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True Crime Documentary: Diane Downs (The Bushy Haired Stranger) — Transcript

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0:06[Applause]
0:16even though the sun had long set Over
0:18The Verdant Hills of Springfield Oregon
0:20Thursday May 19th 1983 remained as warm
0:23at night as it had at noon there was a
0:26quiet to the evening the kind of
0:28languishing Stillness that sometimes
0:30thresholds a storm but the night staff
0:32at Mackenzie Willet Hospital felt no
0:34oncoming torrent and after so many years
0:37fighting unpredictable emergencies they
0:40often found themselves with an innate
0:42power to feel something sinister in the
0:44air and the professionals they were they
0:47were always ready nothing had pre- armed
0:50them however for the drama that unfolded
0:52at their literal doorstep at
0:54approximately 10:48 p.m. no warning had
0:57come until the red late model Nissan bar
1:00in Arizona license plates kened into the
1:02emergency drop off bleeding its horn to
1:05scare the Devils from Hell the skeleton
1:07night shift all heard it their faces
1:10told them immediately that what they had
1:11anticipated a quiet night in the ER was
1:14not to be Dr John Mackey the physician
1:17in charge and the two nurses Rose Martin
1:19and Shelby day felt the familiar
1:21adrenaline receptionist Judy Patterson
1:24rolled back her typewriter ledge and
1:25quickly forgot about the routine
1:27insurance form she had been updating in
1:30the driveway just beyond the double
1:31automatic doors of the ER a blonde woman
1:34in her 20s waved them on she looked
1:36Ashen in the fluorescent tube lighting
1:39and she wildly pointed to the interior
1:41of her car somebody just shot my kids
1:44was all she seemed to know how to say
1:47Patterson hearing the mother's words did
1:49what she always did in emergencies
1:50involving violent crime she dialed for
1:53the police nurses Martin and day
1:55teetered when they looked through the
1:56windows of the Nissan side panels were
1:59soaked in blood and amidst the blood lay
2:01three small children one in the front
2:03passenger seat two in the back first
2:06glance told the nurses the children had
2:08been shot at very close range a
2:10golden-haired child up front a girl
2:13couldn't have been any more than seven
2:14or eight the RNs apprised of the two in
2:17the rear one was a girl maybe a trifle
2:20older than the other and a boy merely a
2:23toddler this call was unexpected and it
2:26was bad very bad Personnel from intent
2:30of care were summoned to assist ER and a
2:32swattie team of white coat professionals
2:34including top surgeon Fred wild height
2:37voled to the scene as the trio of
2:39injured youngsters were carried in by
2:40weeping nurses and pale interns as
2:43reinforcement came Dr Mackey explained
2:46the situation to them in two taught
2:48words chest wounds two of the children
2:51still breathed although strenuously the
2:53boy gasped for air the child found
2:56slumped in the front seat appeared
2:58beyond help despite frantic efforts by
3:00the doctors at the operating table the
3:02damage had been lethal she was
3:04pronounced dead moments after being
3:06wheeled to emergency only later did the
3:08Medics learn the children's names and
3:10ages Christy DS 8 Cheryl and DS s and
3:14Danny DS three but names and ages didn't
3:17matter yet in fact they were the least
3:20important factor in this hour This Night
3:23This calamity What mattered is that
3:25someone without a heart had deliberately
3:27attempted to murder three kids in Cold
3:29Blood
3:30and despite the odds despite a fate that
3:32looked gloomy the caretakers hastened to
3:35keep that fate at Bay and beat it at its
3:37own game with deliberate intention
3:40skilled hands attended to the two
3:42operable victims feeling the children
3:45succumbing to severe blood loss and lack
3:46of oxygen they performed tracheotomies
3:49on them to free the flowing blood and
3:51Salvage much needed air machines began
3:54to pump the little hearts and Revitalize
3:56the other organs despite the children's
3:58fragile condition Mackey and his experts
4:01kept them alive
4:03miraculously author Anne rule who
4:06relates the tragedy in her excellent
4:07book small sacrifices writes one child
4:10was dead Cheryl one child Christie had
4:14defied the odds and lived through
4:15profound blood loss heart stoppage and
4:17delicate surgery one child Dany seemed
4:21stable but was at risk of paralysis who
4:23in the name of God could have aimed a
4:25pistol at three small children and
4:26pulled the trigger their mother Di an
4:30didn't Supply an answer she told
4:32Hospital receptionist Patterson that she
4:35and her family had been driving home
4:37from visiting a friend in nearby Marcola
4:39when a man a bushy-haired stranger type
4:42had waved down their car on a lonely
4:44span of Highway thinking he needed help
4:47Diane paused to inquire and that was
4:50when said a tearful Diane the man
4:53pointed his gun through her car window
4:55and loosened its Barrel on her three
4:57helpless Offspring both spring field and
5:00Lane County Police responded to them she
5:03exacted the tale of the Ambush and an
5:05odd description of the Vagabond reacting
5:07to the story the Departments issued an
5:10emergency watch on the city and county
5:12roads fearing that there might be a
5:13Madman roaming the outskirts of
5:15Springfield its lanes and byways squads
5:18Drew into action in the area described
5:20by Diane as the point of attack in the
5:22vicinity of Marcola and old Mohawk Road
5:24a desolate spot became the center of a
5:26Manhunt since the crime was purported to
5:29have occurred in the county members of
5:31the sheriff's office for Lane County
5:33became principal investigators Sergeant
5:36Robin Rutherford was the County's first
5:38man to approach the children's Mother at
5:40the hospital when he arrived the nurses
5:43were tending to her arm which bore a
5:45series of small superficial wounds
5:47marked between the elbow and the wrist
5:49from where she had tried to ward off the
5:51gunman's blows seeing that Mrs Down's
5:54injuries were minor and that she seemed
5:56to be in an unusual state of calmness in
5:58fact she seemed seemed in full control
6:00of her senses he asked that she come
6:02with him to point out the best she could
6:04in the dark the exact spot of the crime
6:07the site she located by memory near
6:09where two rural roads converged was a
6:12most desolated spot where the river
6:14pushed by in the dark on one side on the
6:17other a field of wild flocks trembled in
6:19the wind there was not a spot a young
6:22woman with three children should have
6:23stopped her car to speak to a stranger
6:26when Diane returned to the hospital she
6:28was given the Terrible news about her
6:30middle child Cheryl as well as the
6:32status of her other two children she
6:35took the news gracefully but her
6:36attitude stunned the hospital Personnel
6:39who had expected her to turn hysterical
6:41she seemed too accepting when told that
6:44Dany had a chance of surviving she
6:46replied in an almost perplexed manner do
6:48you mean the bullet missed his heart G
6:51whiz detectives who spoke with her in a
6:54private room at Mackenzie willamet were
6:57equally surprised at her attitude
7:00one investigator a sharp keen-witted
7:02veteran of the County's homicide Squad
7:04who was aptly named Dick Tracy found her
7:07very rational considering what she had
7:10undergone unlike other women whom he had
7:12encountered after similar crises
7:14together with his partner on the case
7:16detective Doug Welch who also found
7:18Diane DS too stoic for a mother whose
7:20entire brood was just shot Tracy
7:23conducted an interview to Garner some
7:25personal background on the mother and
7:27her children as well as to begin
7:29building building a chronology of events
7:31leading up to the shooting to that point
7:34they had determined that the bullets
7:35that had been fired at the kids were 22
7:37caliber shot from either a handgun or
7:40rifle detectives suspected a handgun
7:43powder burns on the children's skin
7:45indicated that the weapon had been fired
7:47at an extremely close proximity
7:49especially those on the deceased girl
7:51Cheryl who had been in the front seat
7:54blood sped across the car's doors seats
7:57windows and elsewhere indicated that the
8:00murderer had discharged the gun from the
8:02left or driver's side which agreed with
8:05Diane's story claiming the Intruder had
8:07reached in through her window about the
8:09mother herself the detectives learned
8:12that she was 27 years old was a
8:14mailwoman for the US Postal Service and
8:17worked The Cottage Grove division having
8:19previously been a letter carrier in
8:21Chandler Arizona she recently divorced
8:24there from a man named Steve DS and
8:27after obtaining a work transfer Rel
8:29located to Oregon to be near her parents
8:31Willa and Wes
8:33Frederickson the Frederickson were
8:35former arizonians who had moved to
8:36Oregon years earlier Wes Frederickson
8:39was also a post office
8:41employee Diane sketched for her
8:43interviewers a quick history of that
8:45evening according to Diane she and her
8:48children had eaten a fast dinner at home
8:50then left their small duplex home at
8:521352 Q Street in Springfield Bound for a
8:56co-worker home on rustic Sunderman Road
8:59the friend Heather plow had told Diane a
9:01few days earlier at the workplace that
9:03she was thinking about buying a horse
9:05and Diane had found an ad in the
9:07newspaper about horse rentals that she
9:08figured Heather might appreciate seeing
9:11not knowing Heather's phone number they
9:13weren't intimate friends Diane decided
9:16to bring the advertisement herself the
9:19drive she explained offered a good
9:21opportunity to get the kids out of the
9:23stale house for a couple of hours on the
9:25way home after a brief chat with Heather
9:28and her husband Dianne thought that she
9:30would cut through old Mohawk Road to the
9:32main Highway she thought it might be fun
9:35to go sightseeing the kids enjoyed
9:38watching the moon from the unlit
9:40countryside it was then after she turned
9:43on to old Mohawk that she spotted the
9:45man he was standing in the center of the
9:48gravel road signaling as if for help she
9:51described the man as white in his late
9:5320s about 5'9 150 to 170 lb dark hair a
9:59shag wavy cut and a stubble of a beard
10:03he wore a Levi Jacket and an off-colored
10:05t-shirt she hit the brakes and got out
10:08of her car it was then that the stranger
10:10pulled out a pistol from under his
10:12jacket and demanded that she turn over
10:14the keys to her automobile she refused
10:17but in retaliation said Diane he reached
10:20past her through the driver's window and
10:22opened fire on her family when he then
10:25tried to reach for the car keys she
10:27fought back out stepping him but as she
10:30slipped back into her car he fired one
10:32more time at her now striking her arm
10:36slamming the gas pedal her Nissan sped
10:38off in away her children were hurt she
10:41could see that and thought of only one
10:43thing to get them to the hospital as
10:45quickly as
10:46possible Tracy's mind had wandered a
10:49moment while Diane spoke he had read the
10:52doctor's report on his treatment of
10:53Diane's arm injury a single bullet
10:56entered her left forearm it split in two
10:58as it sh shattered the radius and then
11:00exited leaving two smaller wounds as she
11:03related her getaway from the man on the
11:05road and how the bullet struck her arm
11:08he couldn't help thinking that the place
11:09where she was wounded was the exact same
11:12place other Killers had shot themselves
11:14to make it appear that they were
11:15attacked by a phony asant but would not
11:18pass judgment until the evidence was in
11:22and that would not be for some
11:24time before the interview ended Diane
11:27agreed to sign a search warrant on her
11:29home she admitted she owned a 38 caliber
11:32pistol which she kept for protection on
11:34her delivery route and a 22 caliber
11:36rifle for home safety but both were
11:38unused one lay cold hidden under rags in
11:42her trunk the other collected dust on a
11:44shelf in her home meanwhile police
11:47around the hospital were busy in the
11:49driveway they prepared the red Nissan
11:51Pulsar with the Arizona license plates
11:53for transporting to the crime lab for
11:55further investigation in the morg
11:57Sergeant John Peck's photo photographed
11:59the wounds on the dead girl behind ER
12:02detective Ray P collected evidentiary
12:04bloody clothing removed from all three
12:06children all Personnel assigned to this
12:09particular homicide knew without a doubt
12:12that the weekend ahead would mean little
12:13Leisure Time and a lot of pounding on
12:16doors question asking and rattling of
12:18brain cells to figure out this
12:20confounding irritating and heartbreaking
12:22mystery because three helpless children
12:25had their bodies savagely blown open by
12:27a gunner the policeman did mind the
12:29overtime one bit they wanted the killer
12:32now several nurses and an investigator
12:35were bedside when Diane DS was finally
12:37allowed into the Intensive Care Unit to
12:39see christe one of her two surviving
12:42children The Spectators noted that as
12:45she squeezed her daughter's hand
12:47murmuring I love you she did so as
12:50devoid of warmth as an icicle her words
12:53were passed through clenched teeth Paul
12:55Alton the investigator noticed something
12:57else the child 's eyes peeking from
13:00above an oxygen mask took on the glaze
13:02of fear when spotting her mom
13:04approaching I happened to glance at the
13:06heart rate monitor and at the pulse when
13:08Diane came in said he the scope showed
13:11Christy's heart was beating 104 times a
13:13minute but when Diane took hold of her
13:16that scope jumped to
13:18147 Friday morning plain clothesman
13:21checked with the PLS to ensured Diane
13:23and her kids had visited them the
13:25previous evening as Diane had asserted
13:27Mrs plard confirmed confirmed the
13:29visitation as well as the reason for it
13:32to give her an ad about horses under the
13:34supervision of Tracy and Kurt Welch
13:37state troopers searched Diane's
13:38Springfield residence requisitioning
13:40several items including a diary that
13:42they found the aforementioned rifle a
13:45Glenfield 22 caliber located where Diane
13:48had said and a box of standard 22
13:50caliber shells same as those taken from
13:53the children's bodies one particular
13:56item however interested Dick Tracy a
13:58photo of a young man in a beard that
14:00shared space at top the television with
14:02other pictures of Diane Tracy was
14:05cognizant of the fact that Dianne had
14:07made a phone call to a man in Arizona a
14:10former boyfriend supposedly not long
14:12after arriving at the hospital before
14:15she knew the state of her children
14:17before alerting her ex-husband and the
14:19father of the children she acted as if
14:21compelled to call this Arizona man Tracy
14:25studying the photo of the man wondered
14:27if he was looking at the object of
14:28Diane's urgent phone call Fred hugi of
14:31the district attorney staff sensed
14:33something foul almost immediately after
14:35being assigned by County DA Pat Horton
14:37to prosecute the case in preparation for
14:40what the da knew would eventually lead
14:42to a murder trial it was hui's job to
14:45follow the revelations of the case as
14:47they surfaced from the origin as far as
14:49hugi quickly ascertained the fetus of
14:52something evil had taken form in the
14:54embryonic Blackness of that rural
14:55roadway in Lane County whatever happened
14:59Thursday night the facts began to come
15:01to light in a most suspicious manner
15:03unlike those explained by the mother
15:05Diane DS huji relatively new to the DA's
15:09investigative Squad nevertheless knew
15:11Mischief when he saw it and he saw it
15:13first in the faces of two perplexed
15:15scared youngsters strapped to tubes and
15:18cords for life in a lowly lit hospital
15:20room never one for sentiment even he was
15:23surprised when he felt tears rolling
15:25down his cheeks as he gazed upon Christy
15:27and Danny DS and when he heard from Paul
15:30Alton the reaction of Christie when she
15:32had seen her mother for the first time
15:34since the shooting he knew it was not
15:36the normal reaction of any child who in
15:39pain and surrounded by Foreign faces
15:41would have been Overjoyed to see the one
15:43person in their life to rekindle their
15:46Spirits hugi ordered a round-the-clock
15:49guard on the children he also
15:51commissioned a child psychologist to
15:53remain at christe's side during the day
15:55to build up a trust that the child May
15:58when more hail
15:59confide in her about the events on
16:01Mohawk Road doubt in the mother's story
16:04was building over the coming days her
16:07version of what happened that night
16:09changed slightly her placement of the
16:11killer when he fired the gun altered in
16:13several retellings as did her own
16:15actions in the face of the supposed
16:17gunman when Doug Welch interviewed Steve
16:20DS Diane's ex-husband in Arizona Welch
16:23learned that Diane owned three not two
16:25weapons and one was a 22 caliber handgun
16:28which Diane did did not mention Welch
16:30found Steve DS an open Ur while talker
16:33who seemed glad to be rid of his ex-wife
16:35who he said liked to bed hop an
16:38electrical contractor living in Chandler
16:40Arizona he carried no grudge and seemed
16:42to be happy just to live his current
16:44bachelor life he admitted that he and
16:46Diane were still friends but that their
16:49occasional phone conversations never
16:51extended beyond the kids health and
16:53Scholastic welfare he seemed genuinely
16:56upset with the bad news and sincerely
16:58fatherly hopeful that Christy and Dany
17:00would pull through he made immediate
17:03plans to fly to Oregon to see them Welch
17:06asked Steve Downs if he knew who the
17:07Arizona man might be and the former
17:10spouse not surprised by the question
17:12replied that he must mean the married
17:14guy with whom Diane had been having a
17:16torid affair for some time before
17:18leaving Arizona he was a postal worker
17:20in Chandler and whatever happened in
17:22their love life the trist finally
17:24severed the man returned to his
17:27understanding wife but Diane still
17:28seemed to carry the torch hot and heavy
17:31her infatuation with this married man
17:33was maniacal it seemed but he didn't
17:35seem the type to leave a doing wife for
17:38a woman with three growing hungry
17:40kids when Welch asked about weapons the
17:43couple had owned and which ones Diane
17:45had taken with her to Oregon down told
17:47him that Diane had a 22 rifle a 38
17:51revolver and a 22 Ruger Mark 4 nine-shot
17:54semi-automatic pistol she used to
17:57practice her shooting at the local local
17:59Chandler area range why she carried guns
18:02she was a woman and felt she needed
18:04protection on her route Steve down
18:06suggested then detective Welch felt he
18:08had to ask the obvious Steve would your
18:11ex-wife harm your kids in order to get
18:13the married guy back no way the other
18:17shook his head she loves those kids when
18:20questioned afterward Diane denied she
18:22still owned the 22 caliber no one in the
18:26DA's office especially Fred hugi
18:28believed that there had been an
18:29aggressor on old Mohawk Road since the
18:32beginning of time wrongdoers have used
18:34mythical abductors and thugs as Alibis
18:36to cover their own or a close friend's
18:39crime in law enforcement jargon these
18:41makeb belie violators are niched under
18:43the all-encompassing term bushy-haired
18:45stranger the guy who isn't there the man
18:48the defendant claims is really
18:50responsible of course the bushy-haired
18:52stranger can never be produced in court
18:55hugi had Sid mouthed we estimate that if
18:58The bushy-haired Stranger is ever caught
19:01the prison doors will have to be open to
19:03let out all the wrongly convicted
19:05defendants Paul Alton hui's Central
19:08FactFinder summed up his and the
19:10investigators misgivings I don't buy it
19:13she goes out to Sunderman to see Heather
19:15plow she decides to go sightseeing and
19:17heads toward marola suddenly she decides
19:20she'll Veer off on the old Mohawk Road
19:22say we buy the story that she sighing
19:25even if it's almost pitch dark she ssing
19:28how do we explain that the shooter knew
19:30she was going to be there if he's
19:32following her in his own car he could
19:34Trail her onto old Mohawk but she tells
19:36us that the stranger is in front of her
19:38standing in the road waving her down how
19:40does he get there to the trained Hawk
19:43Shaw's eyes the picture was incorrect
19:46incomplete even retouched if the killer
19:49wanted the car wouldn't he have shot
19:51Diane first she was the adult and would
19:54have been his biggest obstacle not the
19:56three tiny kids huddling in the car
19:59what would a bushy-haired stranger have
20:01to gain in shooting Christy Cheryl and
20:03Danny DS over the weekend forensic
20:06scientist James PEX from the Oregon
20:07State Police Department examined the
20:10interior of the Downs automobile to
20:12produce some thoughtful findings as
20:14reported to hugi and his Squad PEX had
20:16found a couple of 22 caliber ell copper
20:19casings ejected after firing no bullet
20:22had penetrated the body of the car
20:24indicating that all bullets had hit
20:26their live marks blood smeared the side
20:28door of the front seat where Cheryl had
20:30tumbled after being shot and pools of
20:32Blood Stained the rear seat where Dany
20:34and Christy had been hit but peek
20:37surprised no blood at all on the
20:39driver's side no smears on the steering
20:42wheel if a bullet had hit Diane as she
20:44was getting into her car as she said it
20:47would have been reflex for her to grab
20:48that wound with her idle hand there
20:51would have been blood on that hand then
20:53as she tried to steer the car from the
20:54scene Blood on the steering wheel also
20:58when a bullet is fired he explained the
21:00barrel discharges a small amount of
21:02smokeless gunpowder forward towards the
21:04target such powder particles were
21:06detected in three angles of the car on
21:08the right panel and in a sweep along the
21:10back seat there were no particles
21:12however on the driver's panel what did
21:14all this mean it could very well mean
21:16that whoever did the shooting had been
21:18seated in the driver's seat and that
21:20Diane DS shot herself just before she
21:22reached the hospital a scouring of the
21:25entire crime area had failed to produce
21:27the murder weapon but ejected casings
21:29from a spent 22 caliber matching those
21:32in the car were discovered in the
21:34vicinity divers even plunged into the
21:37Mohawk River which runs through the
21:39topography but could not find the gun
21:42unfortunately the river churned here and
21:44ran a rapid course that time of year in
21:46the spring and experts determined that
21:48had the gun been tossed into the waters
21:51it would have been Flushed Away miles on
21:53the river's current Hui who figured the
21:55courts hadn't much of a case against
21:57Diane DS without the murder weapon even
21:59went to look for the gun himself he
22:02waited along the river turned over loose
22:04Stones kicked through the Reed grass and
22:07scuffed the toe of his shoe through the
22:09ditch alongside the road to upturn loose
22:11soil but nothing to sink his spirits
22:14further he learned that Christy DS had
22:17suffered a stroke a direct symptom of
22:19the gunshot wound Her speech was
22:22distorted and the Physicians told him
22:25she may never speak again the left side
22:27of the brain
22:29the side that controlled the ability to
22:30speak had been injured but there was a
22:33hope albeit slight doctors prayed that
22:37because she was so young they could
22:39reverse the deterioration with therapy
22:41and restore her slurring tongue there
22:44was no gun to condemn Diane and perhaps
22:47the only live witness to the murder the
22:49murderer's own daughter would be unable
22:51to accuse her mother but huji more than
22:54ever believed that Diane was guilty when
22:57he was shown the dire in the letters
22:59confiscated from her home they both rre
23:02of a longing for the Arizona man her
23:04lost love a man who by the tone of the
23:07pages had deserted her the cause of his
23:10desertion may have been and the diary
23:12hinted this that his wife had simply
23:14stepped in to put the clamps down one
23:17passage caught hui's attention it was
23:20dated April 21st less than a month
23:22before the crime on Mohawk Road like so
23:25many entries It Was Written in the form
23:26of a letter addressed to someone else
23:29but used as a meter to weigh her own
23:31thoughts on such a thing this passage
23:33like most of the others was addressed to
23:35her former lover and read what happened
23:38I'm so confused what could she have said
23:41or done to make you act this way I spoke
23:43to you this morning for the last time it
23:46broke my heart to hear you say don't
23:48call or write I still think of you as my
23:50best friend and my only lover and you
23:53keep telling me to go away and find
23:54somebody else you have got to be
23:57kidding h Yuji resolved to get to the
23:59bottom of this business he kept asking
24:02himself who is he and is he involved in
24:04any way in the murder scheme he doubted
24:07it yet he could not get over the feeling
24:09that her obsession with this
24:10ex-boyfriend had driven her to lift that
24:12gun against her own children they were
24:15obstacles in the path of singly
24:17obtaining him and if he was correct in
24:19his guesswork would the man's wife be
24:20Diane's next victim Diane's letters were
24:23visions of fantasies they spoke of
24:26masturbation engendered by thoughts of
24:27her one true lover in one letter between
24:31references to sexual self-pleasure she
24:33Rhymes I love you more than could your
24:36wife yet it's brought sorrow to my life
24:39I just keep hoping and hanging on how
24:41much longer can I be strong perhaps she
24:44could be strong no longer hugi wondered
24:47before the weekend ended he dispatched
24:49two of his investigators to Chandler
24:51Arizona to find out who this man of her
24:53wet dreams really
24:55was the week of May 23rd was a sad one
24:58yet it brought optimism Cheryl DS's
25:01funeral took place on the 25th to much
25:03bereavement from family intimate friends
25:06and the Springfield Community but yet
25:09good news came from Mackenzie willamet
25:11Hospital both Christy and Danny were out
25:13of danger one of Christy's arms was
25:15paralyzed and Her speech was garbled for
25:17now albeit doctors believed capable of
25:20being revitalized Dany would probably be
25:22crippled for the rest of his life but
25:24his brain had not been affected and he
25:26would live both kids had been lucky
25:29totally against the odds
25:31lucky Doug Welch and Paul Alton were
25:34dispatched to Arizona to use their
25:36professional experience to dig up Diane
25:38DS's past and anyone including Lou
25:41Lewiston who came along with the shovel
25:43work their trip during the last weeks of
25:45May proved fruitful they learned just
25:48what they wanted to know about their
25:49Central suspect Miss Diane DS one of the
25:52first things they accomplished was
25:54proving that neither Steve DS nor the
25:56mysterious Lou were Di 's bushy-haired
25:59stranger Witnesses verified seeing them
26:02or being in their company in Arizona at
26:04the precise hour of the crime the
26:06detectives also spoke with several of
26:08Diane's former co-workers from the
26:10Chandler Branch Post Office their
26:12opinions of her varied some it was clear
26:15didn't like her at all no one praised
26:17her some of the informants describe a
26:20woman with a single-mindedness a
26:22channeling of ambition that they had
26:23rarely if ever encountered others
26:26disagreed Diane down had been flippy
26:29dippy up and down mad and sad a few
26:32Witnesses spoke on her behalf and then
26:33only with faint praise what emerged
26:36after the postal interviews was a
26:38postcard picture that might have been
26:39beautiful had its colors not run
26:41together she appeared to be a headstrong
26:43woman but headstrong in a tilted way her
26:46priorities were overblown and most of
26:48all out of sync she jumped in the sack
26:50with men right and left but refused to
26:53deliver copies of Playboy to customers
26:55on her route Lou Lewiston worked at the
26:57Chandler station too but the
26:59investigators interviewed him separately
27:01at his home to his credit they liked him
27:05they liked his honesty and directness he
27:07insisted that his wife Norah be there at
27:09his side while he candidly discussed
27:12even his sexual experiences with his old
27:14flame Norah he said knew the history and
27:17had forgiven him the couple had
27:20reconciled and Lou Lewiston wanted
27:22nothing more to do with Diane DS while
27:24the memory of his extramarital affair
27:26was undoubtedly painful to him him he
27:28answered the detective's questions
27:30cordially and succinctly he had met
27:32Diane at work in late 1981 after her
27:35divorce from Steve DS Lou was magnetized
27:39by the female's sexy gestures and her
27:41revealing clothing loving his wife Nora
27:44Lou was nonetheless taken with this new
27:46girl at the mail bin who blared easy
27:48virtue in loose midriff and sans's bra
27:51their friendship evolved overnight into
27:53a string of sleazy hotel room encounters
27:56Lou admittedly expected the affair to
27:57end swiftly as had all her relationships
28:01none of them had lasted with other men
28:02he knew she had gone with but as the
28:05months rolled on he found that she was
28:07not intending to let go in fact she was
28:10pulling tight on his private time and
28:12urging him to divorce Norah as soon as
28:15possible suddenly it dawned on him he
28:17was up and over in a relationship he
28:19never intended to move from off the bed
28:21springs he tried to break their seeing
28:23each other but each time Diane protested
28:25violently the affair continued and
28:28continued L said and I was with Diane
28:30all day at work and I'd be with her all
28:32night long and it was every day for
28:34months I basically didn't have time to
28:36think you know I was with Diane all the
28:39time Welch and Alton then noted
28:41something that Leon added that hit a
28:43high note because it complimented what
28:45their boss Fred hugi had been
28:47contemplating all along that the Downs
28:50children may have gotten in the way of
28:51their mother's love life despite her
28:54please he refused to see her when she
28:56was with Danny christe and Carol I
28:59wouldn't be with her if the children
29:00were around he explained it was an
29:02affair it didn't seem right after
29:05battling guilt for many months Lou
29:07decided to say adios to Diane the
29:10girlfriend's remonstrations had been
29:11incessant and one night in February 1983
29:15Lou severed them Diane asked me who I
29:18loved the most her or Nora I said I
29:21loved Nora she blew up she ranted and
29:24raved and screamed at me I'd never seen
29:26anyone act that way before
29:28when Lou raced home Diane followed him
29:31even up the steps of his own home with
29:32Norah present she pounded on our door
29:35all night long Lou's wife recalled then
29:37she called on the phone but she
29:40reappeared the following day confronting
29:42Nora on the stoop she began to tell me
29:44what I should do about my marriage my
29:46relationship with Lou everything I
29:49slammed the door in her face it had been
29:51what Lou called the final straw and he
29:54never saw her again not long after that
29:57cha otic night Diane put in a transfer
30:00to Oregon she relocated to Springfield
30:03to be near her parents but the letters
30:05and the phone calls to Lou continued one
30:08thing more the lawmen asked Lou if he
30:10had any knowledge about guns that Diane
30:13might have owned he did one of them he
30:15said was a 22 caliber handgun but Diane
30:19continued to deny she owned
30:21it Diane DS was born on August 7th 1955
30:25in Phoenix Arizona her parents willine
30:27and Frederickson named her Elizabeth
30:30Diane as the years passed she trimmed
30:32her name to Simply Diane having wet as
30:35teens and still in their teens when
30:37Diane came along the parents were AED at
30:40their having a human life to maintain
30:42and while they loved their baby they
30:44fell short in their ability to emanate a
30:46warm fondness a child inherently
30:49expects as a school student Diane was
30:52bright but not one of the In Crowd
30:55disciplining oldtime Baptist parents for
30:58B trendy clothing and fads resulting in
31:00their daughter being considered a wash
31:02out wherever she went she was the square
31:05the ugly duckling Diane's father
31:08allegedly molested her when she was 11
31:10years old Diane told authorities that
31:13the occurrences never led to
31:15fornication on weekends Diane claimed
31:17that he took her on rides to the desert
31:19once away from civilization he would
31:22make her remove her blouse and bra as he
31:24watched Diane said that these
31:26perversions Ended as quietly as they had
31:28begun and Wes Frederickson became more
31:30of a typical father as if cessation
31:32would eradicate all memories he allowed
31:34her to enroll in a charm school when she
31:36was 14 and that was the beginning of a
31:39new Diane one who with her hair cut
31:41stylishly and her Garb up to date the
31:44local boys began to notice Diane Hungry
31:47For Love by this time responded by being
31:49the babe with flashy eyes swaying hips
31:51and silly come hither giggle Steven DS
31:54one of the boys at Moon Valley High fell
31:57instantly in love with the pretty and
31:58now suddenly shapely blonde Diane the
32:01pair became an item and roved together
32:03everywhere they went arm linked in arm
32:06after graduation they parted for a spell
32:08he to the Navy she to Pacific Coast
32:10Baptist Bible College they corresponded
32:13regularly but if Diane had promised to
32:15save it for Steve she would have
32:17weakened for she was expelled from the
32:19religious school after a year for
32:21promiscuity Steve returned home in the
32:23couple wed on November 13th
32:261973 from the starting gun the marriage
32:28was at best shaky Steve worked half the
32:32time and Diane found her high school
32:33sweetheart less a noble escape and more
32:36of a repetition of her domineering Papa
32:39she had wanted love and realized too
32:41late that Steve was not that love she
32:44found solace when she became pregnant
32:46carrying a baby made her feel for the
32:48first time that she was actually in
32:49charge of a love that was all dependent
32:51on her it was a feeling of power she'd
32:54never before realized and she relished
32:57in the Delight that she was the
32:58helmswoman of her own path to Total love
33:02but after Christy was born in October
33:051974 it was back to serving Steve as
33:07meals never mind that she had a baby to
33:10care for and worked part-time at a local
33:12thrift store too to keep from falling
33:14apart emotionally she needed to feel
33:17that emotion once again of the seed of
33:18love stirring inside her she again
33:21became pregnant chery Lynn followed her
33:23older sister into this world in January
33:261976 throughout 1976 and
33:301977 Diane took the kids and ran away
33:32from Steve several times but she always
33:35came back Steve would hunt her down to
33:37one of her many relatives homes but once
33:40reunited it was monkey chasing weasel
33:43time all over again he was unhappy and
33:45she was unhappy but the marriage waned
33:47on Diane waited for something to happen
33:51hostile but passive she was both bored
33:53and angry life was passing quickly by
33:56her none of the things she promised
33:58herself had come true she decided again
34:01to conceive but not Steve's Baby by that
34:04time 1978 the family had moved to Mesa
34:08where both Diane and Steve worked for
34:09the same mobile home
34:11manufacturer on the assembly line Diane
34:14found her stud whom she passionately
34:16seduced her tummy swelled again and she
34:18floated in Wonderland drugged on love
34:22Dany was born 4 days after Christmas
34:261979 even though the child child was not
34:28his Steve accepted the boy as his own
34:31still the marriage had reached its e and
34:33within a year the Downs decided to
34:35divorce Diane moved in with dany's
34:38father and it was during this time she
34:40began to change now out of the wely
34:43manacles imposed by society and the
34:46Baptists she seemed to ignore her duties
34:48as a mother also the opiate of her
34:51children's love had worn off she
34:53preferred to work to stay away from home
34:56to throw the youngsters on any
34:57babysitter she could find one sitter
35:00relates an incident that even though she
35:02didn't know it at the time foreshadowed
35:05tragedy Diane put everything before
35:07those kids if Dany wanted attention she
35:10would push him away but the worst thing
35:12was one time I caught Cheryl jumping on
35:14the bed and I said that was not
35:16permitted I made her sit in a chair and
35:19think about it Cheryl sat quietly for a
35:21while and then she looked up do you have
35:24a gun here of course not why I want to
35:26shoot myself my mom says I'm bad Diane
35:30finally found a full-time position with
35:31the US Post Office in 1981 and was
35:34stationed in Chandler it was there she
35:36met Lou Lewiston and fell in love but
35:39for once it was the other party not
35:42Diane to make the decision when and
35:44where the love affair would end as she
35:46had done mentally to her own kids Lou
35:48physically walked out of her life caught
35:51unawares she ran home to Oregon but not
35:53quite understanding nor acceptant of the
35:55fact that this time she didn't have at
35:58herway in June assistant DA Fred huji
36:01met with his investigative Squad to
36:03review its findings whether or not to
36:05arrest Diane DS was the issue unsettled
36:08he wanted to see her taken in but not at
36:10the expense of the County office which
36:12would take extreme heat were the case
36:14thrown out in
36:15pre-trial nevertheless hugi and his men
36:18were convinced she was guilty but they
36:21feared that without the presence of a
36:23murder weapon or a viable witness who
36:25literally saw her do the shooting much
36:28of what they had gathered to date would
36:29be in all fairness considered
36:31circumstantial evidence and unacceptable
36:33in an American courtroom not enough to
36:36convict the team examined what they had
36:38collected so far among the evidence was
36:41a small number of 22 caliber bullet
36:43casings found on old Mohawk Road a very
36:46graphic display of Carnage in Diane's
36:48red Nissan Pulsar the estimation of the
36:51bullets paths from an accepted Authority
36:54a diary that screamed Diane's Obsession
36:56for ex-lover her letters colored with
36:58pornographic Daydreams and testimony
37:00from two men Steve DS and the former
37:03lover who swore she indeed owned
37:05something she continued to disclaim a 22
37:08caliber handgun the most expressive
37:10piece of evidence came from the pen of
37:12forensic expert Jim PEX who wrote that
37:14it was his estimation that some of the
37:16unfired 22 caliber shells found in
37:18Diane's home had once been worked
37:20through the mechanism of the same gun
37:22that shot the children but until the
37:24very gun was retrieved Hui knew the
37:27court could refute it investigators had
37:30also been able to shed doubt on Diane's
37:32story that she immediately raced for the
37:34hospital after the attack on her
37:37kids according to the testimony of
37:39Hospital Personnel she arrived outside
37:42the ER that fateful night at around
37:4410:48 p.m. screaming somebody just shot
37:47my
37:48kids the estimated time she had left the
37:51pl's home was according to Heather PL
37:54herself 9:45 p.m. the detectives knew
37:58that the shooting then must have
38:00occurred at approximately 10:15 in order
38:02to give Diane enough time to reather her
38:04senses survey the condition of her kids
38:07then drive as she had claimed
38:09immediately to McKenzie willat hospital
38:11to reach it by 10:48 p.m. but in the
38:14meantime a witness had come forward
38:16explaining that he had seen what he was
38:17sure was Diane's red Nissan near 10:20
38:20p.m. moving very slowly 5 to 7 m an hour
38:24along old Mohawk Road the car said
38:26witness Joseph Inman wasn't being driven
38:28critically another telling tale but so
38:31far just a tale but the legal Wheels
38:33behind hugi believed also that Diane was
38:36guilty and the da maneuvered the wheels
38:38to spin to show his support for the long
38:40hours his assistant was dedicating to
38:42catch a child killer in Lane County a
38:45grand jury assembled behind closed doors
38:48the panelists wanted to hear directly
38:50from those main players that list of
38:51testifiers that hugi had given the da
38:54among them her former lover Mr
38:58Heather PL Jim PEX and others and
39:01eventually Diane DS
39:03herself other positive things were
39:05happening County Judge Gregory foot
39:08placed the two surviving Downs
39:09youngsters in the protective custody of
39:11the state's Child Services Bureau this
39:14meant that in the meantime Diane was not
39:17allowed to see her kids that she felt
39:19she was being treated like a criminal
39:21was in reality a nose thumb by hugi
39:25after she violently threatened to remove
39:27the children from the hospital and take
39:29them away if detectives wouldn't stop
39:31hounding
39:32her Dany still confined to his bed was
39:35given full protection by the police
39:37department until he would be medically
39:39released at which time he would follow
39:41his sibling into a suitable Foster
39:44Family the home where Christy was
39:46transported was kept a secret her
39:48whereabouts known by only a few
39:50authorities in the middle of the grand
39:53jury summons process and the ongoing
39:55search for more evidence particularly
39:57the vanished gun the Sheriff's Office
39:59announced layoffs State funds dropped
40:02and Paul Alton was laid off Doug Welch
40:04and another of hui's top men Kurt West
40:07were given a month's notice all of hui's
40:09investigators in fact were let go or
40:12redeployed throughout the coming winter
40:14and into the spring of 1984 Diane was
40:17fast becoming the media's favorite Star
40:19newshounds had picked up on her plight
40:22some medium distrusted her but to most
40:24she was a bouncy Maiden maybe not in
40:26distress but picked on by Mean Old Uncle
40:28Sam who couldn't find the bushy-haired
40:30Beast of Mythology because she looked a
40:33little like Princess Diana she became
40:35the darling fashion plate of the
40:36American Pacific Coast less trivial
40:39papers called her Princess D but hugi
40:42saw her as anything but a princess a
40:45good or a bad one she was more like the
40:47wicked witch creating Havoc at every
40:49point in life her kids had been swept
40:52from her custody she was indignant and
40:54sought Revenge she balked to the press
40:56that she was Miss understood and was a
40:58victim of prejudice and harassment
41:01ignoring her bravado hugi let her talk
41:03refusing to back down for that matter he
41:06endeavored to bite her every footstep
41:08and that is why he chose to let
41:10investigators Welch and West turn up the
41:12heat before they surrendered to the
41:13layoff they dogged her finally Diane DS
41:18called for what she hoped would turn
41:20into a peace treaty a meeting with the
41:22two detectives to explain her side of
41:24the story and pass on further
41:25information she had not divulged since
41:28the night of the attack on old Mohawk
41:30Road at first the detectives bought it
41:33hoping this new revelation might produce
41:35something startlingly new but sensing
41:38they were being conned the session led
41:40to what would become known as the
41:42hardball interview at the parley Diane
41:45explained that she believed the killer
41:47was someone she might have known he had
41:49called her by name if true this
41:52information would have made a great
41:53impact on the entire case but to the two
41:56men gathered GED in their office with
41:58her it was a clear charade an attempt to
42:00delay the proceedings she felt moving
42:02against her and possibly even throw the
42:04investigators off her Trail altogether
42:07insulted her listeners turned the table
42:09and fell upon Diane verbally with such
42:11an interrogation that she was left the
42:13deceived instead of the deceiver why was
42:16she telling them this now she didn't
42:19know how did he know what road she was
42:21going to take home from Heathers she
42:24didn't know was he a friend from Oregon
42:26or Arizona she didn't know what purpose
42:30would he have to kill her kids she
42:32didn't know did she really rush to the
42:34hospital immediately after the kids were
42:36shot or did she pause a while she didn't
42:39know why didn't she try to stop the
42:41gunman when he began blasting away at
42:43the kids in the Nissan she didn't know
42:46the answer to that either and when they
42:48asked her Point Blank if she tried to
42:50kill her kids because they ruined her
42:52chances with her lover well she had an
42:54answer to that she called them names
42:56threatened them and told them they were
42:58all Fed Up and stormed out whether or
43:01not it was a ploy for sympathy just in
43:03case she needed some in the event of a
43:05jury trial or whether she merely needed
43:07to feel that love once again within her
43:10she went out and got pregnant once again
43:12from one of her favorite studs she made
43:15sure to explain the symbolic meaning of
43:17her action to a TV reporter I got
43:20pregnant because I miss Christie and I
43:22miss Dany and I miss Cheryl so much you
43:25can't replace children but you can
43:27replace the effect that they give you
43:29and they give me love they give me
43:31satisfaction they give me stability they
43:34give me a reason to live and a reason to
43:35be happy and a reason to perhaps escape
43:38death row hugi sneered watching her
43:41performance on the
43:42tube Paula krog dooll the counselor put
43:45in charge of mentally raising christe
43:47from her nightmares was making excellent
43:50progress in the meantime the child began
43:52to talk to remember to Face Reality
43:55while krog doll tiptoed through her
43:57treatment avoiding the murder scenario
43:59for a long time she got Christy to speak
44:02about her family life and her mother
44:04Christy admitted that Diane had hit her
44:06and her brother and sister a lot and
44:08when the day came the therapist asked
44:10her to recall what happened the night of
44:12what Christy called that terrible thing
44:15was there anyone there that night that
44:17you didn't know asked krog doll
44:18referring to the stranger on the dark
44:20Road no the girl answered were Dany and
44:23Cheryl crying no why wasn't Cheryl
44:27crying dead a pause then softly do you
44:31know who was shooting Christy I think
44:35but Christie could not muster the words
44:37croall didn't push and let it go for now
44:41hugi decided to bite the bullet experts
44:44told him that he had enough evidence and
44:46they believed he had a strong case but
44:49he would need to have to recreate that
44:51terrible thing in court piece all the
44:53puzzle fragments together in such a way
44:56so that the panel of jurors saw what he
44:58saw and totally believed the grand jury
45:01was wrapping up after 9 months of
45:03interviews they had spoken to quizzed
45:05and deliberated on the words of many
45:08including Diane DS and balanced at the
45:11end of those nine months the toms of
45:13testimony they possessed they handed
45:15down an indictment one charge of murder
45:18two charges of attempted murder and two
45:21charges of criminal assault the state of
45:24Oregon was going for the child Killer's
45:26throat on February 28th 1984 police
45:30cuffed Diane as she was alighting from
45:32her car in the parking lot of the post
45:34office district attorney Pat Horton
45:37along with Lane County Sheriff David
45:39Burks hosted a press conference
45:41following Diane's arrest Horton told the
45:44press the one thing that underscored
45:46this investigation is patience the real
45:49battle is in the courtroom reporters
45:51were there by the droves salivating over
45:54the battle indeed to come their news
45:56newspapers and their magazines already
45:58announced that Diane DS had been taken
46:00into custody and that hell the lookalike
46:04princess die might very well be a
46:06murderous After All Time Magazine was
46:08there The Washington Post was there and
46:11journalists from City papers as far away
46:13as New York City were there most were
46:15professional in their reporting while
46:17some tabloid like tumbled across both
46:20Springfield Oregon and Chandler Arizona
46:22finding anyone who knew Diane DS or even
46:24talked to her once when the Eugene
46:27Register Guard found Diane's father Wes
46:29Frederickson the paper noted he was
46:31Gallant to the end if my daughter did it
46:34then I believe in fact she should pay
46:37but nothing can take away the love a
46:39father has for his kids in the wake of
46:42the impending trial Diane sought as her
46:44counselor the brilliant and highly
46:46esteemed attorney Melvin belly because
46:48of the high profile the Downs case
46:50generated belly wanted to take it on but
46:53he had personal plans unbreakable and
46:56would defend Diane only if the trial
46:58could be postponed a couple of months
47:00after the already slated May 1984
47:02calendar the courts refused to budge
47:05hugi had waited long enough and delaying
47:07it might mean delaying it again for the
47:09pregnant Diane to give birth too much
47:11work had been expended too many people's
47:14time to delay the inevitable Fred hugi
47:17had 24 volumes of evidence statements
47:19follow-ups and transcriptions of tapes a
47:22mountain of possibilities to be winnowed
47:24down shaped and molded for his case he
47:26would work 18 to 24hour days and so
47:29would the rest of his
47:31team Diane was forced to find another
47:33lawyer quickly she chose criminal
47:36attorney Jim Jagger a man noted for his
47:38downhome but effective manner what was
47:41to be a six-week trial open May 10th
47:431984 in Eugene at the Lane County
47:46Courthouse courtroom number three the
47:48largest of the rooms of Justice in the
47:50old building the jury panel consisted of
47:53nine women judge foot the man who had
47:56taken and christe and Danny DS from
47:58their suspect mother presided young and
48:01intense he was noted for his fairness
48:04the citizenry of the county turned out
48:06for the sensation people across America
48:09were still divided over the guilt or
48:11innocence of Diane DS was she a martyr
48:14or a devil and those no names who shared
48:16The Spectator seats with the paparazzi
48:19the witnesses and the families felt
48:20honored in his opening remarks Fred hugi
48:23presented a motive for her fixation on a
48:25married man who felt that her kids
48:27should not be part of their Fantasy Life
48:29and a method the 22 caliber Ruger pistol
48:32that she bought in Arizona and denied
48:34having owned an Oregon he read passages
48:37from her diary screaming her love for a
48:39man who didn't want her as she wanted
48:41him and to some titilation of the Court
48:44he read aloud Diane's masturbation poem
48:47he promised to paint over the next weeks
48:49a real picture of the cruelty that made
48:51Diane DS tick Council for the defense
48:54conceded in turn that there had been an
48:56Obsession but not so dark as to have led
48:59his client to destroy the three people
49:01she loved most in the world he pointed
49:04to her childhood to her alleged
49:06molestation as a child even to her
49:08promiscuity that he saw as a relevance
49:10to that dysfunctional experience but a
49:14murderous no for he intended to show
49:16that Diane's story of a man on the
49:18Mohawk Road with a gun was not a
49:20falsehood courtroom proceedings paused
49:23on May 14th so that the jurors could
49:25experience for themselves the the
49:26physical scene of the crime hugi
49:29transported them via a chartered bus to
49:31old Mohawk Road parallel to the river
49:33through daylight the prosecutor
49:35accentuated the state of the road at the
49:37time of the shootings relating the ebony
49:39of that night the loneliness the Sparks
49:42of gunfire that shattered the Gloom and
49:44the high emotion before the day ended
49:47jurors were then led to the county autop
49:49pound to see the red Nissan death car he
49:52wanted them to gaze into its interior
49:54and to feel the kid's Terror back in
49:57court during the week the first of the
49:59state's Witnesses were brought forth
50:01they comprised mostly Personnel from
50:03McKenzie willamet hospital where Cheryl
50:05DS died and where doctors struggled to
50:08save the other two Downs children nurse
50:11Rose Martin recalled mother Diane's
50:13peculiar attitude toward what had just
50:15happened she asked how the children were
50:17and I told her the doctors were in there
50:19working on them Martin remembered and
50:22then she the mother laughed and she said
50:24only the best for my kids and she
50:27laughed again and said well I have good
50:30insurance Dr John Mackey who was in
50:33charge of the ER the evening of the
50:34murder described the children's chest
50:37wounds and the medical team's first
50:39spontaneous efforts of life-saving he
50:42then recollected his observation of
50:44Diane she was extremely composed she was
50:47unbelievably composed I couldn't believe
50:50she was a family member there were no
50:52tears no disbelief no why did this
50:55happen to me
50:57x-ray technician carlen Elbridge could
50:59not get over the fact that Diane a
51:01mother of three severely wounded
51:03youngsters and then complained about
51:05having to be seen in public without
51:07makeup throughout the trial Witnesses
51:09came and went each making an impact some
51:12more than others but the high point the
51:15Turning Point the riveting Point came
51:17when Christy DS was brought to the stand
51:20quivering tear stre she was ushered to
51:23the stand by Fred hugi it was clear that
51:26he detested the moment to bring a child
51:28face on against her mother but the
51:30moment was needed if American Justice
51:32was to be played out hugi pale jaw tight
51:36but with a fatherly voice led the
51:38examination of little Christy DS from
51:41time to time he handed her cleanex while
51:43she paused to wipe her cheeks he waited
51:45until she regained herself whenever she
51:47broke down usually after her eyes and
51:50her mothers momentarily met he didn't
51:52rush her and he remained gentle when she
51:55spoke and her voice might be muffled
51:57under her sobs he clarified the question
51:59so that the jurors would completely
52:01understand the tinon Abul of that tiny
52:04voice he loved This Little Child it was
52:07obvious in the way he looked at her and
52:09spoke to her the courtroom inhaled and
52:11didn't seem to Exhale until it was over
52:14and then especially then breath came
52:16short hugi began by explaining to the
52:19girl the importance of telling the truth
52:21on the stand she understood giving her
52:24time to relax and her voice voice to
52:26become sufficiently audible to the
52:28courtroom he then asked her several
52:30routine questions about her family her
52:32schooling and herself feeling that she
52:35was ready for the heavy stuff he
52:37maneuvered into the day of the crime her
52:39visit with her family to Heather pl's
52:41home on Sunderman Road in order to give
52:43Mrs plard the clipping from the
52:45newspaper about horse rentals Christy
52:47was visibly shaken hugi patted her
52:50shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile
52:52he gave her a moment to recover before
52:54proceeding reassuring that she was okay
52:57he resumed his line of questioning about
52:59what Diane did with her
53:01children she leaned over to the back
53:03seat and shot Dany Christie said what
53:07happened then hugi prompted her what
53:10happened after Dany got shot the child
53:13caved in under her tears and hugi hugged
53:15her knowing this must come and wanting
53:17to get it over with he gave her time to
53:19find her voice once again then quietly
53:23sympathetically he went on he gingerly
53:26re phrased his question for by this time
53:28the court had already gathered what
53:30Diane DS did after she shot Dany do you
53:33remember when you got shot huji asked
53:35her yeah she answered who shot you my
53:39mom she simply
53:41said after that pathetic moment the tone
53:44for the rest of the trial was set
53:46everything else all other words were
53:49anticlimactic Diane DS was as guilty as
53:52Sin outside the walls of the courtroom
53:55too Americans who had had refused to
53:57believe that a mother could consciously
53:58pull a trigger on three harmless
54:00children surrendered she had been
54:03vilified justly and the cross that they
54:06thought was being nailed together to
54:08crucify a martyr became suddenly an
54:10instrument of deserved Justice on June
54:1414th 1984 judge foot read aloud the
54:17jury's unanimous verdict guilty of
54:19attempted murder in the first degree
54:21guilty of a second account of attempted
54:23murder in the first degree guilty of
54:25first degree of assault guilty of
54:27another count of first-degree assault
54:30guilty of murder Oregon at the time did
54:32not impose the death sentence but in the
54:35subsequent sentencing the judge sought
54:37to deprive Diane DS of the daylight of
54:39Liberty forever more after decreeing a
54:42life term plus an additional 50 years
54:44for using a firearm he expressed the
54:47court hopes the defendant will never
54:49again be free I've come as close to that
54:51as possible between the verdict and the
54:53sentencing the court recessed while
54:55Diane gave birth to a beautiful child
54:57whom she named Amy the father of the
55:00baby denied her and in time a caring
55:02family adopted Amy in 1987 Diane briefly
55:06escaped from the Oregon women's
55:07correctional center where she had been
55:10incarcerated after her recapture she was
55:12transported to the high maximum Clinton
55:14Correctional Institution in New Jersey
55:17today she sits in the Valley prison for
55:19women in Chowchilla California Diane's
55:22former lover and his wife remained
55:24happily married Steve DS was still still
55:26living in Oregon the children Christy
55:28and Dany survived the ordeal Dany was
55:31confined to a wheelchair but was a happy
55:33boy Christy has grown into a very
55:35content teenager both consider the
55:38ending of their story to be happy ever
55:39after in 1986 they moved into the home
55:43of their new loving adoptive parents
55:45Fred and Joanne
55:47huji hey there amazing True Crime
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57:19[Music]
57:26n

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