Why Diane Downs Says She Shot Her 3 Children — Transcript

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1. 0:00my whole life even as a child all i
2. 0:03really thought about i used to carry
3. 0:05dolls around on a pillow
4. 0:06and i wanted to be a mom what diane
5. 0:09downs wanted more than
6. 0:10anything else was to have children she
7. 0:13got her wish
8. 0:14but her dream turned into a twisted
9. 0:16tragedy when she was sentenced to life
10. 0:18for shooting her children because her
11. 0:20boyfriend didn't like kids
12. 0:22even today five years later her former
13. 0:25husband would like to see her pay
14. 0:27the ultimate price executed
15. 0:30that's what i was hoping for that's what
16. 0:32i
17. 0:35i still feel that they should have done
18. 0:36that you know we'd all be better off
19. 0:39but it was the children who would pay
20. 0:41for what diane wanted diane's a type of
21. 0:45a woman who i think could cut your
22. 0:48throat
23. 0:48and then sit down and have lunch next to
24. 0:50your body i wouldn't walk in there and
25. 0:52say
26. 0:53this weird person came up out of nowhere
27. 0:55and shot us for no reason and just
28. 0:56left i mean it's not a believable story
29. 0:59i could have if i had done this i could
30. 1:01have come up with a believable story it
31. 1:02really happened
32. 1:04it was back in may of 1983 next to this
33. 1:08creek
34. 1:08alongside this isolated country road
35. 1:11outside of springfield oregon
36. 1:13that this bizarre and tragic crime was
37. 1:15committed
38. 1:16it was around 9 45 in the evening when
39. 1:19diane downs said a man
40. 1:21flagged down her car and demanded her
41. 1:24keys
42. 1:24when she refused he pulled out a pistol
43. 1:27and shot her
44. 1:28and her three small children i could
45. 1:31smell the blood i could smell the
46. 1:32gunpowder i
47. 1:33i could it was just a really really
48. 1:36horrible feeling
49. 1:36but diane says she somehow managed to
50. 1:39escape
51. 1:40and rushed to a nearby hospital
52. 1:42seven-year-old cheryl was dead on
53. 1:44arrival
54. 1:44eight-year-old christy was shot twice in
55. 1:46the chest
56. 1:48three-year-old danny was shot in the
57. 1:49back and lay paralyzed
58. 1:51diane however received only wounds to
59. 1:54her forearm
60. 1:55it was all wrong from the beginning it
61. 1:58was wrong
62. 2:00detective doug welch was one of the
63. 2:02first officers at the hospital that
64. 2:04night
65. 2:05and although he didn't realize it at the
66. 2:07time this case would consume his life
67. 2:10for many months to come here was a woman
68. 2:13who
69. 2:13was completely apathetic about the
70. 2:15welfare of her kids
71. 2:18she was just emotionally flat and
72. 2:22preoccupied with something else that
73. 2:24evening and the next day police were out
74. 2:26in full force
75. 2:27looking for any clues that would lead
76. 2:29them to the man that diane claimed did
77. 2:31the shooting
78. 2:32later to be known as the bushy-haired
79. 2:34stranger i'm throwing the keys okay i'm
80. 2:36throwing the keys
81. 2:38four days later as one child was being
82. 2:40buried
83. 2:41the other two still in intensive care
84. 2:43diane reenacted for police
85. 2:45what happened that night besides
86. 2:48wondering
87. 2:48why a woman with children would stop her
88. 2:50car and get out for a strange man
89. 2:53detectives couldn't help but notice
90. 2:55diane's seemingly
91. 2:56carefree attitude i just hit my cast
92. 3:01started the car and left the car door
93. 3:04shut itself
94. 3:06god sure
95. 3:09i could i could sit here and cry and be
96. 3:11all upset
97. 3:12and what's it going to prove it proves
98. 3:14nothing i am who i am and i can't
99. 3:16i can't prove that i'm anybody other
100. 3:17than what i am
101. 3:19diane was brought up in a strict
102. 3:20religious family in phoenix
103. 3:23she graduated from high school with
104. 3:24straight a's she married steve downes at
105. 3:2717
106. 3:28and almost immediately they had children
107. 3:31i got pregnant when i wasn't allowed to
108. 3:33and i'm not saying he forbade me to get
109. 3:35pregnant but i didn't consult him
110. 3:37i wanted to have children and so i got
111. 3:39pregnant without
112. 3:41asking permission well once she had the
113. 3:43kids you know it was another story you
114. 3:44know well
115. 3:46she treated him like crap you know she
116. 3:49didn't treat him she really didn't treat
117. 3:50him very good
118. 3:52christy and cheryl came early in the
119. 3:53marriage little danny came later
120. 3:56the result of an affair diane then
121. 3:58became a surrogate
122. 4:00mother bearing a child for another woman
123. 4:03after eight years
124. 4:04the marriage ended in divorce this was a
125. 4:07woman that really got around
126. 4:08you know of course i i really didn't
127. 4:10know that
128. 4:11hey you're not supposed to hear the
129. 4:13husband you're supposed to be the last
130. 4:15to know in two years time
131. 4:17i had 10 separate lovers
132. 4:20two years that's not very many and less
133. 4:22than half of them were married
134. 4:24diane worked as a letter carrier here at
135. 4:26the chandler post office just outside of
136. 4:29phoenix
137. 4:30this is where she would meet a fellow
138. 4:31employee a married man who she would
139. 4:34have an intimate relationship with
140. 4:36according to oregon police that man
141. 4:39would be the reason
142. 4:40why she would later try to kill her
143. 4:42children
144. 4:43robert knickerbocker told diane he would
145. 4:45divorce his wife of 10 years and marry
146. 4:47her
147. 4:48but there was one problem you see he
148. 4:50didn't have kids and he didn't want kids
149. 4:52hey i don't have a problem with you
150. 4:54having a relationship with anybody
151. 4:56you know especially if it's going to
152. 4:59work into something serious then how
153. 5:00does he feel about the kids
154. 5:02oh well he doesn't want anything to do
155. 5:03with the kids he hates kids he can't
156. 5:05have kids and he had a vasectomy so that
157. 5:07he can't have kids
158. 5:09on and on and on diane and the children
159. 5:12moved to springfield oregon
160. 5:14she set up a new life in this apartment
161. 5:16house and waited for her boyfriend to
162. 5:18get a divorce
163. 5:19and join her but he never showed up
164. 5:22according to police
165. 5:23she became obsessed with trying to get
166. 5:25him writing him letters every day
167. 5:27but they would come back unopened he
168. 5:30would change his mind on a daily basis
169. 5:33i'm coming i'm going i'm coming i'm
170. 5:35going i want a divorce i've changed my
171. 5:36mind i don't want a divorce a week and a
172. 5:38half later he changes his mind he
173. 5:39doesn't want a divorce okay
174. 5:40this was a real obstacle as far as
175. 5:42dianne was concerned those kids were a
176. 5:44burden
177. 5:45and there was no way that she could see
178. 5:49that she was going to get this guy up to
179. 5:51oregon
180. 5:53as long as she had the kids along with
181. 5:56the letters this statuette was found in
182. 5:58diane's apartment
183. 5:59inscribed at the base to christy cheryl
184. 6:03and daniel i love you mom dated just six
185. 6:06days before the shooting
186. 6:08police believe this was not a gift but a
187. 6:11memorial
188. 6:12because soon diane would be without her
189. 6:15children
190. 6:18the town of springfield was shocked by
191. 6:20the crime
192. 6:21dianne proclaimed herself the victim of
193. 6:23an unknown madman
194. 6:25but as police investigated they found no
195. 6:27evidence to support her story about a
196. 6:29bushy-haired stranger
197. 6:31instead everything pointed to diane most
198. 6:34damaging were the slugs found at the
199. 6:36scene
200. 6:36police say they were fired from a 22
201. 6:39ruger pistol
202. 6:40although the weapon was never found
203. 6:42diane was known to have a similar gun
204. 6:45we were able to learn that she did have
205. 6:47a ruger
206. 6:48she had that gun and
207. 6:52she pulled that gun out and shot those
208. 6:54kids with it
209. 6:55police were unable to crack diane's
210. 6:57story about a crazed killer who only
211. 6:59demanded her car keys and said nothing
212. 7:01more before
213. 7:02shooting her children but during a tape
214. 7:04recorded police interrogation she
215. 7:05slipped
216. 7:06changed her story and said that the man
217. 7:07had called her by name and threatened to
218. 7:09kill her if she talked
219. 7:11this individual talked to you
220. 7:15referred to you by name and also
221. 7:17referred to your tattoo
222. 7:18right as close as you can remember
223. 7:21what did he tell you if you say anything
224. 7:24about
225. 7:25what happened here that they'd come back
226. 7:27and kill me
227. 7:28it wasn't an intentional lie though i
228. 7:30didn't say it just changed your story
229. 7:32oh yeah yeah i
230. 7:35i agree i mean you know you've heard it
231. 7:37it's obvious
232. 7:38doesn't that make it seem kind of tough
233. 7:40to believe what you're saying
234. 7:42if you change your story two months
235. 7:43after the shooting i
236. 7:45i'm sorry i mean i'm not saying that you
237. 7:48have to believe me i'm not saying that
238. 7:49anybody has to believe me
239. 7:50but i know within myself i can sit here
240. 7:52with a clear conscience and know
241. 7:54that i did not shoot my kids there was
242. 7:56only circumstantial evidence to go on
243. 7:58police felt they needed more
244. 8:00they had to talk to the two surviving
245. 8:02children danny was too young
246. 8:05and christy had suffered a stroke as a
247. 8:07result of her gunshot wounds
248. 8:09and had difficulty speaking why wouldn't
249. 8:11they arrest me if i did it
250. 8:13if they really had this evidence i say
251. 8:16they didn't have the evidence
252. 8:17finally police arrested diane and
253. 8:20incredibly she was pregnant
254. 8:22once again throughout the trial the
255. 8:24public would see
256. 8:25diane being led to the courthouse in a
257. 8:27maternity gown
258. 8:29and handcuffs the trial was held here
259. 8:32at the lane county courthouse in eugene
260. 8:35and although the prosecution
261. 8:37felt they had a strong case they were
262. 8:39still concerned
263. 8:40about their only eyewitness would little
264. 8:42christy downs now nine years old
265. 8:45be able to take the stand and testify
266. 8:48against her mother
267. 8:49in an emotional and often times tense
268. 8:51account christy downs told the jury what
269. 8:54happened that night
270. 8:55when asked who shot you she replied
271. 8:58mom did her daughter christy testified
272. 9:02that
273. 9:03mom stopped the car got out
274. 9:08and then walked to the trunk
275. 9:12where she obtained something
276. 9:15we feel it was murder weapon and then
277. 9:18walked back
278. 9:20before she reached inside and shot the
279. 9:22kids
280. 9:24after that we think that diane then shot
281. 9:26herself
282. 9:27a jury found diane downes guilty of
283. 9:30murder and attempted murder
284. 9:32and sentenced her to life in prison
285. 9:34where she would later have her baby
286. 9:36and give it up for adoption but after
287. 9:38serving only three years in prison
288. 9:41she escaped by scaling over a barbed
289. 9:43wire fence
290. 9:44diane was now on the run and a threat
291. 9:46once again
292. 9:48but she says she was looking for the
293. 9:50bushy-haired stranger
294. 9:52i wanted revenge at that time i i wanted
295. 9:55to do some really obscene things to his
296. 9:57body but instead 11 days later she was
297. 10:00apprehended hiding in a nearby house
298. 10:03with a former
299. 10:04cellmate's husband diane downs is now
300. 10:07held in a maximum security prison in new
301. 10:09jersey
302. 10:10where she's working on her latest appeal
303. 10:13why are you here i don't know
304. 10:19i don't know
305. 10:23doesn't that kill you no
306. 10:26why i'm a survivor she's destroyed
307. 10:32so many people and without i think
308. 10:35without one shred of regret
309. 10:37i don't think there's any regret in her
310. 10:38body that she
311. 10:40i don't think he's ever come to grips
312. 10:42you know with what's happened i mean the
313. 10:44the gravity of what's happened uh
314. 10:47the kids especially she destroyed them
315. 10:52three perfectly innocent young children
316. 10:55destroyed them
317. 11:13you