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The crime that shook Oregon | Diane Downs | #truecrimeinoregon — Transcript

by Erica Conger · 10,671 words · 1,459 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:04[Music]
0:12thank you welcome to my channel my name
0:15is Erica and today's video is going to
0:17be the first episode of a true crime
0:19series I'll be doing here on my channel
0:20and these videos will be coming up the
0:22first Sunday of every month now I have
0:24always been very intrigued by True Crime
0:26as long as I can remember and I do have
0:28a degree in Psychology that I got years
0:30ago and part of getting my degree with
0:32studying abnormal psychology studying
0:34the Criminal Mind and I just became
0:36fascinated with why criminals do some of
0:38the things that they do and what I've
0:39determined after reading tons of books
0:41and watching tons of documentaries is
0:43that there's not always a real clear
0:45reason why these things happen now I am
0:48from Oregon basically born and raised
0:49here so I thought it would be really
0:51interesting to talk about True Crime
0:52cases for my state now this first case
0:55is about Diane Downs and I want to give
0:58a very huge disclaimer here that this
1:01contains very sensitive very difficult
1:04subject matter this is about the
1:06shooting death of a small child and the
1:08shooting of her two siblings at the hand
1:10of their mother now this happened about
1:1220 25 minutes away from where I live in
1:151983 I was in the third grade and this
1:18crime absolutely shook my entire
1:21Community nothing like this had ever
1:23happened here not even close and I can
1:26remember being eight years old and
1:28hearing about this case on the news in
1:30the newspaper I mean it was on TV all
1:33the time my parents were talking about
1:34it my neighbors my teachers I mean
1:36everybody and it made such a huge impact
1:39on my life as a small child and I've
1:42thought about this case a lot off and on
1:44throughout my life and I just felt like
1:46I really wanted to start off this series
1:48with this particular case even though
1:50it's very very hard to talk about and
1:53I'm sure it will be very hard to listen
1:54to and I do recommend that you not have
1:56young viewers around while you're
1:58watching this now all the information
1:59that I'm going to be giving you in
2:00today's video came from a book this one
2:03right here this is called small
2:04sacrifices by Anne rule not Ann Rule
2:07writes a ton of True Crime books she's
2:09probably I believe the best true crime
2:11author in the world and this book was
2:13really really hard for me to get through
2:15I read it before before I had kids so I
2:18hadn't read it in quite a while but
2:20reading this again now as a mother and
2:22as a grandmother was very difficult I
2:24had to put it down many times just kind
2:26of walk away made me cry many times you
2:29know this is like I said this is very
2:31difficult subject matter and I I did
2:33kind of debate whether or not to even
2:35talk about this case but because Diane
2:38has never admitted to doing what she did
2:41I don't know I just wanted to bring this
2:43case to light and talk about it now I
2:46also did watch two documentaries about
2:48Diane Downs and I'm gonna have those
2:49Linked In My description box very well
2:51done those documentaries include
2:53interviews that she did and some audio
2:55of uh her police interrogations and I
2:59really wanted to try to pull those into
3:00this video but I just don't know how to
3:02do that I'm not technically skilled
3:03enough to do that but I highly recommend
3:05if you want some more in-depth
3:07information from Diane herself I would
3:10go check out both of those documentaries
3:11so without any further Ado let's get
3:14into the case of Diane Downs
3:17Elizabeth Diane Fredrickson was born
3:19August 7 1955 in Phoenix Arizona to West
3:23and willadine Frederickson and they were
3:25a very young couple willadine was not
3:27quite 20 years old when Diane was born
3:28and in very quick succession she gave
3:31birth to four more children so by the
3:33age of 25 she was the mother of five
3:35kids Diane being the oldest now they
3:38moved around a lot in Arizona they lived
3:40in small towns and on farms they had
3:42horses and dogs and so at a very early
3:44age Diane became a huge lover of animals
3:47and when Diane was five years old her
3:49father took a position with the U.S
3:51Postal Service in Phoenix Arizona
3:52quickly moving up the ladder until in
3:55the early 1980s he was transferred to
3:56Springfield Oregon as a supervising
3:59postmaster now Diane was described as a
4:01waif a wistful little girl who was very
4:03quiet very shy very timid and she was
4:06always seeking her mother's undivided
4:08attention and because her mother was
4:10Raising five kids Diane didn't always
4:12get that and that was very hard for
4:14Diane to understand and to live with and
4:17she just felt like her mother never
4:18really fit the expectations that she had
4:20of what a mother should be now Wes her
4:23father was an absolute Tyrant he ruled
4:25the house with an iron fist was very
4:27verbally abusive to Diane's mother Diane
4:30and her siblings he had an opinion about
4:32everything he just kept everybody under
4:34his thumb now outwardly the
4:36fredericksons looked like the perfect
4:37ideal American Family of the 50s and 60s
4:40but behind closed doors it was a very
4:43ugly family life now as Diane grew into
4:45adolescence she felt very invisible very
4:47overlooked she was very quiet very shy I
4:49really didn't have any friends she was
4:51still constantly seeking the love and
4:54approval from her mother that she never
4:55really felt like she got and so she was
4:58just kind of a loner however she was
5:00very intelligent she had an IQ of 125
5:03and she scored off the charts for all
5:05standardized tests as she was going
5:07through school now when she was growing
5:08up in the 60s that was when the Beatles
5:10became very popular and people around
5:12her her peers were really getting into
5:14the different styles and trying to look
5:16like the Beatles and doing their hair
5:17all cool and wearing fun funky clothes
5:19and Wes her father would never let her
5:22do that she was very homely very plain
5:24and she absolutely hated that and Wes's
5:27verbal abuse became almost intolerable
5:29throughout her adolescence and as an
5:31adult Diane did accuse Wes of sexually
5:34molesting her when she was 12 years old
5:35now that's not something that he's ever
5:37in committed to but he's also never
5:39denied it so Diane grew up not really
5:42understanding what the word love meant
5:44or how love felt because she really
5:46wasn't getting true love and affection
5:49and Care from either one of her parents
5:51now at age 14 Diane's parents sent her
5:54away to charm school and that was the
5:55first time in her life that she truly
5:57felt beautiful and worthy she stopped
6:00being such a Wallflower and people
6:02really started to take notice of her and
6:03realize what a beautiful young woman
6:05that she really was now this was the
6:06time in her life when Diane finally came
6:08out of her shell she stopped being so
6:10quiet and so shy she started talking to
6:12everybody she was described as a torrent
6:14of words and would just say anything to
6:17anyone all the time when Diane was 15
6:19years old she began dating Steve Downs
6:21who was seven months older than her and
6:23they were both Juniors at the Moon
6:25Valley High School in Phoenix Arizona
6:26and she fell madly in love with Steve
6:29and she thought that he'd Fallen madly
6:31in love with her and he was very good
6:33looking not not pretty boy good looking
6:34but very rugged handsome had kind of a
6:37Swagger when he walked and she just went
6:40Gaga over Steve now Steve was the only
6:42boy that Diane ever dated throughout her
6:44High School career and he lived right
6:46across the street from the Frederickson
6:48house and so they were together all the
6:49time however Wes her father was not
6:52happy about that at all he did
6:54everything in his power to try to keep
6:55them apart which of course only spurred
6:58on their relationship and within about
7:00six months of them dating it did start
7:02to have a sexual relationship and at
7:04that point that that was it for Diane
7:06she was just hook line and sinker All
7:08About Steve now around age 17 was when
7:10Diane went through a series of very
7:12brutal losses in her life her
7:14grandparents on her father's side were
7:15killed in a drunk driving accident she
7:17was very close with both of them she
7:19also lost several pets during this time
7:20including her beloved Cocker Spaniel and
7:23then in 1972 shortly after they
7:25graduated Steve joined the Navy and left
7:27town which left her absolutely
7:30broken-hearted she didn't know what she
7:31was going to do with herself so shortly
7:33after Steve joined the Navy Diane did go
7:35to Bible College at the Pacific coast
7:37Baptist Bible College in Arizona now she
7:40only lasted a couple of semesters there
7:42because in her words she made the boys
7:44there go wild with lust she had what
7:48seemed like several sexual Affairs while
7:50she was there and the administration at
7:52the Bible College just felt like she was
7:54too promiscuous so she was kicked out
7:56and sent home so by August of 1973 she
7:59was living back home with her parents in
8:01North Phoenix which was not ideal not
8:03where she wanted to be she was
8:05absolutely miserable and just pining a
8:07way for Steve to come home from the Navy
8:09now Steve did return to Phoenix from the
8:11Navy I believe in September or October
8:13of 1973 and of course he and Diane
8:16picked up right where they left off
8:17which of course Diane's father was not
8:19happy about and he did everything again
8:21that he could to try to keep them away
8:22from each other but finally on November
8:2513th of 1973 Diane and Steve were
8:28married by a justice of the peace and
8:30Diane was finally able to get out of the
8:32hell that she'd been living in with her
8:33father unfortunately married life was
8:36not all it was cracked up to be for for
8:38Diane prior to their wedding Steve was
8:40very loving very affectionate doted on
8:42Diane but as soon as they got married
8:44that all changed he just stopped being
8:46loving and affectionate towards her and
8:48two weeks after their wedding he took
8:50another girl out on a date his excuse
8:53was that he had met her I believe when
8:55he was in the Navy and kind of dated her
8:57a little bit and he just didn't want to
8:58stand her up so he did take her out on a
9:00date two weeks after they got married
9:01and of course that did not sit well with
9:03Diane at all she was crushed she was
9:05very hurt and very early on in their
9:07marriage Steve put hot rod cars ahead of
9:09her he put hanging out with his friends
9:11in front of her so their marriage was
9:14tumultuous at best now Diane was still
9:16seeking the love and attention that
9:18she'd always wanted her entire life
9:19obviously she never got it from her
9:21mother now she wasn't getting it from
9:23her husband so she decided that getting
9:25pregnant would be the next best thing
9:26that she would have this child who she
9:28could love and that would love her back
9:30heavy emphasis on the child loving her
9:32back so Christy Lynn Downs her very
9:34first child was born October 7th 1974.
9:37Christy was a beautiful happy baby and
9:40Diane was just thrilled to finally have
9:42something that she could love and of
9:43course would love her back but the
9:45really strange thing was that before
9:46Christy was even six months old Diane
9:49joined the Air Force she went to Lachlan
9:51Air Force Base and lived in the barracks
9:53there and Steve was made to stay home
9:55and take care of this baby all by
9:57himself nobody could understand that you
9:59know she raved about wanting to be a
10:00mother she wanted to have this child
10:02that she could love and that would love
10:03her back and then at such a tender age
10:05of not even six months she left to join
10:08the Air Force just didn't make any sense
10:09now she didn't last there very long she
10:12I think maybe got completely through
10:14boot camp but I'm not too sure about
10:17that but she ended up getting discharged
10:18from the air force due to massive
10:20blisters on her feet so she went back to
10:22Steve and of course resumed her marriage
10:24and taken care of the baby now for the
10:26majority of the year of 1975 Diane was
10:29in transit she and Steve would have
10:31these huge awful blow up fights she'd
10:33take the baby she'd go live with her
10:34parents her parents however did not
10:36really want to be in the middle of that
10:38and they really didn't want Diana and
10:39the baby there so they would let her
10:41stay for short periods of time and then
10:43kind of kick her and the baby out and
10:44tell him to go back and live with Steve
10:45so at this point in Diane's life she
10:47felt totally dependent on either her
10:49husband or her parents she didn't really
10:51have a job of her own because of course
10:53she was taking care of the baby and it
10:54was just a really hard time for her to
10:57have an identity she really felt that
10:59becoming a mother would give her her
11:01identity but it just never really did
11:03that for her but during this time of
11:05constant Transit between Steve and her
11:07parents Diane did get pregnant with her
11:09second child and on January 10 1976
11:11Cheryl Ann Downes was born now Christy
11:15she was the happy Sweet fun baby Cheryl
11:18was the exact opposite she was very
11:20sickly she had colic she would cry all
11:22the time very needy just really needed
11:25constant attention and Diane did not
11:27really jive with that very well very
11:30hard for her to Mother Cheryl because
11:31she was so used to Christy being so
11:33docile and so easy and Cheryl was just
11:35not that kind of baby so a lot of
11:37Cheryl's Ray amazing was left to Steve
11:39and also to Diane's parents now not long
11:41after Cheryl was born Diane talked Steve
11:44into getting a vasectomy they just felt
11:45like two children was enough you know
11:47she could barely handle the two that she
11:48had so shortly after Steve had turned 21
11:50he had a vasectomy however he never went
11:53back in 10 weeks to have his sperm
11:55tested you know they you have to do that
11:57when you have a vasectomy you have to go
11:58back in and have the doctor make sure
11:59that you're not producing any more sperm
12:01and so Diane got pregnant again now
12:05Steve and her parents were adamant that
12:08she'd not keep this baby I mean she
12:10really wasn't taking very good care of
12:11the two children that she had she didn't
12:12really enjoy being a mother so Steve and
12:14her parents were able to convince her to
12:16have an abortion and that was one of the
12:19worst decisions that Diane says she's
12:21ever made in her entire life she was an
12:23absolute wreck and she went into a
12:25two-year period of just utter depression
12:28she was barely able to take care of
12:30herself she really couldn't take care of
12:31the two girls she wasn't showering she
12:34wasn't eating I mean it was just awful
12:36and at this point in time is when she
12:38started writing in Diaries and primarily
12:40she would write to this baby that was
12:42aborted that she named Carrie and she
12:43would create this whole Fantasy Life and
12:45this fantasy relationship that she had
12:47with this aborted baby very sad now by
12:49late 1978 even though Diane and Steve
12:52had a very tumultuous very Rocky
12:54marriage they were both working at the
12:56Palm Harbor mobile home company and they
12:58were actually living in a mobile home
13:00one of the mobile home models that they
13:02were selling at that point Diane begged
13:04Steve to have his vasectomy reversed and
13:06he absolutely refused he was like there
13:08is no way I'm not going through this
13:10anymore you know they just kind of
13:11gotten her through her major depression
13:13after having her abortion and he was
13:14like no I'm not fathering any more
13:16children with you because you don't
13:18really even want to take care of the two
13:19that we have so Diane at that point
13:21decided to begin a series of affairs
13:23with men that worked at the mobile home
13:25company one of which was 19 year old
13:28Russ Phillips and she got pregnant with
13:30Russ's child
13:31now Russ was 19 did not want to be a
13:34father so he and Steve sat down with
13:37Diane and begged her to have another
13:39abortion and of course there was no way
13:41in the world she was going to let that
13:43happen now she didn't really want to be
13:44with Russ so she was really hoping that
13:46Steve would raise this child with her
13:48and he was pretty clear from the get-go
13:51that under no circumstances would he do
13:53that unless it was a girl if it was a
13:55son there was no way he was going to
13:57raise another man's son on December 29
13:591979 Stephen Daniel Downs known as Danny
14:02was born and Steve took one look at that
14:05baby and fell madly in love with him so
14:07he raised Danny from birth onward very
14:09close with Danny and Danny was kind of a
14:12sickly child at first but then grew into
14:14a robust chubby adorable toddler now to
14:17the outside world Diane did her best to
14:19try to make it look like she was this
14:21wonderful incredible mother but most
14:23people could see through that and behind
14:25closed doors Diane was very similar to
14:27how her father was very abusive she
14:30would ignore her children they were left
14:32alone a lot she was very neglectful
14:34neighbors would end up taking care of
14:36the kids when she and Steve would be at
14:37work because she would just leave them
14:39home alone and Steve assumed that she
14:41had babysitters but she never did or
14:42that the kids were with her parents but
14:44that usually wasn't the case Diane was
14:46very verbally abusive she would scream
14:48and yell at her children she really
14:51wanted them to become very independent
14:52very early on and I mean like very early
14:55on when they were like toddlers And of
14:56course Steve and Diane's fights were
14:58just awful they started to become pretty
15:01violent and there was one fight in
15:02particular that got pretty ugly pretty
15:04pretty violent I think this was in like
15:061980 I believe where she went into their
15:10bedroom in the trailer or the mobile
15:12home that they were living in and took
15:13Steve's 22 Ruger pistol out of the
15:16closet went into the bathroom shut and
15:18locked the door and was threatening to
15:19kill herself and when Steve broke the
15:21bathroom door down Diane was pointing
15:23the gun right at his face and
15:25fortunately he was able to kind of talk
15:27her down but she did shoot a hole in the
15:30floor with that gun in the bathroom and
15:32I think that was something that was
15:33pretty scary to friends and family of
15:35the downses is that they knew that Steve
15:37had guns in the house he had a rifle a
15:3922 rifle he had that 22 pistol and then
15:42they also had a 38 handgun as well so
15:45you know their family and friends were
15:47just kind of always thinking man
15:48something could get really ugly over
15:50there and they were just hopeful or
15:52hoping that that just would never happen
15:54now in 1980 Diane was not ready to stop
15:57having children but at that point Steve
16:00had finally had a successful vasectomy
16:02so on May 23 1980 unbeknownst to anyone
16:06Diane reached out to a surrogacy clinic
16:08in Kentucky filled out their preliminary
16:11form and was accepted into the first
16:13round of the surrogacy program
16:15so she flew out to Kentucky nobody knew
16:18where she was and had a series of
16:20psychological tests done before they
16:21would approve her to be a surrogate
16:23mother and that is the point in which a
16:26lot of the psychological problems that
16:28Diane had were found out she was
16:31diagnosed with narcissistic personality
16:32disorder she was diagnosed with
16:34antisocial personality disorder they
16:37felt that she had no ego at all and that
16:40she always looked to other people to try
16:42to develop her ego and that she was just
16:45a very very lost soul and because of the
16:48way she scored on these psychological
16:50tests uh the doctors or the
16:52psychologists at the Kentucky surrogacy
16:55Clinic said no way no way are we going
16:57to be accepting her into this program so
16:59Diane flew back to Arizona and she found
17:02a psychologist on her own that said that
17:06she had passed all the psychological
17:07tests and because she had those results
17:10she took that back with her to Kentucky
17:12showed it to the psychologists and the
17:14doctors and said now what you're going
17:16to inseminate me so they did and she
17:18became a surrogate mother now another
17:20one of the main reasons why she became a
17:22surrogate mother wasn't just because she
17:23wanted to have a child but because they
17:25were going to pay her ten thousand
17:26dollars to deliver this baby and give
17:29this baby to this couple that was
17:30wanting a child that obviously couldn't
17:31have a child on their own and so she
17:34really wanted this money to get the hell
17:36away from Steve take the kids and leave
17:38and be done with him once and for all so
17:40after all was said and done on May 7
17:421982 Diane gave birth to a beautiful
17:44baby girl who she named Jennifer now the
17:48medical staff at the hospital when she
17:49gave birth to this baby they were
17:51convinced that she was not going to give
17:52the baby up because she was already
17:53talking about how much she loved the
17:55baby and of course she'd name the baby I
17:58mean it was pretty scary but she did
18:00give the baby to the couple Diane did
18:02violate the terms of the adoption and
18:05she did send the baby some clothes I
18:08believe maybe a baby blanket but those
18:10are are returned to Diane as address
18:12unknown so she returned to Arizona after
18:15she gave birth to the baby with ten
18:16thousand dollars in hand and finally
18:18made the break from Steve once and for
18:20all and they were divorced in July of
18:221982 was when Diane would begin a
18:24relationship with the man that would
18:26forever change the course of her life
18:28and her children's life now during her
18:30pregnancy her surrogate pregnancy she
18:32began working at the post office in
18:34Chandler Arizona running a mail route
18:36and she met Lewis Lewiston known as Lou
18:39and they worked together on the same
18:41shift and initially Lou really liked
18:43Diane he thought she was really pretty
18:44really smart really funny but they began
18:46a very steamy Affair very quickly and
18:49Lou was married to another woman and
18:51Diane's whole goal was to have Lou all
18:54to herself she became absolutely
18:55obsessed with this man she would call
18:57him all the time show up at his house
18:59all the time uh just stalk him basically
19:02was always up in his business constantly
19:05and I do believe that after reading the
19:07book small sacrifices that Lou really
19:09let her on I mean he would break up with
19:12her get back together with her he'd
19:14leave his wife and go stay in an
19:15apartment he'd have Diane move in with
19:17him I mean it was just very bizarre so I
19:19don't really feel like he was innocent
19:21in all of that but she really just
19:23became obsessed with him she just could
19:26not understand that they were not going
19:28to be together for the rest of their
19:29life she was convinced that that was
19:31going to happen and she would stop at
19:32nothing to have him all to herself now
19:34Lou had had a vasectomy when he was 21
19:36years old he never wanted to have
19:38children and that was one of the reasons
19:40why he just really didn't want to be
19:42with Diane because she had three little
19:43kids and he was very honest and open
19:45with her about the fact that he did not
19:46want to have children he didn't want to
19:47raise anybody else's children so that
19:50was a huge stumbling block in the
19:51relationship and Diane tried as much as
19:54she could to convince Lou that her
19:56children would never be an issue in
19:58their relationship that they were very
19:59independent I mean they were what like
20:01eight six or eight four and two or seven
20:04four and two at the time and they're
20:06independent they're not going to be
20:07involved in their relationship I mean
20:09just bizarre and of course Diane is
20:12still writing in her diary lengthy
20:14stories and poems for Lou about Lou
20:17about their affair she also had this
20:19whole Fantasy Life in her diary about
20:21raising Jennifer who she'd given up for
20:23adoption the surrogate pregnancy and you
20:26know just really had a very delusional
20:29mental life that she was putting onto
20:31paper in her Diaries so this affair
20:33continued on back and forth back and
20:36forth they'd break up get back together
20:37break up get back together and finally
20:39in February of 1983 Lou left Arizona and
20:43went back to Texas that's where he was
20:44from just kind of clear his head and
20:46figure some things out try to decide how
20:48to end it with Diane permanently he knew
20:51he needed to tell Nora Nora however did
20:53know of the affair I mean she wasn't
20:55stupid they had gone to like post office
20:57Gatherings like a barbecue and it was
20:59very obvious by the way Diane was acting
21:01around Lou that they were having an
21:02affair so she already knew what was
21:05going on so while Lou was gone Diane
21:08just fell apart she couldn't believe
21:09that he'd left left her she didn't know
21:11whether or not he was going to come back
21:12and she finally decided that she needed
21:15to kind of put her foot down here and
21:18kind of force Lou's Hand in the affair
21:21like kind of make him decide do you want
21:22to be with your wife or do you want to
21:24be with me so her parents had moved to
21:25Oregon like I said at the very beginning
21:27Wes had been transferred as a
21:30supervising postmaster to the post
21:32office in Springfield Oregon so Diane
21:34got a hold of her parents and said you
21:36know I think it would be good for us to
21:37have a change of pace I think the kids
21:39and I are going to come out to Oregon
21:40and live with you guys and you know
21:41obviously find their own place to live
21:43so in April of 1983 Diane packed up her
21:46brand new red with silver accents Nissan
21:48Pulsar with her own and her children's
21:50belongings and they headed off to Oregon
21:52now Lou had returned back to Arizona
21:54shortly before Diane laughed and had
21:56given her a gold necklace to take along
21:59with her now his story and her story are
22:02very different his story is that he just
22:04wanted her to have like a Memento of
22:06their Affair her story was that Lou had
22:08given her the necklace to prove that she
22:10belong to him and they would always be
22:12together and Diane's whole plan was that
22:15they would move to Oregon and that Lou
22:16would leave his wife and join her
22:18shortly thereafter but that never
22:20happened so when Diane reached Oregon in
22:22April of 1983 she and her three children
22:24settled in a small duplex on Q Street in
22:26Springfield Oregon Diane initially
22:28started running a mail route in
22:30Springfield but then was transferred to
22:31Cottage Grove Oregon which is a little
22:33suburb town about 20 minutes away from
22:35Springfield and she was very popular
22:38very well liked everybody loved her at
22:40the post office but again she started
22:43neglecting the children leaving them
22:45home alone leaving them with her parents
22:46to the point where neighbors were
22:48getting involved the neighbors were
22:49actually having the kids over for dinner
22:51spending the night I mean Diane just
22:53wasn't ever there she began a series of
22:55affairs with men that she worked with at
22:57the post office just kind of same old
22:59same old started all over again in
23:01Oregon now at one point one of the
23:03neighbors did say that Cheryl the middle
23:05child she was about seven years old at
23:08this point told the neighbor that she
23:09was fair full of her mother that her
23:11mother had actually taken the kids out
23:13on a drive kind of out in the country
23:15stopped the car had gotten out of the
23:17car hid behind a tree and had jumped out
23:20the middle of the night jumped out and
23:22scared the crap out of all three
23:23children and uh the neighbor was
23:26obviously very concerned about the story
23:28that Cheryl was telling her and just
23:30kind of started keeping more of an eye
23:32on what was going on next door now in
23:34early May Diane drove all the way back
23:36to Arizona to give the gold necklace
23:38back to Lou
23:40at that point she had gotten herself a
23:42rose tattoo on her back with Lou's name
23:45underneath of it so that was one of the
23:46reasons why she went back to Arizona was
23:48to show him this symbol of love that she
23:50had put on her back and he was pretty
23:52freaked out by that uh his story is that
23:55he just took the necklace from her and
23:57said goodbye Diane I I'm done I don't
24:00want to have anything more to do with
24:01you but of course what she wrote in her
24:03diary was that he was just heartbroken
24:06to have the necklace back that he was so
24:08touched and so moved by this tattoo that
24:10she'd had put on her back and that yes
24:12he was still planning on moving to
24:15Oregon to be with her forever now in
24:17early May of 1983 Diane did a very
24:20strange thing that really kind of
24:23stumped investigators when they were
24:24looking into this crime investigating
24:26the crime she had a gold unicorn made
24:28like specially made that had all three
24:31kids names engraved on it and it said I
24:34love you Mom in the date May 13 1983.
24:38and I'll get into that more here in a
24:41little bit but when they were
24:42investigating the crime that became a
24:45huge Talisman of what ended up happening
24:48on the night of May 19 1983. close to 11
24:51o'clock at night on May 19 1983 Diane
24:54pulled into the ambulance entrance of
24:56the McKenzie Willamette Hospital in
24:58Springfield Oregon laying on the Horn of
25:00her car and screaming someone shot my
25:03kids someone shot my kids the nursing
25:06staff and the doctors raced out of the
25:08car opened the door up and grabbed two
25:10small children out of the back seat that
25:12had clearly been shot and raced them
25:13into the emergency room there was a
25:15third child laying on the floor of the
25:17passenger's driver's side and initially
25:19they didn't even see her but luckily one
25:21of the nurses caught a glimpse of her
25:23out of the side of her eye and went back
25:25out and grabbed her as well and when
25:28they first got these kids laid down on
25:30the beds in the emergency room they were
25:32just an absolute shock of what was going
25:35on these little babies had been shot so
25:37the oldest nine-year-old Christy Downs
25:39who was in the back seat was found to
25:41have two gunshot wounds in her chest and
25:43one at the base of her left thumb Danny
25:46who was also in the back seat three
25:47years old had a bullet wound middle of
25:50his back really close to the spinal
25:51column and Cheryl who they found on the
25:53floor of the car covered in her mother's
25:55postal sweater had two gunshot wounds to
25:58her back and was pronounced Dead on
25:59Arrival so of course they instantly
26:02start working on these three children
26:04now Christy the oldest the nine-year-old
26:06she had coagulated blood in her Airway
26:09and they couldn't figure out why she had
26:12all these blood clots there because
26:13Diane had given them a little bit of
26:15information about what had happened that
26:17they had just been out on old Mohawk
26:20Road kind of out in the country for a
26:21little sightseeing drive and the kids
26:22had fallen asleep and out of nowhere
26:24This Man shows up gets her out of the
26:27car shoots all three kids and this would
26:29just happen like I don't know 10 minutes
26:31before and she had just raced them to
26:32the hospital but in a 10-minute time
26:35span you wouldn't have coagulated
26:37clotted blood in your Airway way so they
26:40pretty quickly determined that this did
26:42not happen 10 minutes before that it had
26:45been at least probably 30 minutes since
26:47the shooting had taken place Diane was
26:49of course there in the hospital with
26:51them but was a very quiet very stoic not
26:54really showing any emotion she looked
26:56pretty shocked and the medical staff
26:57that was working on her kids just felt
26:59like maybe she was just in a lot of
27:01shock but when they went out to talk to
27:03her about the fact that Cheryl was
27:05pronounced dead upon arrival that
27:07Christy had some major uh Damage Done
27:09from these two gunshot wounds in her
27:11chest that they were pretty sure she had
27:12suffered a stroke and that we're going
27:14to need to take her to emergency surgery
27:16right away and that Danny's injury to
27:18his spine was most likely going to leave
27:20him paralyzed from the waist down her
27:23only question was wait you mean it
27:25missed his heart so of course the
27:27medical staff was pretty stumped and
27:29pretty confused and pretty just
27:31disgusted in the way Diane was acting
27:33now she did call her parents right away
27:35they did come to the hospital and of
27:37course the hospital staff called the
27:38police and the police instantly went out
27:40to investigate the crime scene and of
27:42course they began questioning Diane
27:44right away and what she told the police
27:46was that she and her three children had
27:48driven out to Sunderman road which is I
27:51don't know maybe 15 miles away from uh
27:54the city proper of Springfield to visit
27:56her friend Heather because Heather
27:58wanted a horse and Diane had some
28:00information about this horse and wanted
28:01to take it out to Heather to talk about
28:03it and it was about oh 9 40 at night
28:06when Diane and the kids got back in the
28:09car to leave so Diane decided to take a
28:11little uh sightseeing tour uh kind of
28:14back roads in Springfield and she went
28:16down old Marcola road which leads to old
28:19Mohawk Road and then old Mohawk Road
28:21kind of circles around and it meets back
28:22up again with Old Marcola Road and as
28:25they were driving down old Mohawk Road
28:27Cheryl had fallen asleep on the floor of
28:29the car and the two kids in the back
28:30were verging on falling asleep a man a
28:33bushy-haired stranger the bushy-haired
28:35stranger the BHS as the police called it
28:38jumped out stopped her car screamed and
28:41yelled that he wanted the car made her
28:43get out so Diane gets out she's standing
28:45with the car door open and all of a
28:47sudden this man leans over her reaches
28:50into the car and shoots all three of her
28:52children and shoots Diane in the arm now
28:55Diane when she arrived at the hospital
28:57she did have a beach towel wrapped
28:59around her arm
29:00now none of the other kids their their
29:02wounds hadn't been attended to at all
29:04but she had the time to stop and put a
29:07beach towel around her arm which they
29:08also thought was very interesting so of
29:10course you know when the police go out
29:12to old Mohawk Road they're looking for
29:14this bushy-haired stranger she also said
29:16that he was in a yellow beat up old car
29:18so of course they're looking for
29:20evidence of that they do find shell
29:22casings and spent bullets on the ground
29:25on old Mohawk Road so they did gather
29:28that evidence as well but there wasn't
29:30really any sign of another vehicle they
29:33could only find Diane's car tracks at
29:35this point so they were just kind of
29:37stumped as to who this person could
29:39possibly be of course Diane says she had
29:41absolutely no idea who this person was
29:43but that she was absolutely terrified
29:45that he knew that they'd lived through
29:47the shooting and that she he would show
29:49up back down at the hospital to try to
29:51finish him off now obviously horribly
29:53tragic that this beautiful little girl
29:55seven-year-old beautiful little girl has
29:57passed away and now this nine-year-old
29:59and this three-year-old their lives in
30:01the balance so they had emergency
30:02surgery both of them and they were able
30:05to you know patch them up pretty well
30:08Christy did have a pretty significant
30:10limp in some physical disabilities for
30:13quite a while after the shooting and
30:15she'd also lost the ability to speak I
30:17mean she could kind of Mumble but she
30:19really couldn't speak very well and
30:20Danny was now paralyzed from the waist
30:22down so after all this the surgeries and
30:24everything they were put into the
30:26hospital of course under armed guard
30:28and the police were there constantly
30:30just kind of monitoring them looking
30:32over them Diane would go and visit the
30:35children every so often she did have the
30:37bullet removed from her arm she did have
30:38a couple other surgeries and of course
30:40made that into this big huge awful part
30:43of this whole shooting not really
30:45focusing on the fact that she'd lost her
30:47child and her other two children had
30:49been you know horribly wounded but every
30:52interview she gave and on the news and
30:54stuff it was all about her poor arm that
30:57she couldn't tie her shoes for two
30:59months now the medical staff noticed
31:01that when Diane would go in and visit
31:02Christy and Danny that Christy's heart
31:05rate would just Skyrocket she would
31:07sweat profusely and just had kind of a
31:10deer and headlights look on her face
31:12like she was scared to death of her
31:14mother so the police taking notice of
31:17this and talking to the medical staff
31:18decided that they just did not really
31:20want Diane there they were really
31:22starting to suspect her so they issued a
31:24restrain order so that Diane could no
31:26longer be in contact with her children
31:27until the investor education was
31:29finished
31:29now the police did go to Diane's duplex
31:32and they noticed that even though
31:33they've been living in Oregon for
31:35several weeks then all other stuff was
31:37pretty much still in boxes there was
31:39only two pictures in the entire house on
31:41top of the TV set both of those were of
31:43Diane and there was another third little
31:45picture of Lou that was kind of in the
31:48picture frame of one of the pictures of
31:50Diane and also they noticed the gold
31:52unicorn that was dated May 13 1983 with
31:55all three kids names on it engraved with
31:58I love you Mom on the bottom they just
32:00thought it was really strange why was
32:01she memorializing this day May 13th it
32:04wasn't anybody's birthday it wasn't
32:05Mother's Day it was anything special
32:07so the police started to think you know
32:10maybe she did do this and maybe
32:12initially her plan was to do this on May
32:1513th but they weren't sure yet so of
32:17course they started looking through the
32:18house and they did find a 22 rifle and
32:21they found a 38 uh revolver and they
32:25found 22 bullets and 22 shell casings
32:27now the gun that was used to shoot her
32:29children was a 22 Ruger pistol similar
32:32to the one that Stephen Downs had owned
32:34and also that he had reported stolen
32:36shortly after Diane had moved to Oregon
32:38he noticed that his gun was gone so he
32:40did report that stolen and the police
32:42knew all about this at this point
32:44because of course they got in touch with
32:45Steve they were in touch with Diane's
32:47parents they were getting kind of the
32:48full picture of who Diane Downs was and
32:51they were pretty disturbed by the things
32:52that they were finding out so of course
32:54they bagged up those bullets took him to
32:56the police station to possibly be used
32:58as evidence eventually a ballistics
33:01expert got a hold of those bullets and
33:03determined that those bullets had been
33:04loaded into the rifle but they'd also
33:07been loaded into a 22 Ruger pistol
33:10and they found the same exact markings
33:12or etchings on those bullets as they did
33:14with the bullets that were found at the
33:16crime scene however they could never
33:19find the 22 Ruger pistol that has never
33:21been found to this day so they did have
33:23a little bit of evidence against Diane
33:24but they just could not prove that she
33:27ever had the 22 pistol at this point now
33:29another key piece of evidence against
33:31Diane came I don't know a few weeks into
33:33the investigation there was a man that
33:36was driving down old Marcola road on the
33:38night of May 19 1983 and Came Upon Diane
33:42downs's car the red Nissan Pulsar with
33:45the silver accents this car was driving
33:47less than five miles an hour this man
33:49said that when he looked down at his
33:51speedometer it was barely over zero so
33:54the woman who said that she raised her
33:57children to the hospital drove as fast
33:58as she could to get her kids to the
34:00emergency room that was all a lie she
34:02was crawling down old Marcola road
34:04because in actuality Old marcollar Road
34:07is about 12 miles away from the hospital
34:09so if she raced as fast as she could to
34:11get her children there she would have
34:13been there within I don't know probably
34:1510 minutes and if she left Heather's
34:18house at 9 40 she was probably on Old
34:21Mercola Road and about I don't know
34:22maybe maybe 10 o'clock onto old Mohawk
34:25Road where the crime took place and it
34:27took her almost 40 minutes to get these
34:30kids and herself to the hospital
34:32so that was a huge damning piece of
34:36evidence against Diane Downs because
34:37this man knew damn good and well that
34:40he'd been following her going you know
34:42barely two miles an hour and it was her
34:44car he couldn't hear any screams nothing
34:46everything was quiet but she was just
34:48going very slowly down the road so when
34:51Christy and Danny were well enough to
34:52leave the hospital they were both put
34:54into foster care and therapists began
34:55working with Christy to help her talk
34:57again and help her try to relive the
35:01events of the night of May 19 1983. now
35:04the police officers also found a tape in
35:06the tape deck of Diane's car it was by
35:08Duran Duran and she loved the song
35:10Hungry Like a Wolf and that was her song
35:13to Lou and on the night that they'd
35:15driven out to Old milhawk Road she was
35:17listening to that tape and especially
35:19that song so the therapist started
35:20playing the song Hungry Like a Wolf
35:22around Christy just to kind of see what
35:25her reaction would be and she definitely
35:27had some pretty strong reactions strong
35:29emotional reactions to the song and over
35:32time over the course of several weeks
35:34the therapist slowly began to get her to
35:37talk again now remember she's nine years
35:39old so that that's a lot for a
35:42nine-year-old child to remember
35:43especially when her parent is the one
35:46that inflicted all this damage in her
35:48life shot her shot her brother and
35:50killed her sister I mean they knew their
35:52sister had died there was a restrain
35:53order against Diane so she could not
35:55have any contact with the kids now
35:57Stephen Downs had come from Arizona to
36:00Oregon to see his kids talk with the
36:02police you know that sort of thing I
36:04mean obviously he was a kind of a
36:06crucial part of the investigation at
36:07least talking about Diane's life prior
36:09to coming to Oregon and Steve and Diane
36:12had a little chat one day and Steve did
36:15not realize that there was a restraining
36:16order against Diane so that she couldn't
36:18see the kids and he told Diane exactly
36:21where the kids were because he'd visited
36:23them at the foster home so Diane shows
36:26up one day out of nowhere and sneaks
36:29Christy out of the foster home and takes
36:31her for hours I mean they were just
36:32frantic they had no idea where she was
36:34they pretty quickly I think determined
36:36that she was with Diane but they just
36:38couldn't find her so Diane eventually
36:40brings Christy back to the house to the
36:41foster home and she was reprimanded for
36:44that but nothing really happened to her
36:45Diane and Christy just got set back
36:50weeks with her progress of speaking I
36:52mean she just kind of folded in on
36:54herself and it was obvious she was
36:55extremely frightened so who knows what
36:57Diane said to her uh during those hours
36:59where she took Christy out of the foster
37:01home but obviously not good so the
37:03therapist of course began to work with
37:05her again playing the Duran Duran song
37:07and just really talking to her not not
37:09giving her a lot of leading questions
37:10but just trying to get her to open up
37:12about what happened on the night of May
37:1419th and slowly Christy started to talk
37:17about what had happened now the
37:19therapist came up with an ingenious idea
37:21she said Christy I want you to write
37:23down the name of the person that shot
37:25you and Danny and Cheryl fold the piece
37:28of paper up and put it in an envelope
37:29and what we'll do is we will throw that
37:31envelope in the fire we'll just keep
37:33doing that every time we meet I want you
37:35to write down the person's name that did
37:36this to you fold it up put an envelope
37:38put it in the fireplace and eventually
37:40when you feel like you can trust me
37:42enough or you feel comfortable enough I
37:44want you to hand me that envelope and
37:46allow me to read the name that you've
37:47written on the piece of paper that's
37:48inside so that went on for quite a while
37:50Christy would get through her therapy
37:52session and then she would write down
37:54the name of whoever shot her put on a
37:56piece of paper and an envelope and throw
37:57it in the fireplace and finally she
37:59developed enough trust with the
38:00therapist that she was able to hand her
38:03the envelope with the name of the person
38:05that had done this to her inside the
38:07therapist opened it up and read mom on
38:10the piece of paper now this crime took
38:12place in Lane County and Fred huge was
38:14the assistant district attorney for Lane
38:16County and he was given this case now he
38:19had done a lot of misdemeanors uh some
38:21you know kind of decent crime cases but
38:25nothing to this extent nothing and at
38:28this point when Fred took over this case
38:30or was given this case Diane had created
38:32this huge media frenzy she reached out
38:36to several different news reporters with
38:39newspapers and news anchors with news
38:41channels in the Lane County area and was
38:45telling them everything that they would
38:46want to know about the bushy-haired
38:48stranger about the fact that the police
38:50didn't believe her her children were
38:51taken out of her care put in foster care
38:53there was a restrain order I mean all
38:55this stuff but these interviews
38:57ultimately did her in she was very
38:59arrogant during these interviews very
39:01rude just an absolute ass as far as I'm
39:04concerned just awful just awful and so
39:07the tide started to change the public
39:10really started to see her for who she
39:12really was they were hearing stories
39:14that other people were talking about in
39:16the media as well Steve and the
39:17neighbors and her family members I mean
39:19nobody really believed in her she did
39:22have a younger brother Diane's younger
39:24brother Paul that believed in her
39:25innocence but nobody else believed that
39:28she was innocent nobody so ultimately
39:30all these interviews that she was doing
39:31were really just not helping her because
39:34they were making her look like such a
39:35horrible monster I mean she would shed
39:37no tears talk about very inappropriate
39:40things she would giggle and laugh act
39:42like she was like best friends with the
39:44reporter I mean just very very bizarre
39:46and also the story that Diane was
39:48telling was all over the place uh first
39:50she said she didn't know the
39:51bushy-haired stranger then she said she
39:53did know that but she heard stranger and
39:55there was actually two men and she knew
39:56both of them and she could name both of
39:58them but she refused to do that because
39:59she wasn't going to give the police what
40:01they wanted nothing she said was the
40:03truth nothing and because her stories
40:05kept changing so much I mean she just
40:07made herself look like even more of a
40:08fool I mean everybody everybody knew
40:10what a liar she was so in February of
40:121984 the police finally went and
40:15arrested Elizabeth Diane Downs for the
40:17murder of Cheryl downs and the shooting
40:19of Christy and Danny Downs now Diane's
40:22trial began in early May of 1984 and the
40:25courthouse was very shocked when a very
40:27pregnant Diane walked into the
40:29courthouse
40:30she had met a man during her postal
40:32route in Cottage Grove Oregon and began
40:34an affair and obviously became pregnant
40:35and of course it was an absolute media
40:37Circus the media was out in the parking
40:40lot in the courthouse interviewing
40:42everybody and anybody that had anything
40:44to do with this case police officers
40:46medical staff from Mackenzie Willamette
40:48Diane's family Steve Lou everyone
40:52and so they were kind of nervous about
40:54how this was going to go down because
40:55they didn't want it to be this big media
40:57circus bizarre over dramatized mess they
41:01just wanted to convict this woman of
41:03killing her child and shooting her other
41:05two children and Fred Huey did an
41:07amazing job during that trial he did
41:09such a good job of questioning his
41:11Witnesses and he was also a very
41:13intricate part of Christy and Danny
41:15downs's life after this horrible crime
41:18took place he spent a lot of time with
41:19them in the hospital when they were
41:21recovering it was also a very intricate
41:23part of Christy downs's therapy as well
41:25and he did an amazing job of trying this
41:29case I mean just unbelievable did a
41:32really good job with the ballistics
41:33expert the bullet expert to really help
41:36explain what the markings on the bullets
41:39meant that yes they had been in Diane's
41:41rifle but also in a 22 caliber handgun
41:44that she owned he also had an amazing
41:46blood spatter pattern expert testify in
41:49court against Diane because dying and
41:52story was that the bushy-haired stranger
41:54had reached through the car and shot
41:56Christy and Danny in the back seat and
41:58then had turned the gun on Cheryl and
41:59shot her on the floor of the driver's
42:01side passenger seat
42:03and then he'd shot Diane in the arm
42:05however the blood spatter pattern said a
42:08completely different story it showed
42:09that someone had gotten shot outside of
42:11the car and then most likely was put
42:13back into the car he also brought the
42:15gentleman who had driven behind her down
42:17old Marcola Road when she was going
42:19barely five miles an hour uh speeding
42:21she said to get her children to the
42:23hospital there was no way that that
42:24really happened the state's biggest
42:26witness however was nine-year-old
42:28Christy Lynn Downs they had worked with
42:31her for a really long time to be able to
42:33sit in the witness stand and testify
42:35against her mother and Fred huge was so
42:38loving and so kind and so wonderful with
42:41her when she was on the stand and really
42:43helped talk her through what had
42:45happened that night
42:46and Jim Jagger who was Diane's defense
42:49attorney tried everything he could to
42:52confuse poor Christy Downs this
42:54nine-year-old child who had been shot by
42:56her mother brother's been shot by her
42:58mother you know they're physically
42:59permanently disabled now her sister is
43:02dead and this man gets up and tries to
43:05do like I said everything he can to
43:07confuse her and she did such an amazing
43:10job if she didn't understand something
43:11or he tried to lead her down a path that
43:14she just wasn't grasping she just
43:15wouldn't answer now Christy did say
43:17during her testimony that while her
43:19mother was shooting herself and her
43:21brother in the back seat that Cheryl
43:22woke up and tried to flee from the car
43:25Diane did shoot her outside of the car
43:27and then put her back in the car so
43:29everything just kind of tied together to
43:31finally show and prove that Diane was
43:34the murderer here and that she had shot
43:36all three of her children now another
43:38key piece of testimony that Christy
43:40Downs gave during the trial was that she
43:42vividly remembered seeing the 22 Ruger
43:44pistol in the trunk of her mother's car
43:46on the night of May 19 1983 when they
43:49headed out to Heather's house to give
43:50her the information about the horse and
43:52she also stated that that pistol had
43:54been in the trunk of Diane's car since
43:56they left Arizona to move to Oregon so
43:58that was a huge piece of evidence that
44:00Fred huge really wanted her to be able
44:03to talk about during the trial
44:04and ultimately she was able to stay on
44:07the witness stand that yes her mother
44:08had shot herself her sister and her
44:11brother they also played the song Hungry
44:13Like a Wolf in the courtroom
44:16and just to kind of lay the scene for
44:19the jury members and Diane sat there and
44:21tapped her foot and snapped her fingers
44:23and just kind of rocked out well they
44:25played a song that was playing on her
44:27tape deck while her children were being
44:29shot so after weeks of very intense
44:32testimony during this trial and after 36
44:34hours of jury deliberation the jury
44:37finally came to a decision on June 17
44:401984. Diane Downs was found guilty of
44:43two counts of attempted murder two
44:45counts of first-degree assault and one
44:47count of first-degree murder and on
44:49August 28th of 1984 she was sentenced to
44:51life in prison plus 50 years and was
44:54taken directly to the women's
44:55correctional institute in Salem Oregon I
44:58believe shortly thereafter she did give
45:01birth to a beautiful baby girl and that
45:03baby was put up for adoption but the
45:05story does not end here oh no it doesn't
45:06on July 11 1987 Diane Downs escaped from
45:10prison
45:11she scaled the wall put her jacket over
45:13the top of the barbed wire hop down and
45:16walk through a neighborhood to a house
45:17of another woman who was incarcerated
45:19along with her her husband This Woman's
45:22husband was still living in the house
45:23and kept Diane there for 10 days now
45:26when the police finally found evidence
45:28of where she was they'd done a search of
45:30her cell and they found a clipboard with
45:32a pad of paper on it and they could see
45:33some markings on this piece of paper so
45:35they did like a rubbing of it and it was
45:37a map this woman who she was sharing a
45:39cell with had drawn a map to her house
45:42that Diane had followed to get to where
45:44she was after she escaped from prison
45:46and when the police finally knocked on
45:47this door and this man this woman's
45:49husband answered the door uh he did turn
45:52Diane over to the police but he told
45:55them that she had seduced him and that
45:56he'd Fallen madly in love with her I'll
45:59know what it is about this woman but
46:00she's able to make men fall in love with
46:02her just all over the place
46:04so they did uh rearrest her cuff her and
46:07they ended up transferring her uh from
46:09the prison in Salem Oregon to a maximum
46:12security women's prison in New Jersey uh
46:15now currently she is in a uh the
46:18Chowchilla women's prison and I believe
46:20that's in Stockton California and she
46:22has been up for parole I think twice
46:25maybe more than that but I think twice
46:27and fortunately uh they have not allowed
46:30her to be granted parole and I really
46:33hope that they never Grant her parole I
46:35just don't think she should ever ever
46:37again be walking the streets now shortly
46:39after the trial and the sentencing
46:41Christy and Danny Downs went to live
46:43with Fred Healey the state's attorney
46:45the assistant district attorney of Lane
46:47County he and his wife Joanne adopted
46:49both Christy and Danny downs and they
46:52lived with them all through childhood
46:53into their adulthood and I am just so
46:56happy that that's how it ended up for
46:58them Fred really genuinely cared about
47:02those children he and his wife both
47:03genuinely care heard and loved those
47:05children so much and so wonderful that
47:07they were able to go to a loving
47:10nurturing wonderful environment after
47:12all the awful trauma that both of those
47:14kids had had to endure now I want to end
47:16this video by giving you guys my two
47:18cents about Diane Downs and and here's
47:20the thing I understand she had a
47:22horrible childhood you know
47:24ignored by her mother she was abused by
47:26her father and I don't make light of
47:28that I mean that that's very serious and
47:30I understand that it really devastated
47:31her as a child and I also understand
47:34that she never really felt like she got
47:36the love that she'd craved and wanted
47:38throughout her entire life you know she
47:40tried to find that with Steve that
47:42didn't happen she thought that having
47:44children would bring that love into her
47:46life and because she kind of had it
47:48backwards here you know the the parent
47:50has to give the child love first and the
47:53the love that you get back from your
47:54child doesn't doesn't happen right away
47:56I mean it takes a while they're babies
47:57they don't understand that relationship
47:59at first
48:01and then because she got so obsessed
48:03with Lou the man that she was having the
48:05affair with uh even though he wasn't
48:08obsessed with her I mean he he cared
48:09about her I guess but not anywhere near
48:11the way Diane felt about him I mean he
48:14was her entire world
48:15and he was very clear with her about the
48:17fact that he did not want to have
48:18children and that created this whole
48:20crime I mean the reason why she drove
48:22her kids out in the middle of nowhere to
48:24try to murder all three of them was
48:26because in her mind she thought that if
48:28she got rid of her children Lou would be
48:30with her forever and he had never
48:31planned on doing that
48:33and I know all those things and I read
48:35the book and I watched the documentaries
48:37but I I don't care none of this makes
48:40any sense to me
48:41a mother should love her child more than
48:43anything or anyone on the planet a
48:46mother should keep her children safe and
48:48protect them and Diane did the exact
48:51opposite of that she was this monster in
48:54their life not just at the crime scene
48:57which of course that was the worst of it
48:58you know obviously but she just never
49:01really treated them with the love and
49:03attention that they really deserved and
49:05I guess maybe because it was never
49:06modeled for her by her parents
49:09I don't know I mean I can understand
49:11that my rational mind can understand
49:13that but my emotions my emotional being
49:16just will never be able to wrap my head
49:19around what she did to her children and
49:21my heart breaks for the loss of Cheryl
49:23downs and my heart breaks for the trauma
49:26that Christy and Danny down suffered at
49:28the hands of their mother
49:30you know these gunshot wounds affected
49:33them for the rest of their lives Christy
49:35suffered a stroke had to learn how to
49:37walk and talk again Danny at the age of
49:39three was paralyzed from the waist down
49:41and has spent his entire life in a
49:43wheelchair
49:44I mean I I don't know how you ever
49:48rationalize that I mean there's no way
49:49you can there's no way you can ever
49:51rationalize what happened to these
49:53children and one of the things that
49:55really gets under my skin about this
49:56whole thing is the fact that Diane Downs
49:58has never admitted to what she did never
50:01not that that's going to change anything
50:03but I it just drives me crazy that she
50:06can't admit that she's the one that did
50:08this to her children there was no
50:09bushy-haired stranger or two but she
50:11heard strangers or whatever other
50:13stories she came up with she alone tried
50:16to murder two of her children and
50:18successfully murdered the other one I'm
50:21really happy that Danny and Christy were
50:23adopted by Fred huge and his wife I
50:25really hope that they were able to
50:26recover well from their injuries and to
50:29sustain good mental health I mean I can
50:32imagine that mentally this whole
50:33situation was so traumatizing and I I
50:36really just wish them both the very best
50:39and all the happiness and love that life
50:41has to offer my next true crime video
50:43will be coming the first Sunday in March
50:45so please keep your eye out for that I
50:47really thank you guys for taking time
50:48out of your life to sit down and watch
50:50this video I understand this was very
50:51difficult to listen to it was pretty
50:54difficult to give you guys the facts of
50:56this case I know there was a lot this is
50:57going to be a long video but I just
50:59wanted you guys to have as much
51:00information about this case as I could
51:02provide I do really recommend though
51:04that you go to those two documentaries I
51:06might have listed and I just are linked
51:07in my description box and watch those
51:09those are really well done and provide
51:11more information than I was able to give
51:13here and I really look forward to seeing
51:15you guys again in my next video but
51:16please in the meantime take very good
51:18care of yourself be well safe and happy
51:22foreign
51:24[Music]

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