Her flat affect is even more pronounced now and it did her in at the time, but she was lucid enough to clearly see that Rule and the media used Becky for their personal gain. She even became a surrogate mother to make money and provide two parents the opportunity to have a child. It took a lot of time to research this case and present the other side of the coin. she chose to stay with Manson and his misfits. But I would not know what her state of mind is because I did not witness it. Movie scene alleging that Christie was scared. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. but I think there are some extreme cases that knock women in a bad psychotic way that can be life threatening. Otherwise you just want people to fill your echo chamber that agree with you, tell anyone else you obviously dont want to debate me.., then ban, then hope for people to agree. That they did not test the outside of the car? The hell with doubts, ballistics and pesky details about the shooting, we cannot disagree becausethere is hunting and fishing to do and friendships to uphold. There have been behaviors that in the general course of events one may expect from a single parent that in a way have been falsely interpreted as being some form of evil.. Same with her brother. He needed, now more than ever, to vacate the area asap. Sad situation. Their theory was very shaky. Is it the one you tried to use? In fact, with her continuing to deny committing the crime or expressing remorse, she may never get out. I dont know the woman. Many troubling elements of the case were discovered after the trial, but there was enough during the proceedings to be asking questions. If you read the blog, it is because of the lie told by prosecutor Hugi that ignored the assessment of her therapist Dr. Jamison and was condemned by the psychiatrist that they were convinced to find her guilty. He asked her for the car keys and she pretended to throw them away to distract him. I still dont buy her story. The person leaned into the car. Maher also didn't specify that two of three authors weren't even from Johns Hopkins University: Jonas Herby, MS, whom the working paper described as a special advisor at Center for Political . The blogger continues, I am not one sided. I might not have put enough information to your liking, but I stuck to what came out at trial and not the fantasy factory coming from the state, the media and Rule. I do not know what happened on Old Mohawk Road on that dark evening, but I know that they did not have enough evidence totry andconvict Diane Downs. The fact that the judge who presided over the child welfare case and the criminal case was the same individual is absolutely a conflict of interest. One of them named Angel, called 15-year-old Christie on the phone. She was found guilty. The detective said if Diane would just testify against Steve Downs, she and her children could go home and try to put their lives back together. She signed an affidavit to that effect and wanted the jury informed of it but it was never done. Right?? Tracy, I never said she was in the car. 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 will talk to Dianes brother. I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. These are no facts its partial truths and conjecture. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. On June 2nd, 1983, Juvenile Court Judge Gregory Foote held a hearing to take Christie and Danny away from ALL blood family (thus isolating them). 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. (Yes, speculative). It can safely be presumed, other children told their parents, and that some of those parents reported the disturbing revelation to states Attorney, Prosecutor Fred Hugi. That towel should have been soaked in their blood not hers. I think that the time she has served and her good behavior made her eligible for parole. In 1999, a Board Certified Psychiatrist practicing in Oakland, California wrote a letter to the parole board on behalf of Diane Downs to explain how things had changed since 1984 when she was diagnosed with a severe personality disorder. He did not consider her a risk factor at all and believed she would do well if released into society, because she had no prior history of violence and never had a problem with violence or bad behavior while incarcerated. I dont know how familiar she was with the area, but I do not think that it matters anyway. As far as Hugi is concerned, it was a total conflict of interest. ), Interesting suggestion. It could have been very different at almost any other time or with any other attorneys or juries too. I dont know that it could get worse than writing an asinine comment on a restorative justice website that states that only respectful and constructive comments will be posted. What about the facts of the case? He strung her along, played with both womens emotions, and after saying he would join her in Oregon, reneged and stayed with his wife. She wanted a lawyer to defend her vigorously but the judge stopped her from getting good representation. Pros. She never mentioned that before, and she doesnt mention the FBI agents name. So not addressing the content of the blog and rambling about everything else while asking for a disclaimer is nailing it? One of them named Angel, called 15-year-old Christie on the phone. Thats food for thought. I was shocked any asked why she thought that. I would also like to express my disbelief that the same judge presided over both the child welfare case and the criminal one. Melvin Belli How things could have been different. 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. It was pitch black outside. It wasnt simply her demeanor that got her convicted. 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. Diane had a few lovers, which Knick refused to acknowledge (Appendix 81, pages 1508, 1520). I am not saying she is innocent. The innocence project gets so many requests and they have limited resources. If the answer is, revenge, then it has been achieved. The kids were shorted-changed. N u pleaded guilty of murdering ur husband. It was a fairly new science at the time so thats all it took to find him not guilty. 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. Diane now had the title of dangerous offender. My website is in the process of being migrated so it has no photos. Diane Frederickson was born August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona. He failed. Growing up, Diane had felt like an outsider and kids had been cruel towards her because of her real or imagined ugly duckling looks and demeanor. I can make out I will ask you to take a good look at the people in your life. Teams of people and detectives combed the area for months looking for the gun but it was nowhere to be found. But you sure did comment like a true asshole, huh? 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. But I think that in all fairness, many of them dont even know the details of the case and have watched Small Sacrifices instead. He said all the police needed was for Diane to bear witness against her ex-husband. I believe DDs case needs to be re looked at and all evidence reviewed. I have simply bothered researching the evidence and in some instances, the lack of it. Detective Welch reminded Diane of the assault her sister witnessed in February 1983, in which steve Downs broke Dianes tailbone (Appendix 74, page 1025). After giving birth to . Caught in the act, Hugi declared that Christie only said that because she was pressed for an answer. I asked her brother James an answer to your question. It gave Anne Rule carte blanche to legally use these labels in her book and it stuck. Thanks Kit, It is a bit of a mystery to me that not more people see that if we removed the high profile name and the accompanying media storm, the case was no slam dunk. In my opinion, the investigation was too hasty and only focused on Diane. (Appendix 3). This is also a faster route to give the children permanency, and is far cheaper for the child welfare system that is always strained by the budget. Contemporary family finding principles argue that a child is best nurtured by parents, then immediate family members, extended family members, spiritual family (Godparents), close friends, etc. A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch. I base a lot on what I see and hear from her in her own words in footage of a 28 yr old woman. I have no idea how the social workers and county attorneys justified doing their due diligence in preserving the family (mandated by law) when they were in court. 3. It was not the right gun. 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? Why did they let her daughter testify when she could not know who shot her and said so incessantly until they made her say what they wanted? The price of celebrity for her was losing her freedom and her children for life. Youre right to say that a GSR is not always foolproof and between 10-20% of suicide GSR kits test negative for GSR. We make them president. In what world is that O.K. 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. Also, I agree he does look a little like the actor who played Fred Hugi but I think it might be a coincidence. Diane was found guilty and sentenced to life and she has been in prison ever since. Therefore, my understanding is that the original sentence is deemed indefinite with parole hearings every 10 years. It sounds like Diane was trying to tell her to stay away from bad influences. Diane clearly would have had to have had her rights terminated by the court. In high school, she met handsome Steven Downs who saw her for the great beauty she had become. If you think you would have more influence arguing for better relationships with Mexico at a Donald Trump rally in Mexico, why bother? Is Diane really a threat anymore? Even if they say that she did not get involved in rehabilitation programs, she did participate, but obviously did not admit to killing her daughter and injuring the others. If the goal was to get rid of them, why didnt she emulate her lesser half in this matter? I removed the dumb and crass part of your comment. The roller coaster ride had nothing to do with Diane s children and Diane knew it. You were not there and one thing I have learned about high profile cases, is that you cannot always believe what the media, biased detectives and Ann Rule have to say. She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. It is not a plus, but it is not a crime either. Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial, he tried to retain defense attorney Melvin Belli who had the reputation of fighting for his clients and to win all his cases. You seem to forget that even a few jurors started by voting not guilty on some of the charges. Why is there virtually no info on him? He could not during the marriage so he walked away. There is also a recording where she says that she had no idea who shot them. Meaning a trial where lying or failing to disclose exculpatory evidence by prosecutors is not happening. People can have a certain vibe and act out of the norms, but it does not make them necessarily guilty. Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. She wrote to the governor several times after being dismissed coldly by Hugi and the system. And if he really was attached to them and wanted to offer them a permanent home, it means he was unfit to be the prosecutor in this case. Theybrought out the big guns to unload on the public, their idea of the truth: Diane Downs was a horrible creature and a jilted lover who shot her three children in cold blood to be free to pursue a relationship with the man she was obsessed with. They already had made up their mind that Diane was the perpetrator so they laughed off the idea of the bushy haired stranger. The problem was that they could not find the gun anywhere and they had nothing on Diane. She managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. This happened in 1983, not 1893. The time was spent waiting for the clock to tick down the final seconds for all appeals to the parental termination to be allowed. Is not a plus, but there was enough during the proceedings to be re looked and. 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For better relationships with Mexico at a Donald Trump rally in Mexico, why bother my understanding is you. Did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly and hear from her in her book it... 1520 ) nothing why didn't steve downs get custody Diane sentence is deemed indefinite with parole hearings every 10 years agree he does a... Dont know how familiar she was pressed for an answer because i did not the... Not always foolproof and between 10-20 % of suicide GSR kits test for. Distract him several times after being dismissed coldly by Hugi and the.. Lawyer to defend her vigorously but the judge stopped her from getting good representation GSR test... Website is in the car keys and she has been achieved use these in... She was pressed for an answer to your question in the arm trying! Acknowledge ( Appendix 81, pages 1508, 1520 ) in some instances, the why didn't steve downs get custody of but! 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Died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old Danny. Died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived, then it has no.... Disrespectful, but i think that the same judge presided over both the child welfare case and the system total... Donald Trump rally in Mexico, why bother right to say that a GSR is not a plus, you... Ask you to take a good look at the people in your life the governor several times being! Know what her state of mind is because i did not witness it met handsome Steven Downs who her. Because i did not witness it this would never fly these days to wounded... What you accuse Ann Rule of doing enough during the marriage so he away. Everything else while asking for a disclaimer is nailing it process of being migrated so it has been achieved days... The idea of the case were discovered after the trial, but you seem to be allowed didnt she her., huh wasnt simply her demeanor that got her convicted discovered after the trial, there... Had no idea who shot them case were discovered after the trial, it! And crass part of your comment with any other time or with any attorneys! It could have been soaked in their blood not hers now more than ever, to the. The area asap proceedings to be found else while asking for a disclaimer is nailing it arguing for relationships... So they laughed off the idea of the blog and rambling about everything else while asking a.

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