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Diane Downs Case: Unraveling the Twisted Motives of a Cold-Blooded Killer — Transcript

by Emma Kenny · 6,027 words · 964 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:02thank you
0:03[Music]
0:08hi and welcome to True Crime with Emma
0:11Kenny today I'm going to talk about a
0:13particular case that is one that is
0:15always really resonated with me and it's
0:17resonated with me for lots of different
0:19reasons first of all I'm a mother
0:22and out of every single role that I've
0:24had in my entire life being a mother is
0:28the most integral part of who I am it is
0:30what gets me up in the morning it's what
0:32gets me through my hard times it's what
0:35inspires me to do better be better it's
0:39basically the foundation of who I am and
0:41the one thing that can keep me up at
0:44night is the idea that something bad
0:46could happen to either of my beautiful
0:48boys and I felt like that since the
0:51moment that I was handed my first child
0:54and I think that pretty much every
0:56parent has a very similar connection to
1:00their children this sense that within an
1:03instant of being given the child of
1:06yours the whole For the First Time In
1:08Your Arms you automatically know that
1:10you would gladly willingly and happily
1:13give your life for that child it's
1:16almost instinctual it's a program that's
1:20unavoidable
1:22and you can never change that so if
1:25you're a parent or a grandparent or even
1:27nanny or an uncle or just have
1:29connections with kids you know for most
1:31of us we'd actually die for a stranger's
1:34child I mean we see this repeated in
1:36history where children have been put in
1:37danger and adults have dived into the
1:40sea and drowned themselves protecting
1:42somebody they didn't even know because
1:43they were a child that's how we feel
1:46around children even as strangers child
1:52but the case I'm going to talk to you
1:53about today is as far away
1:58from that connection I've just talked
1:59about
2:00and also it was brought to light very
2:03very much for me recently when I saw
2:04Matt Hancock who is currently the health
2:08minister in the Tory party in the UK
2:10just to put this into context at the
2:12moment the UK is going through a
2:14pandemic a lot of the world is even
2:16though it's not actually classified as a
2:17pandemic anymore we are still locked
2:19down it seems to me that the government
2:21are coercedently controlling the nation
2:23that's something that I'm going to talk
2:24about in Future YouTube episodes the way
2:28the mean psychology and unethical
2:30psychologists have used the 2012
2:33pandemic to control and coercively
2:36Gaslight the whole of the UK and in fact
2:38the Western World in my opinion and
2:41again that's something that I'd love to
2:43have your comments on some of you will
2:44agree with me some of you will disagree
2:46with me but personally the
2:48traumatization that I've seen pumped
2:49into what Airways disgusts me and is
2:52something that will hopefully in the
2:53future be challenged certainly I will be
2:55challenging that for the rest of my life
2:57because people need to be held to
2:59account and what really triggered this
3:02particular connection with this crime is
3:05because Matt Hancock was featured on
3:08Good Morning Britain
3:10for those of you listening abroad Good
3:13Morning Britain is a show that basically
3:15has a host called Piers Morgan
3:17um Piers Morgan likes to keep everybody
3:20very afraid of pretty much anything and
3:24everything he also likes to go out of
3:27his way to often belittle people and the
3:31one thing that makes him huge in the UK
3:34is his ego so essentially one of the
3:37things that he was doing was
3:38interviewing Matt Hancock who is also
3:41preaching fear in the UK at the moment
3:43and a vaccine has been developed
3:45recently which for some people will be
3:48something to celebrate for people like
3:50me I don't really care I'm healthy I
3:51don't need to worry about it but
3:53obviously it's important that people who
3:55have been terrorized by the national
3:58British press that they are allowed to
4:01feel that this might be something
4:02effective for them and that's great but
4:05Matt Hancock did something that anybody
4:07with even a gcsc in psychology probably
4:11just any general qualification in
4:14reading or writing would be able to
4:15sniff out immediately he pretended to
4:18cry
4:19and the thing about when you cry is
4:21there is a very common connection one
4:24you have tears
4:26and secondly you don't smile
4:29and you'll see from this clip
4:31that what we have here is Matt Hancock
4:34doing something that we call duper's
4:37Delight
4:39I mean just simple words there reacting
4:42it you're quite emotional by that well
4:45it's just it's been you know it's been
4:48such a tough year for so many people and
4:50there's William Shakespeare putting it
4:52so simply for everybody that you know we
4:55can get on with our lives and the minute
4:58I saw that
4:59it reminded me and transported me back
5:02to the case that's always been one that
5:05I found
5:06reprehensible for so many reasons
5:09and it's not just because it was a
5:11mother because the truth is women do
5:14kill when we look at domestic abuse
5:16women of Ireland when we look at child
5:18abuse women harm their children I have
5:21to say whether this is popular or
5:23otherwise and I have absolutely nothing
5:25against men a mother to two and I'm
5:27married to one and I had a great dad the
5:30point is like it or otherwise men are
5:33more violent towards people than women
5:36that doesn't mean that women are not
5:37violent it does not mean that women are
5:39not callous it also does not mean that
5:41women not Psychopaths but it does mean
5:43that on the whole women toe the line
5:47morally a little bit more than their
5:49male counterparts and that shouldn't
5:52mean that they are any worse than their
5:55male counterparts when they commit crime
5:57but they should certainly be held
5:59accountable and responsible to the same
6:02degree
6:03Diane Downs is an individual who in my
6:08opinion
6:09broke every single moral ethical but
6:14most importantly maternal code I'm going
6:18to take you through what happened
6:21Donna dance was 28 years old
6:24she was a mother of three she wasn't in
6:27a relationship she had lots of different
6:29Liaisons with lots of different men and
6:32for that I don't judge her absolutely as
6:34a woman whether you've got children by
6:37multiple partners whether you're in a
6:39relationship or another
6:41the point is you have a right to spend
6:44your time however and with whoever you
6:47like it doesn't represent any problem
6:49personality traits it just means that
6:52you potentially have at times your
6:54direction of your head turned and
6:56particularly when you've got three
6:57children that can be a little bit
6:59problematic we've got to be honest
7:00because when you've got three little
7:01children and she had very young children
7:03just finding time for relationships
7:06having been a single mother myself let
7:08me tell you finding time to just sit and
7:12read is pretty hard work but finding
7:15time for multiple Affairs can be
7:18obviously an indication that maybe the
7:22way that her direction towards her
7:24children should maybe have been was
7:27swayed elsewhere but it's forgivable
7:30happens all the time lust makes those
7:33act in ways that don't always coordinate
7:37with the lifestyle choices that we might
7:39have made
7:40one night
7:42Diane Downs decided to take her children
7:45sightseeing
7:48now this might not be considered out of
7:51the usual
7:52you know we often want to take our kids
7:55out
7:56but on route
7:58Diane saw a hitchhiker
8:01and even though she had three sleeping
8:04children in her car
8:06she decided that she'd pull over
8:09and that she would let the hitchhiker
8:12get in
8:15I don't question that life and times
8:18have changed since when Diane Downs did
8:21that
8:22I appreciate that there were times in
8:26this world where we weren't as aware of
8:28the dangers that potentially hitchhiku
8:30could bring was in fact I used to
8:32hitchhike when I traveled New Zealand
8:34and Australia I used to relocate
8:36vehicles and I used to pick up
8:38hitchhikers all the time didn't think
8:40anything about it would I do that now no
8:42I know too much social media has taught
8:45me too much and also as an individual
8:47working with victims of crime I know how
8:49those kind of Errors of judgment even
8:52though most hitchhikers are completely
8:53safe can lead to negative consequences
8:58Diane down says that this hitchhiker
9:03basically lent into the car
9:06and said that they wanted to take the
9:10car from her to steal it
9:12and she very very clearly stated to that
9:16particular individual no you can't this
9:18is my car are you kidding me they were
9:20her words are you kidding me
9:23at which point he started to randomly
9:27shoot
9:28her three sleeping babies
9:33I want you to just imagine
9:36that scene
9:37this idea that this man
9:40with a gun
9:41threatens to take the car
9:44so first of all the car theft is what we
9:47should focus on because somebody's
9:49wanting to steal a car when you have a
9:52gun the intention is to take the vehicle
9:54yeah
9:55so we can imagine at that point that
9:57would be very scary and for most
10:00rational
10:02human beings the consequence would be
10:05that we would take our children from the
10:07car and we would sacrifice that car
10:09because obviously our priorities are
10:11parents certainly as a parent under
10:13threat is to ensure the safety of the
10:15children
10:17the fact that then he randomly starts to
10:20shoot the children
10:22obviously would have been terrifying
10:25however
10:26it seems to be that Diane decides that
10:30there is a way to get away from this
10:32situation of course she needs to protect
10:34her children right she needs to get into
10:35Hospital one of them has been fatally
10:37shot at this point and she pretends
10:41bear in mind the fact that this is a guy
10:44who's got the car stopped threatened her
10:47with her own life shot to children
10:50she's now got the sudden Clarity to
10:53pretend to throw the keys
10:56so that he with a gun leaves that gets
11:00the keys to come back to get in the car
11:03to steal it
11:04you following me
11:06probably not the police didn't find it
11:08very easy to understand either
11:10nonetheless
11:12Diane then manages In This Moment of
11:15clarity to get in the car and to drive
11:18to the hospital
11:22what I want you to think about is how
11:24you would be if you were driving to the
11:25hospital bear in mind that one of the
11:27children at this point is choking on her
11:28own blood
11:29she's been shot in a way where she's
11:30internally bleeding and she's
11:32suffocating on her own blood the other
11:34two children are conscious and groaning
11:39potentially dying
11:41but the one thing that's happened is in
11:44the altercation as she leaves the scene
11:47just before she manages to throw those
11:49keys she's shot in her arm
11:54so this man manages to fatally
11:58attack one child
12:00also severely injure the other children
12:02and yet for some reason Diane manages to
12:06get away with uh arm that's been a shot
12:10now I grant you that at this point
12:12getting into a car and driving when you
12:14might be bleeding from the arm and in
12:15pain is going to be problematic I can
12:18also tell you that any mother or father
12:20watching this knows that you could have
12:22basically lost an arm and you would have
12:24made sure that you got to that hospital
12:25faster than anybody could have got you
12:28there you would have literally flawed it
12:31you would have taken your own life
12:32completely in the hands of God and just
12:36thought I will get there no matter what
12:38I will make sure
12:40that my children survive
12:44car
12:46that actually saw Diane Downs
12:49said that she was going so slow
12:52that they didn't quite know
12:54what was happening
12:56she didn't flag them down for help
12:59she didn't seem to be in a rush
13:02arguably it seems like Dan Downes knew
13:05that her children were
13:08very very badly injured
13:10and she was taking her time
13:13to get to the hospital
13:17now when she gets to the hospital
13:19again what would you imagine
13:21just think about it for a minute
13:23you've got a child who at this point is
13:26arguably dead
13:28choked to death on our own blood little
13:30baby girl
13:32you've got a son who's badly injured
13:35another daughter who's very badly
13:36injured very badly injured
13:40what would you be like
13:43I mean I'd be utterly hysterical
13:46I'd be screaming I'd be crying I'd be
13:50incoherent
13:52my distress even thinking about that
13:55makes me feel that I can empathize with
13:58the way that it would feel to see my
13:59child mortally wounded or desperately
14:02wounded
14:03but
14:04Diane Downs isn't quite a typical mother
14:10have a look at some of this footage
14:13listen to the way that she talks
14:18and really concentrate on her non-verbal
14:22cues her body language
14:24the way that she interacts with the
14:27people that she's talking to
14:31her whole life even as a child all I
14:34really thought of two years time I had
14:3710 separate lovers
14:39two years that's not very many and less
14:42than half of them were married this man
14:43shot my daughter my first reaction was
14:45to snap back to my childhood to the pain
14:49that had happened to me back then my
14:51marriage my entrapment by Society this
14:54man was bigger than me he was stronger
14:56than me he had more power because he had
14:58a gun and I stood there and I looked at
15:00Christie reaching and
15:02the blood that just kept gushing out of
15:05her mouth and and
15:07what do you do we were just out I guess
15:10sightseeing I guess you'd say and the
15:12kids got tired they fell asleep in the
15:14car so I decided just head on home
15:16but I saw a road I hadn't been on before
15:18we like to take back roads and just went
15:21down that road there was a guy standing
15:22in the road
15:24flagging me down so I stopped Christy
15:27woke up and as I say she may be the only
15:28one to get me out of this would I have
15:30brought her to the hospital wouldn't she
15:32be the one that I would make sure is
15:33that there are too many holes and now I
15:35have to watch him out I'm sure that you
15:36have a lot of questions and it makes
15:38sense because the way that Diane Down's
15:40acts is not typical we obviously can say
15:43that human beings interact subjectively
15:45with trauma of course they do you know
15:48I've certainly been in situations where
15:50I thought I'd be able to handle it and
15:51found myself hysterical equally I found
15:54myself in situations where I should be
15:56panicking and I have a cool calm
15:58management and motive to just get
16:00through the situation as best as
16:01possible so you can never quite know how
16:04you'll respond but I think we can all
16:06agree that the way that Diane Downs is
16:08talking doesn't resonate as somebody
16:11discussing a connection with the reality
16:15of what's gone on however it's really
16:17important like it is with any case to
16:20explore the personality of that
16:21individual and how they're formed so
16:22Diane Downs does say in testimony that
16:26she was sexually abused by her father
16:29obviously that isn't a case that's been
16:31tried and we can't testify that that is
16:34in fact true
16:35but what we can say is that people who
16:37are sexually abused rarely become
16:40murderers there is not a link between
16:42somebody who is an individual who's been
16:46sexually abused and molested and
16:47somebody who becomes a murderer that's
16:49not a link however one of the other
16:52factors about Diane that we see
16:53throughout her life is her promiscuity
16:56she goes to a Bible school where she is
16:59expelled because of promiscuity for
17:01example now we can say that people who
17:04have found themselves used by parents
17:07and caregivers and individuals that they
17:09should have been able to trust often
17:11have a very confused understanding about
17:13their bodies feel a great deal of Shame
17:15and often find themselves used and
17:17abused elsewhere or seeking validation
17:20in the wrong place and sometimes hear a
17:23worshiping individuals that they
17:25shouldn't hear and worship it's just a
17:27caveat because I'm going to come back to
17:29this in a little bit
17:31Diane Downs is not immediately charged
17:34with murder
17:36in fact she goes through a series of
17:40events that are now infamous
17:43because of the term as I say jupa's
17:46Delight
17:47and one of the videos that I'm going to
17:49put in now that I think will really sum
17:52this up is when Diana's being
17:54interviewed about how she's felt
17:58since the murder
18:01um the death of one of her children and
18:04the injury of the other two
18:06and the reason that I want you to
18:07concentrate is she's being asked a
18:10series of questions by the interviewer
18:13to elicit some kind of emotional
18:16experience
18:18watch the way that she answers the
18:21question
18:22but then watch after the question has
18:25been asked and there is a poignant
18:28pregnant pause
18:30the look on her face
18:34when I go to bed I cry at night even now
18:37I still cry I dream about Cheryl but at
18:39night when I close my eyes I can see
18:41Christy reaching her hand out to me
18:42while I'm driving
18:43and the blood just keep coming out of
18:46her mouth and that maybe it'll fade too
18:48with time but I I don't think so that
18:51haunts me the most
18:57that is jupa's Delight
19:00Jupiter's Delight is often seen in cases
19:03where Psychopaths think they've got away
19:05with something or people who are conning
19:07you believe that they've got away with
19:09something it's this brain body reaction
19:13that feels unconscious for the
19:15individual they feel that they've
19:18manipulated you and they can't help but
19:22show their glibness
19:24Psychopaths often have this idea that
19:27they are bigger brighter better and
19:30Diane Downs is actually a bright woman
19:31when you hear her speak she's incredibly
19:34eloquent she's somebody who genuinely
19:36feels that she has a part to play and
19:38she enjoys the Limelight I'm going to
19:40bring you on to another piece of the
19:42jigsaw this is when Diane is asked to
19:46reenact
19:47what happened when her car was held up
19:52and again
19:54what I want you to really concentrate on
19:56is this is a woman
19:59whose three children have been
20:02horrifically attacked one of them is
20:05dead
20:07now imagine having to reenact
20:10that experience to actually go ahead and
20:13in front of the press
20:15in front of the world
20:17show those individuals the terror
20:22horror
20:23of what you went through
20:26sitting in the car is Elizabeth Diane
20:29Downs
20:30one of the victims of this murder
20:32attempt murder I'm still on the keys
20:34okay I'm throwing the keys simulating
20:36yeah
20:40that just hit my cast
20:43started the car
20:45and left the car door shut itself
20:50we're sure after just watching that
20:51piece
20:53you will agree with me
20:55that the last thing that Diane was
20:57thinking about
20:58in that situation
21:00was a children in fact she was enjoying
21:02it wasn't she
21:03and there's a really important comment
21:05that she makes about the fact that when
21:08she hit her arm it her almost as much as
21:11and then she stops herself
21:14and what the police believe she was
21:16going to say was
21:18it hurt nearly as much as when I shot
21:21myself
21:24so in spite of the fact that we can only
21:26suspect that that would have been what
21:28she was saying what we can see is her
21:30enjoyment she loves the Limelight she
21:34wants people to know who she is she's
21:37enjoying this situation and the police
21:41often use this type of events this kind
21:46of exercise to ensure that the person
21:49trips themselves up
21:51now in between all of this I'm going to
21:54bring you to another key piece of
21:56information that is
21:58mindless
22:00mind Diane dance with Sunday who knew
22:03her cycle she knew when she was due on
22:05she knew when she ovulated
22:08she was a postwoman
22:11she randomly decided to choose an
22:13individual on her letter round
22:17to have sex with him
22:19so she got pregnant
22:21that was how diligent she was about it
22:24she openly admits that
22:26and the consequence was that during the
22:29process of her being arrested and
22:31actually going to court and being
22:32sentenced for the murders of her child
22:33and also the mortal wounding and damage
22:36of those others
22:38she is pregnant
22:40when she's interviewed about getting
22:43pregnant
22:44I want you to listen to what she says
22:48about children bear in mind this is a
22:50woman whose children have been horribly
22:53affected by what happened one of her
22:57children are dead and now listen to what
23:00she says about getting pregnant that I
23:02used to carry dolls around on a pillow
23:03and I wanted to be a mom I got pregnant
23:06when I wasn't allowed to and I'm not
23:08saying here forbade me to get pregnant
23:10but I didn't consult him I wanted to
23:12have children and so I got pregnant
23:14without asking permission I'd like to
23:17see him try to take this baby from me
23:19and
23:21I got pregnant because I miss Christy
23:24and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so
23:26much I'm never going to see Cheryl on
23:28Earth again
23:29and I just you can't replace children
23:33but you can replace the effect that they
23:35give you and they give me love they give
23:37me satisfaction they give me stability
23:39they give me a reason to live and a
23:41reason to be happy and and that's gone
23:43they took it from me but children are so
23:46easy to conceive
23:48he's chilling isn't it
23:51the children are just so easy to
23:53conceive
23:54that children love you
23:57that she's lonely because her children
23:59have been taken away from her
24:02in fact that's the whole issue with
24:05Diane Downs everything is about the self
24:08much like in this part of the interview
24:10where she is asked about whether she
24:14feels lucky
24:17about the fact that she survived
24:20and her response is
24:23everybody says you sure were lucky well
24:26I don't feel very lucky I couldn't time
24:28my damn shoes for about two months it is
24:31very painful it is still painful the
24:33scar is going to be there forever I'm
24:35going to remember that night for the
24:36rest of my life whether I want to or not
24:38I don't think I was very lucky I think
24:40my kids were like if I had been shot the
24:42way they were we all would have died
24:44that's right her response there was that
24:47she wasn't the lucky one she couldn't
24:49tie her own shoelaces for two months her
24:52children were the lucky ones because she
24:55managed to get away and drive to the
24:57hospital
24:58think about it
25:00she was shot in the arm one of her
25:02children were killed the other two were
25:04very badly injured but they were lucky
25:07because she didn't get shot or die
25:09meaning that they got to the hospital
25:11even though one of them never managed to
25:13see the light day again
25:14can you see how unusual this kind of
25:19connection as a mother is
25:21it goes completely against the grain of
25:24what makes us maternal
25:26now
25:28finding her guilty was one of those
25:30things that was going to take work
25:32because of course there weren't
25:34Witnesses and her testimony to some
25:37degree made sense bear in mind she did
25:39take the children to hospital so if you
25:42arguably do want your children not to be
25:44able to testify against you the last
25:45thing you're going to want to do is get
25:47them to hospital right you're just not
25:49going to do that but she did
25:52so on one level
25:54you could say well why would somebody
25:56who is going to take the children to
25:59hospital and therefore have expert
26:01Witnesses in the children do so if she's
26:04guilty
26:07I'm gonna draw you back to the attention
26:09of the car
26:11Diane Downs did get the children to the
26:14hospital because part of our Alibi was
26:17going to be the loving caring doting
26:20mother
26:23but
26:24she made a mistake
26:27even though she drove so slowly
26:30even though she saw all the blood coming
26:32from her children
26:34she didn't realize that only one of them
26:37had been fatally wounded she didn't
26:39expect the children to survive she
26:40didn't expect any of them to walk out of
26:43the hospital
26:46police were very diligent and this is
26:48going back a long time and be aware that
26:50when you look at certain cases such as
26:53the case of the Yorkshire Ripper they
26:55actually had to reinforce the ceiling in
26:58that case of where they held all the
27:00evidence because everything was in paper
27:01so it's really diligent and it takes
27:05time to get those kind of guilty
27:08verdicts and you need to be Beyond doubt
27:11Beyond reasonable doubt that the
27:13individual definitely went ahead and
27:15remember to some degree there was
27:17circumstantial evidence yes children had
27:20died but there was an alibi that had
27:22been given she had turned to put
27:23hospital and arguably she'd left key
27:27Witnesses alive
27:28so they start searching and one of the
27:31things that she did that's something
27:34that we see quite a lot in individuals
27:36with Psychopathic Tendencies is she
27:40liked to talk about herself in more than
27:43one way and one of the ways was to write
27:46journals
27:47and during writing her journal
27:51she started to talk about A Love Affair
27:54she'd fell in love with a man at work
27:57and she was relatively obsessed with
28:00this guy relatively obsessed with this
28:01guy but there was a sticking point
28:04he like kids
28:06but he didn't want any kids
28:08and she writes to him in letters my kids
28:10aren't that much of a problem you know
28:12she really wants to pursue this
28:15relationship
28:17but he won't engage in a relationship
28:19with her
28:21and he's actually married as well be
28:23aware
28:24because he doesn't want to have the
28:27responsibility of being a father
28:31Diane Downs kills her children or at
28:34least tries to kill her children
28:36for one motive
28:38she wants to be with a man
28:46to Diane Downs
28:48her children were entirely disposable
28:52and without doubt she wanted to kill all
28:54of them and let me put this into context
28:56one child
28:58died choked on her own blood
29:01Imagine The Terror of knowing that your
29:03mother had done that
29:05the little boy
29:06was paralyzed
29:09paralyzed by his own mother
29:12and her other daughter was so severely
29:15injured that after the event she
29:17suffered a stroke
29:21imagine being a mother
29:24imagine any of those things happening at
29:27the hands of a stranger and how you
29:28would feel the rage the righteous rage
29:31the desire to cause harm to those who
29:34harmed your babies but no Diana Downs
29:39it was easier for her to kill the
29:41children
29:42so that she could move on to be with her
29:43lover
29:46imagine the level of narcissism Grandeur
29:49the idea that whatever she wanted for
29:53her life was far more important than
29:56what she wanted for their life
29:59imagine not just accepting that you
30:02could give your children up to Social
30:03Services or your ex-partner
30:06it wasn't enough for Diane Downs to just
30:11walk away from her responsibilities
30:14it was that she no longer wanted a
30:17connection with the very children that
30:19she had grown and given birth to
30:24I'm going to put in some bits and pieces
30:26of footage of Diane now
30:28just so you can kind of get to grips
30:31with the kind of human being that she is
30:34it wasn't an intentional lie though I
30:36didn't change your story oh yeah
30:40I I agree I mean you know you've heard
30:43it it's obvious doesn't that make it
30:45seem kind of tough to believe what
30:47you're saying if you change your story
30:49two months after the shooting I I'm
30:51sorry I mean I'm not saying that you
30:54have to believe me I'm not saying that
30:55anybody has to believe me but I know
30:57within myself I can sit here with a
30:59clear conscience and know that I did not
31:01shoot my kids this weird person came
31:03about and nowhere and shot us for no
31:05reason and just left I mean that's not a
31:08believable story I could have if I had
31:09done this I could have come up with a
31:11believable story it really happened I
31:13could smell the blood I could smell the
31:14gunpowder I I could it was just a really
31:18really horrible feeling sure I could I
31:20could sit here and cry and be all upset
31:22and once I can approve it proves nothing
31:25I am who I am and I can't I can't prove
31:27that I'm anybody other than what I am
31:30me if I did it if they really had this
31:33evidence I said they didn't have they
31:35were pregnant at trial why did you get
31:36pregnant again I was extremely lonely I
31:39miss my kids desperately I had just seen
31:41Christy on the 2nd of October and it
31:44just it's like opening a wound and
31:46pouring salt and I was extremely lonely
31:49beyond belief and Beyond explanation and
31:51on October 13th I just went and got
31:54pregnant because I was so lonely I love
31:56my children I miss my children and I
31:59know that sounds simplistic it really
32:00does and I have to admit that and that's
32:02why I say there's so much more feeling
32:04inside than I can give in two minutes my
32:07whole life even as a child all I really
32:10thought of it I used to carry dogs
32:12around on a pillow we saw pictures of
32:14this so-called spatter
32:17it's drops when they took the kids they
32:20took Chris and Cher out of the driver's
32:22side of the car and it's blood droplets
32:25Diane Downs appeals for her Freedom
32:28again and again and again
32:33and the little girl
32:35that she only saw the day that she went
32:37into labor days after she'd been
32:40convicted of first degree murder and
32:42sentenced to life
32:44that little girl was adopted
32:46Diane downs's adoptive daughter only
32:49found out about her mother around 11
32:50years of age and she actually opened a
32:53book called little sacrifices which was
32:55written by an author who had witnessed
32:58the case and had written to Diane in
33:00prison
33:01she closed it the moment that she saw
33:03the picture of her mother because she
33:04couldn't believe the look in her eyes
33:08there was something cold calculating
33:11she was terrified enough to not even go
33:13there again
33:14she wondered what she would become
33:17and at 17 she had a child herself and
33:20unfortunately two years later she found
33:22herself pregnant again and she had
33:24decided that she did not have the
33:26framework of support in spite of her own
33:28loving parents adoptive parents so she
33:31decided to give that child up for
33:32adoption this prompted her to write to
33:35Diane because the one thing that she
33:36knew that she had connected with her
33:38mother
33:39was the fact that they had both had to
33:41say goodbye to a child
33:44initially those letters that were
33:46written were kind Diane talked about the
33:49way that she was pretty that she had the
33:51same jaw as her mother and for her
33:52daughter that was a connection that she
33:54wanted but then over time
33:56it became hostile on the letters
33:58aggressive threatening
34:00it seems that when Diane Downs cannot
34:03manipulate you then she will terrorize
34:05you
34:07and that ended the relationship
34:09after causing an incredible downward
34:12spiral for her daughter who fortunately
34:14with the foundation she had was able to
34:16then go on to raise her child in a way
34:19that Diane could never have offered her
34:21own children
34:23interestingly the person who prosecuted
34:26and sent down Diane down Downs adopted
34:29her two remaining children
34:32isn't that interesting
34:34thought of good
34:36versus a force of evil
34:38imagine being that prosecutor wanting to
34:41protect those little lives
34:44one of the most compelling and
34:46distraught issues within this whole case
34:50is that the main person who gave
34:51evidence against iron Downs was her
34:54daughter
34:56she had to take the stand
34:58little girl
35:00she had to be asked the question
35:03who shot you
35:06that she had to point to her mother and
35:08say
35:09my mother
35:14Diane Downs caused such a stir as the
35:17human being that she is not just because
35:19of the evil of her crime but actually
35:20because she's one of those unusual
35:21criminals she cannot shut up
35:24Chicago
35:26she enjoys the Limelight she enjoys
35:28seeming to be brighter than those who
35:31question and interrogate her brighter
35:33than those who interview her and let me
35:35put this into context the more sacrifice
35:37is the book that was written about her
35:39was actually made into a film it was a
35:42really popular film called small
35:44sacrifices and it had Farah force that
35:46playing Diane Downs and I know that
35:48wherever she was she will have been
35:49thrilled
35:51at that clay thrilled that someone like
35:54pharah Fawcett would take that place and
35:57the one thing that I'd say that pharah
35:58got incorrect in the film is that she
36:01showed emotion
36:02I'm going to show you a little bit of
36:04footage now of Diane Downs being led
36:07away from being found guilty and I'm
36:11also going to insert the tiny bit of
36:14footage that you'll see from the
36:15original film small sacrifices to show
36:18you the juxtaposition between
36:20dramatization of these situations
36:23and realities of psychopaths
36:28[Music]
36:45foreign
36:54anything like these before have you only
36:57on Batgirl
37:20I wonder how you two are gonna feel when
37:22the truth comes out one day I'm gonna
37:24get out and I'm gonna get the killer
37:26let's see
37:32Ryan Downs is sentenced to life plus 50
37:35years in prison
37:37Diane Downs is now an older woman in
37:40prison
37:41she served many many many years
37:44she appeals consistently
37:47she remains resolute
37:49that she was not guilty and let me tell
37:51you there are members of her family who
37:54do not believe that she was guilty but
37:57it doesn't surprise me that members of
37:59her family do believe that she's
38:00innocent because after all she is one
38:03convincing liar at periods of times
38:05she's such a good communicator and she's
38:08great at sticking to a story and if you
38:11tell the story enough times if you feign
38:14surprise and shock that somehow you've
38:16been caught up in this great big
38:18miscarriage of Justice over time you'll
38:20convince some people
38:21but there is no way that Diane Downs did
38:25not carry out this murder and we know
38:27that because her own daughter
38:29convicted her
38:31like I said my job today is to tell the
38:35story as I believe in truth it played
38:38out
38:39this was a woman who used people when
38:43they benefited her
38:44used men
38:46when they benefited her
38:48use children when they served a purpose
38:51and when they failed to
38:54disposed of them got pregnant again so
38:57that she could use another child to fill
38:59a gap that she could not fill herself
39:02and now continues to use the justice
39:06system to appeal and appeal
39:09for her own freedom
39:11she even appeared on the Oprah Winfrey
39:13show
39:15just leave you with a few clips of that
39:18job as a mother or as a professional
39:22to hold a woman to account more than a
39:25man
39:27but as a mother as a woman
39:30the one thing that I can tell you is
39:32this
39:33the relationship between a mother and
39:36child is sacrosome it really is
39:38it's something tethered by titanium
39:41threads
39:43and the idea that those threads could be
39:45broken
39:47let alone blasted
39:49by a 22 caliber gun that she denied
39:52owning only to be found with
39:56demonstrates that when we think about
39:58Diane Downs she was never a mother
40:01she was always a murderer waiting
40:06[Music]
40:22[Music]

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