge refused to give him some time to prepare and come back to the US. The blog I read is all about the improprieties and flat out misconduct in Dianes trial (and the way Ann Rule profited off of it with fiction). . There are many cases where investigators jump to conclusions either because in their gut they think they know or pressure to make an arrestand i guess with all the attention this case got they gave their gut and the public what they wanted. Below this letter see links to Salem-News.com articles about the questionable conviction of Diane Downs. Moreover, he apparently told her that he did not want children and this statement alone would seal Dianes fate. had to wait for Christie to be able to tell them who did it. But I am more than willing to review any new info. And if you add the fact that they never found the gun, it doesnt leave much evidenceto back upthe theory that she was the shooter. She felt fulfilled when she was pregnant because she believedit was the road to unconditional love. The diagnosis of the psychiatrist for the state is also clearly documented. This happened in 1983, not 1893. I have worked in Child Protection for over 20 years and have extensive experience in this field domestically and internationally. The only reason they kept her in prison even if she had all the right documentation and support, is because she is high profile. Steve Downs had allegedly stolen this gun from a friend named Billy Proctor, but after it was found and the ballistics did not match, Bill suddenly remembered keeping it only for a day before exchanging it for another Ruger automatic at a gun show in Mesa; which now meant that the gun that Diane allegedly used to shoot herself and the children, was still apparently nowhere to be found. They said she was going slow but the time at which she arrived seems to indicate otherwise. Is it just to continue to punish her so long after she is obviously no longer a danger in any way to anyone? Years later, seven witnesses signed affidavits telling of a man named Jim Haynes continuing confessionthat he wasthe shooter, and his appearance boresimilarities to the sketch. The roller coaster ride had nothing to do with Diane s children and Diane knew it. It is a research done on the case according to many sources. Dianes automobile was secured and examined and no gun was found. We will never know what really happened because the authorities acted too hastily and the media was a huge hindrance. Great question. My opposition to movies about true crime stories is unshakable. Fred Hugi looks nothing like Jim Jagger. They never tried to reunite them with family. 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. Its as if they cant control it. 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. Diane was just 18 years old but determined to get married. Pros. Not our place to decide. But I think that in all fairness, many of them dont even know the details of the case and have watched Small Sacrifices instead. They dont need to be adopted and have their entire identity changed. Do you REALLY believe she expected them to live especially since she drove at less than 10 mph. And with hindsight, the fact that this young mother had a personality disorder probably brought a lot of drama to the mix. It was not unlike brainwashing. They now throw people in prison in the US for debts. She had not fired a gun. She had the right to a fair trial as much as anyone else out there. That doesnt make it true. You say she made more of a fuss about her arm than about the injuries her children sustained. 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. I lived through the media coverage. I go through every new finding and I point out what was done at trial that did not respect due process. Diane found a full-time job with the U.S. Post Office in 1981, and was stationed in Chandler. Christie was only eight, had suffered gunshot wounds and was in shock. Master Chief actor Pablo Schreiber has said he won't do an impression on the Halo TV show, suggesting he won't try to . Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. She could have stayed on the side of the road. She should have had the lawyer of her choice and if they wanted to charge her with the crimes, they should have stuck with what evidence and circumstances they had. tell someone else. 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