Unlike her siblings, Becky Babcock has been very public about her mother, granting interviews over the years. It was an unthinkable, brutal killing in 1983 that terrified parents around the country. Diane Downs children: Where are Christie and Stephen now? Two of the kids survived the shooting with life altering injuries, and one of the children died. The couple divorced in 1980 because Steve thought Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, was the result of an extramarital affair by Diane. My parents wanted us to prosper, to learn and to grow, she told ABC. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. In 1983, horror stuck in Oregon as a mother took it upon herself to end the life of her own children. Christie is married and had a baby boy in 2005. "I knew within 30 minutes of talking with that woman that she was guilty": Surgeon who helped save one of Diane Downs' kids in 1983 after she shot her recalls chilling interaction. She lives and is from Bend, Oregon, and is single. On May 19, 1983, Diane shot the children Cheryl, 7, Christie, 8, and Danny, 3 multiple times at a close range. Where is Diane Downs today? She then ran away from home and married husband, Steven Downs, in 1973, with whom she had three children - Christie Ann, Cheryl Lynn and Stephen "Danny" Daniel. In 1983, Diane Downs said stranger shot her 3 kids. (Featured Image Credit: ABC News / 20/20). As an adult, Rebecca (Becky) appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show[18] and ABC's 20/20,[19] where she discussed how she felt about her biological mother. [2][3] Their first child, Christie Ann, was born in 1974. Downs was employed by the United States Postal Service, assigned to the mail routes in the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon. A judge had already placed Downs' two surviving children in protective custody. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. Her three small children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3, were inside her blood-soaked car, shot at close range. He responded to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and immediately interviewed Downs, a postal worker. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. The woman who was on trial for shooting her own children was pregnant again -- and it was no accident. [24] In 2010, she was relocated to the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California,[23] but was transferred out when the facility was converted to an all-male institution in 2013.[25]. Her brother Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down but both survived. Is Oregon relatively virus-free, or are my children in greater danger than the red circle size suggests? Subsequent investigations revealed that she had a strong motive to kill her children. She named the fourth baby Amy Elizabeth before the state handed her over to her adoptive parents. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years for the crimes. Boris Johnson is stuck in a chaotic spiral of scandal, walkouts, and leaving dos so where does he go from here? A mother was driving one night down a rural road in Oregon when her three children, who were asleep in the car, were shot at point-blank range by a stranger in the dark. "They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. Her three children -- 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl and 3 . Becky is active on Facebook, where she sometimes shares stories about her background and television appearances, such as one on Dr. Oz and with Oprah Winfrey. Downs was found guilty in June, and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. In another one of her strange media appearances Downs spoke about the pregnancy. Within a month of the shootings, with her two surviving children still in the hospital, Downs began giving a series of bizarre interviews to the media. Becky Babcock is speaking out about her infamous mother, Diane Downs, who was convicted of killing her own 7-year-old child and attempting to murder her other two children, ages 8 and 3, in . "You cant replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. During the search for the strange gunman Diane kept giving bizarre interviews , one of the detectives on the case stated "she couldn't keep her mouth shut" ("The Diane Downs Story", 2010). the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. Jaeger remembers worrying that Downs' pregnancy could affect the way jurors viewed her. "They have grown up in a very happy home with the Hugis.. "There were a number of things which didn't make sense, even that first night," Welch said. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. The child was later renamed Rebecca Babcock by her adoptive parents. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. I think that's one of the things that-- ended up hurting her case. Diane Downs' ex husband, Steve Downs, lost a lot in May 1983 when his ex wife shot their three children, following their divorce in 1980. Why is she wounded in the arm? Diane Downs became one of the most infamous murderers in the city after she was convicted of shooting her three children, killing one of them, along a roadway in Springfield, Oregon. In 2005, she gave birth to her first child, a boy, and later gave birth to a daughter who she named Cheryl after her sister. He and his wife, Joanne, legally adopted the children in 1986. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous behavior and returned to her parents' home in Arizona. The baby was taken by the state and delivered to adoptive parents. Golden State Killer: Where Is the Prolific Rapist and Murderer Today? Amy, who was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock, went public about her mother in 2010 and has also met her in a bid to find out about her roots. Amy, who was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock, went public about her mother in 2010 and has also met her in a bid to find out about her roots. And the kids-- one is fatally shot and the other two are seriously injured., Welch said there were a lot of problems with her story and by the end of the interview, we knew that she had been lying'.. Her pupils were dilated. And he replied, I want your car. She said, You've got to be kidding, at which time he pushed her aside and reached in with a gun and began shooting the kids-- the three kids.. Although police had found spent .22 caliber bullet casings at the crime scene, an exhaustive search of the area did not turn up the murder weapon. We just ignored it, Wilhite said. Her blood pressure was non-existent or very low. "Danny, a computer whiz, is still partially paralyzed from the bullet in his back, but he is living a happy and normal life. Danny was permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. [15], Psychiatrists diagnosed her with narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial personality disorders, labeling her as a deviant sociopath.[16], Downs' two surviving children eventually went to live with the lead prosecutor on the case, Fred Hugi. When police arrived at the scene, Downs, 27 at the time, told them a bizarre story of being flagged down by a bushy-haired stranger on a dark and deserted country road. [26] The book documented accounts by friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and her surviving daughter, Christie, who questioned the quality of her parenting. Heavy is withholding that last name and the photos to protect her privacy. She provides an update on Christie and Danny today, writing on her website: Adopted by Lane County Prosecutor Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, in 1984, Christie and Dannywho somehow survived their gunshot woundshave no contact with Diane. Beeper goes off, said, Get in here. Diane Downs and her three children They raise many concerns over her three-decade old conviction for the shooting of her three children, one of whom died, and say even the most basic tests for courts were not met or passed. Investigators later discovered that she had bought the handgun in Arizona. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. I was afraid of how am I going to handle all this? he added. For other inquiries, Contact Us. ET. Diane's 2 children who survived the shooting . Her first three children with her husband Steve are Stephen "Danny" Daniel (born 1979), Cheryl Lynn (born 1976), and Christie Ann (born 1974).. She named the fourth baby Amy Elizabeth before the state handed her over to her adoptive parents. Diane Downs also gave birth to a fourth child with yet another man; she became pregnant with that daughter, now known as Becky Babcock during the investigation. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence. [13], Prosecutors argued that Downs shot her children to be free of them, so that she could continue her affair with Knickerbocker, as she claimed that he let it be known that he did not want children in his life. And they give me love, they give me satisfaction, they give me stability, they give me a reason to live and a reason to be happy, and that's gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive.". Her pupils were dilated. After that, she was charged with killing her 7-year-old daughter. One died; two survived but had serious injuries. [11] The forensic evidence did not match her story; there was no blood spatter on the driver's side of the car, nor was there any gunpowder residue on the driver's door or on the interior door panel. Diane Downs remains in prison in California. 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