My opposition to movies about true crime stories is unshakable. But I am realistic. I dont know either if she is guilty or not, but I believe there is a reasonable doubt surrounding the circumstances. You cant possibly shake off all the gun powder residue and avoid all the blood. Usually it isnt there but every once in awhile, it comes out. But I am so tired of the enough time has been served and other criminals have been paroled. People can have a certain vibe and act out of the norms, but it does not make them necessarily guilty. The detective said to leave that up to the police. Diane Downs is an infamous killer who tried to murder her three children to pursue love. In what world is that O.K. I think it would give the blog more integrity and transparency. Most doctors would tell you that it is normal for our brains to block out a traumatic incident especially when combined with a serious physical injury. Diane now had the title of dangerous offender. I was curious as to what these requirements were, as I have not seen these online. According to The Cinemaholic, Steve was found to not be a good fit to care for his kids who would need specialized care and had been through a very traumatic event. Brewer changed his mind. 4. More often than not, Christie was interviewed by State Agents (Paula Krogdahl, Paul Alton, Steve Downs and Dick Tracy) within half an hour of having her Dilantin increased. People have always been wondering about Steve Downs, Danie Downs ex-husband. An attractive woman whose two children were killed in mysterious circumstances and the cops decided to go after her. It could have been very different at almost any other time or with any other attorneys or juries too. Someone can have an evil vibe and not be guilty of a crime. Another conflict of interest. The prosecutor would gently shake his head and the good judge would follow with a ruling. By the time Danny was born, they were having intense arguments about infidelity that Steve got convinced that he wasnt his biological son. 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 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. 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. She had not fired a gun. Of course, because this is what she does when people put her on the spot and ask questions concerning her mother and the shooting. She was the first to admit that at times, she was somewhat neglectful, impatient, yelled too much, and could have been a better mother, but she seemed to have turned the corner and was doing her best with the means at her disposal. Christie NEVER said she didnt know who did it she was just unwilling or afraid to tell on her mother. If it was not such a high profile case, Diane Downs would have been paroled a long time ago: speculative, Ill stop there. They were the small sacrifices. There is absolutely no evidence that Hungry like the Wolf was playing when Christie got shot but it is another detail they added to bring a dramatic element to this trial. And to say that her mental health has degraded is an understatement, but more reason not to keep her eternally incarcerated. Just like Rule though, your blog is extremely biased, and reads almost as though she told you exactly what to write at times. Jesus Ortiz Paz's parents, net worth, wife, and daughter. Diane had spent three days in the hospital ingesting massive doses of Morphine, Demerol, Percodan, and visterol. Why Isn't Steve Bannon in Jail? Ask the Democrats. | The Nation Also, aside from her original mental state, which may or may not excuse her aloofness (doesnt prove shes a killer by the way! I lived in Eugene, Oregon for years. I was being sarcastic. 5. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. Speculative. From reading the blog and my little understanding of this case, Ms Downs remains in custody as she is considered a dangerous offender. The case was so one sided that it is about time some of us bring up the other side. She knew that Knickerbocker hated trouble of any kind, and thathe would have never come back to her after an ugly shooting where she had been wounded and her kids damaged. Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. They checked her nails to see if she could have buried the gun and they were clean. One of the flaws was the relationship between the DA and the children. It does not get any bigger than this. It wasnt their fault, it was the job of the social workers and the courts to make sure the kids were not isolated from family. Hi Nanette, it is not a matter of being gullible. After a failed marriage that got her a divorce from Steve Downs, she wanted to be with her lover. The Pros and Cons of Getting Sole Legal Custody - Verywell Family All the years in prison probably made her way more disturbed than she ever was. Then, 10 days after Diane was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years, she gave birth to a daughter she named Amy Elizabeth. The incident left Cheryl dead, Danny paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie suffering from a stroke that affected her speech. The children were in the hospital, it isnt like they could have taken them home. The two mental disorders that cause excessive talking are Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. And he was found not guilty because his defense team played the race card in an area of LA where they did not trust the police and discussed EDTA and DNA ad nauseam to confuse the jurors. TOP 10 why didn t steve downs get custody BEST and NEWEST I worked for county child welfare services in Colorado for a decade. Regardless of the facts you point out, there is no doubt in my mind that Diane Downs is guilty. So how she behaved at the time, should not have been a factor influencing the authorities. The fate of Steven Downs, a 47-year-old nurse from Auburn, Maine, is now in hands of a 12-person jury in Alaska. Dianes family could give you countless examples of the inaccuracies they found in her book. 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. Probably a 911 button. The story of Steve Downs' children is one of the most shocking to date. Was that Annes fault as well? Having recently done research on the Liysa Northons case which was the subject of a book written by Ann Rule titled Heart Full of Lies,I came across some very interesting information about the Diane Downs case because Rule attended the trial and also wrote a book about the case called Small Sacrifices. At Sophie Sergie murder trial, jury hears recordings of Steven Downs Unfortunately couldnt really do anything at that point, as the movie was not VHS yet, it only aired that oncein late 89. why didn t steve downs get custody - Central Texas Gardening Blog You mention that her attorney should have raised objections. The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI: Downs lawyer at the time should have objected as the term was non existent. He freely admitted HE decided to ask for a divorce on his birthday without consulting Diane, who was out of town You say she made more of a fuss about her arm than about the injuries her children sustained. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History http://www.glamour.com/story/i-found-out-my-mother-was-a-killer-the-rebecca-babcock-story. Diane doesnt believe Rebecca is her daughter, rather a media puppet ran by Rule. When she resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. The first two children were Diane's kids with her ex husband Steve Downs. it also isnt right that the rules get to keep being changed after the fact as far as how often one may apply for parole. If you use this mixed water, you can lift off a gunpowder stain.. Who was Burt Reynolds married to when he died and who inherited his estate? And if you claim your innocence, it obviously creates a vicious circle of not showing contrition. She'd also shot herself in the forearm. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. Fred Hugi is a man of the highest integrity and I hope that Dianes surviving two children finally found the love and stability they had been denied by their natural mother. The cops admitted that they never investigated the tips about a bushy haired stranger. If you read the blog, you will see many examples of media hype and character assassination. Thanks for the link. But Diane couldnt do that. Steve Downs' wife had become ignorant of her children and often left them with her parents or ex-husband. She was the prosecutions only hope. Everywhere, EXCEPT the door through which Diane reported to police, the male stranger had passed. Page 37 of Case History. Diane followed the detectives to their car. As a rule, any child under the age of ten prompts counsel to question the competence of any testimony that child might give. I didnt know that. Wasnt Mr. F supposed to be a child molester? I am not saying she is innocent. 0. USA population seems to shun complex ethical problems preferring to deal with absolute evil in order to exert absolute power to crush it. She has an excellent conduct report and never reacted violently to any of the harassment from other inmates. He is in his 70s now and his photo is not on his linkedin or anywhere I could find. What about the judge stopping a defendant from getting a new attorney? DA Pat Horton declared early in the game to the local paper that the search for the bearded stranger was not very high on their priority list.. One of the jurors finally declared. The time was spent waiting for the clock to tick down the final seconds for all appeals to the parental termination to be allowed. Not that Dianes mental health was not a factor in her letter, but it was definitely taken out of context in some instances. For the upcoming Halo TV show, original Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes was recast, despite Cortana voice actor Jen Taylor reprising her role from the iconic video game franchise. She felt fulfilled when she was pregnant because she believedit was the road to unconditional love. I appreciate this whole blog just want to give you a heads up. One of the more bizarre scenes in this farce of an investigation was about to unfold. Fred Hugi looks nothing like Jim Jagger. In addition to treating brain cancer, he works toward health equity. Lets also remember that this is the US of A and we dont lock people up for being narcissistic, antisocial histrionic individuals. It was a fairly new science at the time so thats all it took to find him not guilty. According to Diane, she then saw a man on the road flagging her and stopped thinking he needed help. Right away, the police asked her to go back to the crime scene even thoughshe did not want to leave her children behind. I encourage you to read all the facts before being so sure that she was guilty or that she acted alone. The jurors had doubts. She never hurt anyone in the process of escaping. So, what is Steve's story? I feel compelled to comment on this blog, because having recently read Ann Rules book, I feel exactly as you did. I will not remove anything. Indeed, Diane Down's murder case was a shocker for detectives. And, one of them was her ex-husband, the father of the children that Diane had shot. Halo Show: Why Master Chief's Voice Actor Was Recast (But Cortana Wasn't) Dianes ex-lover, Robert Knickerbocker, also said the same. 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. This is a conflict of interest. How was DD able to get away from CK and get the keys back into the ignition without there being more attempts on her life? She had no priors and no history of violence in prison. Her persona allowed them to build this ironclad narrative when in fact, it was far from definite. What a terrible injustice. In reply to Nick. It does seem time has done worse to her. 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. I agree that the phone call from Angel was totally inappropriate. That makes no sense. They were in a difficult situation becausewithout evidence, they could notcharge her for the crime. No one bothered with these details so I did. How.. they attacked him. The strong, emotive language. Cheryl was shot twice in the back and one of the bullets ended up on the floorboard. It no longer matters as far as the verdict, she was found guilty, but why no parole? The question is of course, how can we determine guilt or innocence without a fair trial? For example, the abhorrent decision regarding Keli Lane: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.whimn.com.au/talk/news/why-i-think-keli-lane-should-not-be-in-prison/news-story/069a09c79589645c48de5bfa91e4ca0f. He hired Jim Jagger on the 1st of June 1983, 11 days after the shooting. One should also wonder why their biological father who was so eager to bash his ex on the stand was not given custody, and did not stay in contact with his two remaining children: relevance? Unfortunately, Danny Downs was permanently paralyzed from the waist down because of a bullet injury in his back. Ive not seen the movie or read the book. The weird behavior (laughing and joking in the shooting reenactment), bullets found at her home and the constant changing of her story only is icing on her guilty cake. I would like to see her released because I do not believe in life without parole for any inmate with no priors who had a good conduct while incarcerated. When a white attractive woman like Diane Downs appears on the scene while displaying seemingly unpleasant characteristics as a mother and a personality disorder, there is no telling what the media will do with the story. A sick kid who had a stroke and traumatized being pressured for weeks to remember her mother killing her? Im not arguing the facts of the trial, and Im not about to. Open ended sentences like this are meant to provide a means of control and public safety when considering dangerous offenders who may pose a continued risk to the public. Why did CK shoot the kids multiple times and DD once? Their marriage was described as tumultuous, with Downs allegedly disappearing for long periods of time with her children. You said yourself that the title was revealing. Whats next? I think that looked at through a more objective lens, many aspects of the Downs case are highly questionable. This video of Jagger absolutely looks like the photo that you find on search engines for Fred Hugi. The states own witness, Dr. George Suckow and Dr. Polly Jamison denounced Prosecutor Hugis practice as improper and unethical (Appendix 101 and 104). Bear in mind, that arm consisted of two SHARP bones, cutting at nerves and muscle (1 of bone had been blown out of the arm when the bullet shattered it, leaving three jagged holes in the flesh, out of which bulged torn muscle, and two wedge shaped bones facing each other like dueling swords). Hed left his first wife to co-habitate with (and later marry) Charlene. Doing it without witnesses when she was so sick is underhanded. Thats the point. Their theory was very shaky. 4.Diane was NOT arrested for almost a year after the shootings the d.a. She also underwent a gun residue test that same evening that revealed no trace of gun powder on her hands. In fact, if someone was Hungry like the Wolf in this courtroom, it was a certain crime author who could already smell and taste the fortune coming her way after the publication of this juicy story. The whole blog claims the trial was flawed. As a result, he decided not to attend the rest of the trial. Why arent you debating the faulty ballistics, and the fact that the gun they affirmed was used in the commission of the crime was not the right one? Only in Hollywood and in Ann Rules books, would you find such fantasy: Relevance? Strange how Jagger is pretty absent too except for the few photos where he is wrongly identified as Hugi. Hugi did not want that. This is Budhu's story, as told to Kelly Burch . Brewer changed his mind. I think that Van Houten was recommended for parole by a system that assessed that after 40 years, she was not a threat to society and a reformed woman. In my opinion, the investigation was too hasty and only focused on Diane. But as usual, it was slanted in the worst possible way. The most recent tape of her daughter is not admissible because it is never allowed to bring out tapes that were obtained this way. You make an interesting observation when you say: Anyways. When they assess the conduct of an inmate, what counts is mostly how she behaves inside through the years and if she shows violent tendencies. Why does the blogger not clarify this? Her ex-husband has been of great interest, considering his absence from the media despite the case getting significant attention. It became more about despising Diane Downs than investigating fairly.

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