There were good reasons to look at this mother, but the detective admitted on the stand that they stopped looking at anyone else after two weeks and the stranger on the road became a joke. Many attribute the conviction of Downs to the arrival of author Ann Rule at Downs' trial. So how she behaved at the time, should not have been a factor influencing the authorities. The case NEVER made sense to me. That her child was basically forced to admit that she saw her mom shoot them? Foote ruled in favor of the prosecution and against the defenseon most of the admissible evidence questions including all the nurses notes about Danny talking about a man shooting him but admitted Christies reports about her mother shooting her. Why doesnt the innocent project get involved with her case. It surely was not due process. Mr. May be the guy who says he did it. Thanks for posting for readers. I never read the Ann Rule book, but saw Small Sacrifices as a kid and have had an interest in this case ever since. According to your own experience Lori, dont they try to give grandparents custody or at least access in cases comparable to this one? The gun presented at trial being the wrong one is a fact. 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. Go to the hate groups for that. That conflict of interest alone would incline Christie to testify against her mother. But, their marriage was far from what either of them had expected. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Kenyas #1 news app. As her brother mentioned, it would not be that farfetched for his sister to stop for someone considering that she was a person who lacked impulse control and the era. She had been isolated from her whole family and being unethically interrogated. That doesnt make it true. 'Leave It to Beaver' star Tony Dow explains why he wasn't allowed to Are we to believe that Proctors second gun was stolen with the bill and ID from the first gun that remained listed at the gun store? I was curious as to what these requirements were, as I have not seen these online. Halo Show: Why Master Chief's Voice Actor Was Recast (But Cortana Wasn't) I feel sorry for Diane too. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Seeing her giggle and laugh during a videoed reconstruction gave me, as a mother, a sickening feeling. He still shouldnt have been allowed to adopt them while the appeals process was ongoing, if he had any role in those cases. Comments about the title of the website, the blogger, the bias, details like the word bipolar and when it was used when cyclothymic disorder was diagnosed by the person who treated the subject and there is an affidavit posted. Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy. This unhealthy marriage survived and became a daily struggle. They both fainted when they saw their dead child, but it did not count. They were in a group home and he was getting unsupervised visitation with them. I think she was the only one there that night with her children. I bet the records are and always have been sealed regarding this aspect of the case. Up. They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business: argumentative 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. Except for Paul Cortez. What a terrible injustice. 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. A trial should be based on facts and solid direct or circumstantial evidence. We already know that. That says it all. Despite all of this: that the attorney became a Foster Carer irrelevant, inflammatory, subjective and bears no reflection on the trial, or indeed the trial outcome. The point is our trials need to be conducted fairly and based on evidence. She waseighteen and soon realized that she had jumped from the fire into the frying pan. James C. Jagger who was hired by Dianes father was an ex-Prosecutor. Diane downs. A prosecutor inventing a new psychiatric category in court and labeling the accused is kind of unsettling. 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. Her case was too public and they are afraid of public backlash. What about the fact that they never found the gun? Because she was failing quite miserably at remaining pure and chaste, she was expelled after only a year, and thus, she returned to her parents home in Arizona. They now have social media arenas reminiscent of the Romans cheering at the sight of a thumb down meaning there will be a bloodshed. Back in Phoenix, Arizona, in Moon Valley High School, Steve Downs met Elizabeth Diane for the first time. A fair trial is a right in this country, not a judicial suggestion. I know several foster parents and social workers. As Ms. Patterson left the stand, Diane complained to her attorney that Ms. Patterson had lied under oath. It is not a hatefest and I do not wish death or life without parole on anyone. The judge who took away her children presided over her criminal trial. Usually it isnt there but every once in awhile, it comes out. CK allowed DD to drive away despite the fact she could identify him and he had a gun? Brewer stood ready to testify in June 1991, that it was because of Prosecutor Hugis lie that he changed his mind to convict and that he alone was responsible for silencing the dissenting votes of two other jurors (Appendix 97). Just like Rule though, your blog is extremely biased, and reads almost as though she told you exactly what to write at times. did he have eyes in the back of his head.???? Her family members were quite capable of taking care of the children. I agree on many points with your comment. Everything was in the bag and ready for trial. (This is why Foote was assigned the case. Why am I not arguing the facts of the trial? Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. That hurt our family deeply. USA population seems to shun complex ethical problems preferring to deal with absolute evil in order to exert absolute power to crush it. Van Houten has made her choices and needs to own up to her actions and stop putting all the blame on drugs and Manson. I agree about pregnancy and childbirth affecting women differently, and even having different effects for the same woman with different pregnancies. I didnt know that. Christie was only eight, had suffered gunshot wounds and was in shock. He has also once again decided to defy . (Appendix 3). My problem with the circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children is that they were twisted by the media. ABC MOVIE FOR TV Small Sacrifices 1989 Farrah Fawcett, Ryan ONeal. Do not take this so personally. Yet in their mind, she was already guilty. If she did have memories of the actual shooting, that would be very rare. 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. The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb. I mention in my blog that when her adoptive dad said that she was coerced and thats why she said she did not know who shot them, that of course she was because this is what she does when under pressure. 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). So move on. Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial: speculation I dont believe there was a CK. I mean if a guy admits to killing children over and over, shouldnt we pay attention to that? It no longer matters as far as the verdict, she was found guilty, but why no parole? Then, they accused her of shooting her kids at close range. I still dont buy her story. 2. Is it the one you tried to use? According to various sources, Steve chose to separate from his wife after discovering that Stephen Daniel, their third child, was the product of her wife's relationship with a colleague. 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. Ive been trying to decipher her handwriting on the couple of pages she wrote to her daughter (misquoted on here somewhere is a highlighted If you love your little boy, youll take him far away from here- why is this being taken as a threat and not a warning?!). She is supposed to be locked up for murder, etc. ..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. Steve Downs Now: Where is Diane Downs' Ex-Husband Today? Update You can believe what you like. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. The cops admitted that they never investigated the tips about a bushy haired stranger. Those cases shouldnt have been in the same court let alone presided over by the same judge. . 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. I mention in the blog that Dianes mental health is in question so it is obvious that her encounter with her long lost daughter was going to be difficult. Christie was understandably all over the place and I agree that the way in which her statements were procured were very odd and seemed to be very coached. Do you remember probably about four or five days after She has done her time in prison and I hope that she gets the chance to get out and spend time with her mother and siblings. I research cases that in my opinion, were poorly tried. Here's everything you need to know. This reminds me of what a jail counselor named Rachel Roth said at the trial of Debra Milke Its my opinion that this young woman has been judged in a way that signifies something to do with how we view women in our society. During the process of the termination (which can take the whole 2 years in question, with appeals) the court is mandated to find family to take the children. 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. They were treated very badly in this matter. Or be mentally ill. Press J to jump to the feed. To have separated Christie from her brother and the rest of the family to be able to get her mom was unconscionable. I find it interesting for you to observe this because it should be more scientific and empirical today than it was in the 80s, but is it really? I was also stunned that she took the reports of all of Dianes ( mostly married) ex lovers as absolute truth and never once questioned that they might have been lying and retrospectively minimising their feelings for Diane to protect themselves. Diane, 18, had run away from home to do so. Downs: Oh yeah, I remember the pictures, too. The Lifetime channel constantly makes movies based loosely on the truth; this approach is an effective weapon aimed at swaying public opinion about high-profile cases. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as, To this day, his record is mixed; his law license was suspended for, Belli filed a motion for a 2-week extension to familiarize himself with the case because he had to be in Italy, and declared Diane innocent in a press conference, but Foote denied the motion and declared . They came up with an explanation as to why this was the wrong gun but the jig was up. As far as Hugi is concerned, it was a total conflict of interest. Lack of impulse control is also another symptom that might explain why a mother would stop at night to help a stranger flagging her on the road. GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. In a perfect world this would always be the case. Their marriage was described as tumultuous, with Downs allegedly disappearing for long periods of time with her children. I stuck to what came out at trial and not the fantasy factory coming from the state, the media and Rule. But people never want to touch the high profile cases where the defendant is not likable. Nuts maybe, but not threatening. The Case of Liysa Northon Who Said True Crime Does not Pay? I would like to raise the numerous issues with this blog. Susan, I dont know if there ever was a lawsuit against Ann Rule from the Fredericksons family. The bitches own daughter identified Downs as the shooter. BUT like you rightly explain, there was no real evidence of her guilt. Instead, the person accused of attacking them and wanting them out of her life, fought for them. Dianes daughter started saying that she did not know who shot them right when she got adopted. Im not saying I know for a fact in my mind shes innocentbut there is NOT enough evidence for her to be guilty. They went after Diane at trial for tapping her foot when they played Hungry like the wolf. Christie was it though. A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch.. She is nowhere near being paroled and if she admitted guilt, I am not even convinced they would release her. This is Budhu's story, as told to Kelly Burch . But for what it is worth, I believe she tried to kill her 3 kids. It is said that they didnt go to Steve because he wasnt a fit father or well equipped to take care of children who had gone through such a traumatic experience. Rule defended her right to earn a living and to tell her story. Some of your facts arent facts at all. A history of use of drugs, alcohol or even cigarettes can all be deemed as counts against a parent in court. Gunpowder is one of the toughest stains around, when it comes to removing it from clothes. Fred Hugi looks nothing like Jim Jagger. But, we cant help but notice that a few key individuals of her family, so to speak, didnt give those insightful interviews. Lets not take that lightly. No one bothered with these details so I did. But you are right to say that it is my site. That was the extent of her investigation of Dianes side. You mention her youngest daughter, and how Ann made sure she only heard negative information about Diane.. The authorities believed that the children's father was not a good fit to look after the children after what they had endured when their mother tried to murder them. As for how to answer this question,,, seems like he is assuming guilt and because of this my parents or me or my brothers and sister, our uncles and aunts were not considered because of an unproven allegation Does he truly believe this is ok??? They were not truth seekers and enjoyed a nice burning at the stake instead. The Halo TV show stars Orange is the New Black's Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, with Californication's Natascha McElhone as Dr. Halsey. Right away, the police asked her to go back to the crime scene even thoughshe did not want to leave her children behind. This happened in 1983, not 1893. I refer you to this section of the blog: They claimed to have found two lead cartridges in Dianes rifle at home that supposedly matched the ones used during the crime. 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. There isnt a whole lot known about where Steve Downs is these days. I lived through the media coverage. I am glad that some articles remain.