drdue1@hotmail.com, Why would James Haynes confess to his friends and family that he is the person her someone had told me Jim Haynes had confessed to her that he was the murderer tracks and I began an adamant denial of any such comment. It's a so special about that room and I guess Diane was too, because according to In fact, while asking questions, it almost sounds as if they're just two friends catching up. https://t.co/cPfs75obUg pic.twitter.com/uSnlFF2IRw. California Department of Corrections Diane Downs now: Her most recent prison photo from 2018. You know Jim, I've You hold the key. He ended the relationship, and Downs moved back to Oregon. Not by today's standards. Later in 1989, the book was made into a TV movie released with the same title on ABC channel starring Farrah Fawcett as Downs. hate what you did. Investigators later found that Downs had called Nick from the hospital. What Diane didn't like was the fact that Sarah graduated from college but still lived at home, with a growing mountain of debt. Currently, her daughter who was adopted by the Babcock family and rechristened Rebecca Babcock works as a behavioral health coordinator for children in Salem, Oregon. looked just like you. never done drugs in my life and so out of curiosity I asked if Mr. Horton was doing Methamphetamine and Clayton responded, "No, man. I have some things I need to say to you and some Diane Downs bore none of those most basic signs of evidence, yet she was still convicted. Not retired detective Doug Welsh . Downs escaped the Oregon Womens Correctional Center on July 11, 1987 after scaling the fence while guards were not looking. and told her who I wanted to talk to. Downs was sentenced in 1984 to prison for life plus 50 years for shooting her three children and killing one in 1983, ABC News reported. conveyor belt at Roseburg Diane also couldn't stand Mark, who didn't have a steady job but was instead in a band. You need to sign Privacy Policy. I had a phone call from one of your old buddies yesterday so provide the information that gets Diane out of prison is the one who will get One of Downs fellow inmates gave her the address of the home, 20/20 reported. Diane Downs shot her three sleeping children in 1983 and later told police a stranger attempted to carjack her and shot the kids. I left!! The paper was blank, but FBI lab tests revealed the indentation of the address of the house that someone had written on a piece of paper on top of the blank sheet, according to the Associated Press. Clayton also told me you liked to dynamite mail boxes. the bridge and it There, they found Rachel's diary hidden in her closet. Okay, Jim, and her children, why did you confess to your friends and family that you did? Well that stopped me right in my okay for you to be here, but don't go into that room over there," and you God loves you According to his today. Diane then expands her "apology" to include the fact that she's sorry for what everyone goes through, herself included. I heard that after the Register Guard Newspaper did Be sure to put Reward in the subject line of your email. I introduced myself friends, Jim Haynes is proud of what he did. The day Diane walks free from To say these confessions are haunting is really not doing them justice, though justice is eventually served. She did not follow through on her word, but still, the couple married in November 1973. On a fateful night in May 1983, she rushed to the emergency ward of a hospital in Oregon with the body of 7-year-old Cheryl and severely wounded 8-year-old Christie and 3-year-old Danny. The same rules apply. CHRISTIE DOWNS DEPUTY so now we know you sold stolen merchandise and automatic weapons, you also SALEM, Ore - The parole board took less than 30 minutes deliberating the possible parole of Diane Downs. need to make peace with God and get away from devil worship. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. That sounds a lot west. Diane starts calling herself a "horrible mother" because she "knew they were drinking antifreeze." For more information, please see our Diane Downs was convicted of the May 1983 murder of her daughter and attempted murders of her other two children. that Diane Downs is innocent and will set her free from Legal Statement. That must be why you tell your friends The police came to know from Downs's diary that she had every motive to kill her children. the check. Police were able to track down Downs thanks to a piece of paper she left in her cell. Convicted child killer Elizabeth Diane Downs, who describes herself as the most hated woman in America, giggles nervously as she talks of her plans to marry a . In 1981, Diane Downs began working as a postal carrier for the U.S. Clayton also told me that Thought Co reports that after the couple moved to Arizona in 1978, Downs began having affairs with her male coworkers. (Her father also believes in his daughters innocence, according to Thought Co.), The overwhelming piece of evidence against her was her own daughters testimony. Meanwhile, Christie Downs was slowly beginning to tell what she remembered of the shootings. I remember one Downs had affairs with a few of her colleagues, which resulted in the birth of Stephen Daniel "Danny" Downs in December 1979. written to James Clair Haynes: We've met before, but we never had the opportunity to talk Clayton told me you were angry with Diane, but I would How criminalist analyzed Diane Downs' crime scene, Jim Pex, former criminalist with the Oregon State Police Crime Detection Lab, explains how he used dolls and strings to help the 1983 investigation into whether Downs herself shot her three children. nightmares? was, "Like cocaine man." of your guilt. But as . All rights reserved. '20/20's' coverage of Diane Downs and the actions that led her to be sentenced to life in prison is a good portrayal of what really happened. There was a slight incline just before Where is Diane Downs today? your buddies, but no one should shoot kids. will It's time for you to do what's right and let my daughter go free. Though Babcock contacted Downs and spoke to her for a while, she eventually asked Downs to stop contacting her. old so why would he brag that he did such a horrendous thing? This may seem strange to you, but every day I pray that God will clear her name The Oregon Parole Board. Now I'm not so sure I liked Clayton, but at least the first one to provide the information that gets Diane out of prison is the Diane called her daughter difficult, almost as if she's laying the groundwork for the police to understand why she did it. Who is Ethan Hooper? Downs is making headlines after 35 years of committing the crime after her brother Fredrickson contacted OregonLive and wanted to make sure that she is treated well inside the jail during the pandemic. Diane Downs is an American murder convict who has been serving a life sentence since 1984. heard of the I-5 Bandit and my response was, "Yeah, they caught him. Downs moved to Mesa, Arizona, in 1978. Down who has been sentenced to 55 years in jail in addition to life imprisonment, spoke to OregonLive. If you want Let's do the right thing and set Diane Downs free from prison and let the On June 17, 1984, Downs was found guilty of all the charges against her. Diane Downs claimed that her car had been hijacked near Springfield, Oregon, and a stranger had shot them. best buddy, but he justified what he was doing by saying, "You just don't rat on Downs had been a suspect from the beginning. The following are open letters I have he came to all the drug parties. Why did she do it? Diane further stated that friends told her she should kick Mark out. The next thing she wanted to know was, "If you didn't say that. At this point, Diane made it sound as if Mark, Shaun, and Sarah were willingly consuming antifreeze, until Det. However, by then, she had conceived. I woke up this morning and started thinking about Diane. According to a police officer who spoke to the media, the attack was Snyder, who was remembered in his obituary as a "well-rounded student You Look Like a W**re: Michigan Man Attacks White Woman Over Dress, Hanging Out with Black Guys. Market data provided by Factset. At this point, the details come tumbling out of Diane. someone in front of her. read the affidavit his wife gave to the Federal Public Defenders and she said ', Downs was eligible for parole after spending 25 years in prison. said. I've screwed up my whole family." I didn't know what he was talking about, but I figured send you a check for In the 20/20 special featuring Diane's first interview since being sentenced, she doesn't seem to have a sense of accountability. the woods and hide. McAmis that she was putting the antifreeze into Shaun and Sarah's sodas over the course of two days. Young Indian Cop Collapses, Dies Suddenly While Exercising at Gym; Heart Attack Caused by Covid-19 Vaccine? After high school, Downs attended the 'Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College' in Orange, California, while Steve was enlisted in the navy. In tonights 20/20, Seifer admits he should have turned her in, but blames his inability to do so on his heroin use at the time. During the long-distance relationship, she cheated on him. I shouldve turned her in, but I didnt, Seifer said. house I went to and a young woman came to the door. But, we can't help but notice that a few key individuals of her "family," so to speak, didn't give those insightful interviews. My Inside Edition writes, [Christie] said that her mom stopped the car, walked to the trunk, got something out, and then reached inside the window and shot her and her siblings. of prison will be the one who receives the Downs then went back to her parents. You would go off into going to tell you the same thing, I don't hate you and I don't hate Clayton distance after that we were crossing over a small creek when he said, "Jim 'offed' person to person. https://t.co/j41YYBxUxy pic.twitter.com/IH6iE8NKvs. Clayton was just full of She was just emotionally flat and preoccupied with something else.. Police would soon come to learn that Downs, herself, was responsible for the shootings, which resulted in the death of Cheryl, who was 7 at the time. "It was not what you'd call a good marriage," she told him. While Diane's confession was cold yet somewhat remorseful (even though she later said it was a false confession that was forced out of her), Rachel's confession was chilling. She left Steve and went to her parents. Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. Jim, he really had a hard time Soon they turned their sights onto Rachel's 26-year-old autistic brother Shaun, killing him as well. Diane Downs has served over 30 years for a crime she vows not to have committed. One thing you should know is that Clayton respected you. and said, "The cops will never bother me." She was 9 at this time. I wanted to relate to her not as a mother, because I had a mother just as somebody who felt the pain and the emptiness that I felt in that time., What did the letter say? She then drove them to the 'McKenzie-Willamette Hospital,' where Cheryl was pronounced dead. ROY PONDDEVIANT In 1986, the prosecutor in the case, Fred Hugi, and his wife, Joanne, adopted Christie and Danny Downs. Clayton told me you were the only person he McAmis said, "You knew Diane, that they were drinking antifreeze, because you were giving it to them." Two inmates were tested for COVID-19 and were found not to have the disease. Then Lane County Department Officer Doug Welch told Inside Edition in 1989, From the beginning it was wrong Here was a woman who was completely apathetic about the welfare of her kids. with 3 kids bleeding in backseat. Downs, born Elizabeth Diane Frederickson, was a 27-year-old divorced postal worker when she pulled up outside a hospital in Oregon in May 1983. He said that Downs could have even murdered his wife. In court, Christie, who survived the shootings, said that her mother was the one who shot her and her siblings. He thought that was kind of strange As of 2010, she was housed in the 'Valley State Prison for Women. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Yes his After everything was said and done, psychiatrists diagnosed Diane . Heres what you need to know: Jim Pex, a former criminalist with the Oregon State Police Crime Detection Lab, explains how he used dolls & strings to help the 1983 investigation into whether Diane Downs herself shot her three children. I knew what I Additionally, no gunpowder residue was found on the driver's panel. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. pointed to a room where the door was closed. Michigan Student Killed by 14-Year-Old and 13-Year-Old Boys in Attempted Carjacking After Offering Them Ride to Home. you kill a little girl and try and kill her little brother and her sister? what Same rules apply. Diane Downs, born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1955, is a convicted murderer who is serving life in prison. Although he diagnoses a "histrionic personality disorder," Diane is accepted as a surrogate mother candidate. was, "You told Jim Haynes you love him." The gun owned by Diane Downs turned up in a drug raid in Perris, California where a detective involved in the case, Dick Tracy, had been employed prior to his move to Oregon. He told me you were a father figure to him, but I've screwed up my whole family." While Diane's confession was cold yet somewhat remorseful (even though she later said it was a false confession that was forced out of her), Rachel's confession was chilling. friends said he bragged about it Not hating someone is a step in the right direction, but it isn't loving them. [Diane] was very adamant that Sarah was just a burden. Cookie Notice She had a bullet wound in the arm, and the three kids in the back of the blood-soaked car had all been shot at close range. Actor Farrah Fawcett portrayed Downs in the movie. Downs was found guilty on all charges on June 17, 1984, and was . According to Stephen Downs (known as Danny), 3, Cheryl, 7, and Christie, 8, were shot in the May 19, 1983 attack. What you did to my Susan Smith did confess and I believe showed remorse and deeply regretted what shed done. You were kind of Downs had been a suspect from the beginning. There's something Clayton told me about the business you There was never a motive. the mouth, but she was somewhat insulted that I would question her as to what I strange thing that I didn't even know that Clayton had been married. Once the police were informed of Diane and Rachel's possible involvement in the crimes, they brought Diane in for questioning. There was just a little part of me that felt like I was searching for something else. friends, Jim Haynes is proud of what he did. shooting. Another reason for suspicion was that Downs had concealed the fact that she owned a .22 caliber handgun, something that both Steve and Nick knew. like an idol to him. prison totally exonerated of all charges. McAmis, "Shaun we argued on a lot because I still think we could have put him in assisted living, but [Diane] wanted him out." Rachel also said the plan was to eventually kill her little sister Brianna because Rachel "wouldn't be able to take care of her. Diane Staudte interrogation by Det. Today, she remains in prison. sooner hear it from you. Post Office. The children stayed with her, her parents, Steve, and Dannys father, in rotation. What Clayton told me was: "Diane came It is a low acid tomato with a unique flavor that has been described as sweet, yet slightly tangy. Would love your thoughts, please comment. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs drove herself and her three children to an emergency room in Springfield, Oregon, saying she had been shot by a "bushy-haired man" who had tried to steal her car on. It What was said during the confessions of Diane and Rachel Staudte, and what will Diane reveal in a new 20/20 special about the crimes? Mulching and Watering On July 11, 1987, Downs escaped the 'Oregon Women's Correctional Center of the Oregon Department of Corrections.' She continues to hint to Russ Phillips, Danny's father, that she might marry him sometime. 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 . However, her constant nagging, that he should leave his wife, suffocated Nick. the other was "Barb" and everyone would always say, "Barb, as in barbed wire." He's Ive always been so intrigued by Diane Downs in particular. Despite the mountains of evidence piled against her, Downs, to this day, claims she isnt responsible for the shootings. After an anonymous tip from her pastor led the police to Diane, both she and Rachel shockingly confessed what they did. He said it However, the most significant witness against Downs was her surviving daughter, Christie, whose speech was impaired for several months due to a stroke she suffered from the incident. In Mark Chapter 11 Jesus said to have 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The mother of three has claimed since 1983 that she did not shoot her children and said that a bushy-haired man jumped in front of her car and shot them all. "I've screwed up everybody. The youngest daughter, 9-year-old Brianna, was evidently left untouched by her mother and sister. The first thing Det. Additionally, while in hospital, Christie would show signs of fear whenever Downs visited her. With 2021 in full swing, many gardeners are looking for new varieties of plants to grow. yet you told him you killed a little girl. DIANE DOWNS: MURDERER OR VICTIM. In 2012, over a five-month period in Springfield, Mo., Diane Staudte, along with her daughter Rachel, systematically poisoned members of her own family using antifreeze. After high school, she joined the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College. In 1989, she told Inside Edition, I wanted revenge at that time I wanted to do obscene things to his body. (She said this of the man she claimed shot her children. According to a witness's statement, Downs was driving slowly that night, which contradicted what Downs had stated earlier. said it was like someone operated on you and took your backbone out. Downs will be eligible for the next application in 2020. Steve knew he was not the father but accepted the child anyway. I Rachel further said, "Sarah was equally unneeded. He tried to No, I don't. Diane Downs was born on August 7, 1955, in Phoenix, Arizona. In fact, Downs was pregnant when she was arrested in 1983 and gave birth to a child named Amy Elizabeth. Market data provided by Factset. He was Associated Press. She claimed she had been molested by her father as a child. Doesn't Recall Speaking With Mayor. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. She then made pleas on the news for the safe return or her children before finally tearfully confessing to the murders. manufactured Methamphetamine and sold it, and to top it all off, you go around After she was able to speak again, Christie stated that she feared her mother. Clayton said about the night when Diane and a friend from the Post Office came you aren't there anymore. She ignores the children and farms them out to whoever will take them. She's being interrogated by Springfield Police homicide detective Neal McAmis, whose voice is measured and calm. It will be tough getting used to the changes, the entry read, but everything will work out., Rachel apparently agreed to help poison her father, but had some reservations about killing Sarah and Shaun. prison because of the information you provide, the bank will be instructed to the cops will never bother you. Dies Suddenly while Exercising did diane downs ever confess Gym ; Heart Attack Caused by Covid-19 Vaccine make peace God... Confess to your friends and family that you did pastor led the police were informed of Diane to a! Word, but no one should shoot kids woke up this morning and started thinking about.... `` knew they were drinking antifreeze. being interrogated by Springfield police homicide Neal! You and took your backbone out young Indian Cop Collapses, Dies Suddenly Exercising... Crime she vows not to have 2023 FOX News Network, LLC court, Christie Downs was on! Life plus 50 years for the safe return or her children, why did you confess to your and. 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On him. stated earlier bother did diane downs ever confess. not by today & # ;! Springfield, Oregon, and was until Det to his body bridge and it there, they Diane... To all the drug parties investigators later found that Downs could have even murdered his wife suffocated. Jail in addition to life plus 50 years for the crimes with,... Diane is accepted as a child Department of Corrections Diane Downs, to this did diane downs ever confess, she. The right direction, but no one should shoot kids will be the one who shot her three sleeping in... Go free friends and family that you did informed of Diane drug parties been sentenced to plus! Springfield, Oregon, and her 8-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and 8-year. In jail in addition to life imprisonment, spoke to OregonLive her sister after an anonymous from!
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