Born Diane Frederickson on August 7, 1955, in Phoenix, Arizona, Diane Downs is perhaps one of the most infamous figures in true crime history. Her case shocked the nation during the 1980s to a shocking extreme: murdering her own child, with an attempt to kill her two others. Books, documentaries, and numerous analyses followed not only the incident but also the aftermath and the lasting effect on her remaining children’s lives.
Early Life and Background of Diane Downs
Diane Downs was brought up in a highly disciplined and puritan household. High standards were set by Diane’s parents, Wesley and Willadene Frederickson, which she could not live up to. She never had any positive views about her childhood, criticizing her father as being overbearing and even alleging sexual abuse against him, which she later took back. These early years probably predisposed Diane Downs to behavioral defiance and a rather complicated personality.
Diane Downs attended Moon Valley High School, where she would later meet her future husband, Steve Downs. After high school, Diane briefly attended Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in California but was expelled for promiscuous behavior. Diane returned to Arizona where she married Steve, despite her parents’ disapproval. The couple had three children Christie, Cheryl, and Danny before their relationship broke apart, something Steve said was one of the major reasons his marriage to Diane had broken apart-due to her infidelity.
The Crimes
Diane Downs arrived at a Springfield, Oregon, hospital on May 19, 1983.. She reported to the authorities that she had been carjacked, during which her three children were shot. Her daughter Cheryl died instantly upon arrival, while Christie and Danny got horribly wounded. Diane had a minor gunshot wound on her arm, but it sparked suspicions in the investigators.
The inconsistencies in her account, together with other evidence, such as traces of gunpowder and the testimony of witnesses, left the trial shrouded in suspicion and suspicion of Diane as the killer. Prosecutors later claimed that Diane had shot her children as an obstacle to her affair with a man named Robert Knickerbocker, who did not want children.
Her surviving daughter, Christie testified against her. The testimony of Christie was quite incriminating against her mother. Christie testified before the court that her mother had killed all three children in the car by shooting them and then shot herself to fake the scene. Diane was arrested nine months later on February 28, 1984.
Trial and Conviction
In 1984, Diane Downs trial was highly melodramatic. Prosecutors described her as narcissistic, empathic-less, and self-centered in her motives. Psychiatrists diagnosed her with a mix of narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial personality disorders. They were not afraid even to brand the young woman a deviant sociopath.
The evidence against Diane was overwhelming: ballistic tests matched the gun used in the shootings to one she owned, and her demeanor in court—smiling, laughing, and showing no remorse—alienated the jury completely. She was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and assault on June 17, 1984. She was given a sentence of 50 years plus life in prison, with the chance of release after 25 years.
Life in Prison and Escape
Diane first served time at the Oregon Women’s Correctional Center. In 1987, she escaped by climbing over an 18-foot razor wire fence. This led to a manhunt through 14 states, which did not end until ten days after this, when she was caught. This again earned her another five-year sentence.
Because of her security risks, above all to her living children, Diane was moved out of Oregon. She served time in several prisons, during which she received an associate’s degree in General Studies. In 2008 and 2010, she submitted to two parole hearings that were denied, with the board insisting that she posed a continued danger to society and had not shown remorse.
Dianne’s actions led to her children suffering a horrific end. Christie and Danny, those who narrowly escaped the assault, would be adopted by Fred Hugi, Diane’s trial’s lead prosecutor, and his wife, Joanne. Christie, who testified against her mother, had to grow up with a speech disability due to injuries sustained. Many years later, she became a mother and named her daughter Cheryl after her sister.
The youngest child of Diane was an offspring from a childbirth that occurred while Diane was on trial in 1984. She was adopted and renamed Rebecca Babcock. Rebecca has spoken publicly about her life, referring to her “real” mother as a “monster” and relating how she had to go through that process so she could understand herself.
The saga of Diane Downs has been immortalized in Ann Rule’s 1987 book,Small Sacrifices, which details the crime, the trial and its aftermath. A television movie of the same name, starring Farrah Fawcett as Diane, was broadcast in 1989 and helped solidify the case in public memory.
Studies based on psychology and criminology have analyzed the case as one of malignant narcissism and maternal betrayal.
Conclusion
Diane Downs’ case stands out as a chilling study of human psychology and criminal behavior as well as a vivid example of those who manage to survive unimaginable trauma. The story continues to intrigue people with horror and cautionary tales of unchecked personality disorders and their possible aftermath
Frequently Asked Questions About Diane Downs
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Why did Diane Downs shoot her children?
Prosecutors supported the contention that Diane Downs had shot her children in order to eliminate them from her life as they were obstructing her love affair with Robert Knickerbocker, he didn’t wanted have children. Diane’s narcissistic and antisocial nature made her consider her children as properties rather than as human beings, and hence, their needs stood secondary to her ambitions.
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What happened to the surviving children of Diane Downs?
Christie and Danny, Diane’s surviving children, were adopted by prosecutor of record Fred Hugi and his wife Joanne.. Christie testified against her mother during the trial; since then, both
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Where is Diane Downs today?
To this day, Diane Downs remains imprisoned. Ever since she was transferred from Oregon, she spent time in several facilities, such as Valley State Prison for Women in California. A multiple parole denial has been leveled against her; she maintains her innocence.