why didn't steve downs get custody why didn't steve downs get custody

They felt safe there. Dianes ex-lover, Robert Knickerbocker, also said the same. How.. they attacked him. (her family confirmed that she had a mood disorder, possibly bipolar 2), So when Dr. George Suckow from the Oregon State Hospital in Salem was called as a States rebuttal witness and he made a professional diagnosis of Diane as histrionics, antisocial and narcissistic, he openly said in court that he interviewed Diane for 1 hour and read evidence presented by the state to make his diagnosis.. She told ABC, The impact of Diane Downs being my mom has altered the course of my life so many times. This is a more common route for children with parents who are incarcerated for what looks to be the entire childhood of the children. They hardly investigated any other lead after a couple of weeks. Her character was also too much on the forefront. I think that Van Houten was recommended for parole by a system that assessed that after 40 years, she was not a threat to society and a reformed woman. You make an interesting observation when you say: Anyways. You were not there and one thing I have learned about high profile cases, is that you cannot always believe what the media, biased detectives and Ann Rule have to say. They were in a difficult situation becausewithout evidence, they could notcharge her for the crime. They believed the testimony of her former boyfriends who were far from stellar individuals. Maybe someone needs to read Part two in Dr. Billings in-depth review of the Diane Downs Murder Case in Oregon. And the fact that Tracy wrote in his notes that Christies reaction could have been excitement to see her mom but they decided to only mention extreme fear? When Diane had failed to mention it herself, he even informed them that she had bought a .22 caliber shotgun in Arizona, just before she had left for Oregon. woman quot~ unquote, do you remember anything like that? Belli filed a motion for a 2-week extension to familiarize himself with the case because he had to be in Italy, and declared Diane innocent in a press conference, but Foote denied the motion and declared you have an attorney, use him.. Something that would never stand in court now. Dianes parents had high hopes for her future, a future that didnt involve Steve, so they disapproved of their relationship. 0. I found your blog to be very well written, informative and interesting. According to Oregon law, this would have to be supported by a psychiatrists report or a Wardens letter and Diane provided both. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History. The lawsuit against Ann Rule was thrown out as unfounded because after reading her book they could find no inconsistencies She sat thru the entire trial AND used actual court transcripts. Same with her brother. 4. They were put in an impossible situation. Litigating at the Supreme Court in . But I am so tired of the enough time has been served and other criminals have been paroled. View theaffidavits. Her attorney, James Jagger, did a poor job for Diane. 4. Regina, I love your comment! Therefore, it is hard knowing where he is right now, considering his low profile of keeping away from the spotlight. Diane had consulted a psychologist after the tragedy and after months of consultation, she was never diagnosed as a sociopath. Then feel free to correct the facts and to provide evidence to support them. According to TMZ, in 2017, Hudson and her former partner David Otunga "reached a temporary custody agreement which gives him custody" of their son. Not an easy situation for him as I would imagine. Have you actually read the transcript of the trial?? It seems that a lot of what was written down never came up during testimony and some nurses even strayed from the original content. Her power to manipulate is why she is where she is to begin with. There is a court sketch artists rendering of him in this video. Where to begin? A fact strongly denied by Diane and by the nurses reports. Everyone deserves peace. I do not care if the bushy haired stranger made no sense or if they could not explain the why of the tragedy, I do not care if she was madly in love with a guy because all that counts is proof and evidence in a court of law, and there was definitely a reasonable doubt. So it was a relentless game totry to reel her in. Modernism mixed with Medieval state of mind. She was no mother of the year and in the car when the kids got shot. After Diane was convicted, the two living children were adopted by the prosecutor in the case and his wife, and it was Christie who ultimately pointed to her mother being responsible for the shooting. Not exclusively a USA trait, this happens also in many countries, but in a technologically advanced superpower like USA this attitude is more shocking, and maybe also more worldwide spread. Many individuals associated with the the child welfare system, for one reason or another, choose to adopt children. Open ended sentences like this are meant to provide a means of control and public safety when considering dangerous offenders who may pose a continued risk to the public. a clinical lab to Dianes not being herself the day the Detectives pressured Diane to accompany them, the fact is Diane was clearly suffering the residual effects of that chemical poison in her system. ..a little over year before the shooting had a surrogate babypregnancy and giving the baby awayumits donnoits the gal already had a fragile mentality.may not have been the best idea. The price of celebrity for her was losing her freedom and her children for life. And thats fair enough. Whether or not Steve Downs was in some way behind the shooting, the man who fired the weapon was a stranger to Diane. She attacked her husband and ripped his neck open in a jealous rage (Appendix 81, page 1520), tearing from his neck the gold chain he still wore from his first marriage (a gift from his first wife). The forensic evidence alone is absolutely weak. Strangely enough, a woman who was seen for 8 months by a psychologist and declared to be in shock and suffering from a mood disorder, would now be assessed by the State hired psychiatrist to confirm the label Hugi conveniently made up during trial. Wow. In the 1996 Federal Petition, you can find the Anatomy of Brainwashing that can answer any question on this subject. A group of ladies formed a group called HELDD which stands for Help Exonerate & Liberate Diane Downs. This blogger apparently believes anything she hears to support her inaccurate theory that Diane Downs was falsely accused and convicted. The State produced a witness (Ms. Patterson) to testify that Diane Downs entered the hospital bathroom, left the door open, and ran water in the sink (Appendix 87, page 476). When a white attractive woman like Diane Downs appears on the scene while displaying seemingly unpleasant characteristics as a mother and a personality disorder, there is no telling what the media will do with the story. Up. Wasnt he the stranger? Agreed. Also Im curious as to how you feel her repeated escape attempts should affect her deserving to be on parole. How one of them lied on the stand about ballistics? Her case was too public and they are afraid of public backlash. I try to remain objective in spite of the media storm depicting the case in a certain way, which is not accurate in every aspect. If Hugi got attached to the children, why did he wait 2 years when little Christie was starting to say she had no clue who shot them? Ms. Downs makes every effort to avoid emotional stimuli in order to reduce the demands made on her. I think that looked at through a more objective lens, many aspects of the Downs case are highly questionable. I also found it interesting that when he had visited Diane in prison, he had remarked a strange air about her; which did not mean guilt. Speculative. To Lori Nice to see this blog is still active in 2017, being a lot of groupsmessage boards and such, on subjects like this has no activity for years. They never found the gun and she showed no signs of having fired one. The popular TV movie Small Sacrifices was based on Ann Rules book and it painted a horrid picture of the mother accused of shooting her children on Old Mohawk Road. Seems to me that if that part of the story were true, and she really wanted to find her childrens shooter, she would have provided that information. Yes, isnt it shocking that some people would voice that a faulty investigation does not matter? If it doesnt matter to you, it should. But there was a lot left unsaid about this relationship. The fact that there was a rush to judgment, an investigation targeting only one result and a media coverage often presenting lies is very bothersome. Or that the sketch did not resemble the suspect enough? If Oregonians were not all convinced at first, the media and the crown made sure they would be. Ffs maybe u should go back to writing screenplays. He didn't indicate whether Downs would appeal. And according to the law, she should have been released by now, independently of what she says or not. Rule sued the Seattle Weekly after they published the article titled Ann Rules Sloppy Storytelling, but she lost and had to make restitution. There are some stories that stick with you for a long time. Steve Bannon won't be detained before trial on charges of contempt of Congress after he failed to comply with subpoenas from the House committee investigating January 6. It had nothing to do with the evidence of the case and represents useless labeling anyway. DNA Test Kits Are Helping Solve Cold Cases Decades Later, After Nearly a Year, There Could Finally be an Investigation Into the Death of Elijah McClain. Her older two children have remained out of the public eye. As a result, joint legal custody which means parents share in the decision-making 1 is becoming the default decision in many family court systems. I was shocked any asked why she thought that. What I explain in the blog is that the fact that Foote is the one who removed the children from Dianes care is exactly why he should NOT have been presiding over her murder trial. And of course, she added her own brand of paranoia, which is to be expected considering her personality disorder and what she went through. Despite all these misgivings, they chose to stay strong in the marriage and had their first child, Christie Ann, in 1974. Doing it without witnesses when she was so sick is underhanded. In the nurses notes, she is described as in shock and unable to grasp the situation. Standards of conduct are defined by state law, but they generally require a judge to avoid appearances of impropriety, such as avoiding deciding a dispute in which the judge is personally involved in the issue at stake or has a relationship to one of the parties.. Diane Downs is guilty beyond any doubt and I do not believe that her daughter was coached. It is said that their union was loveless and that Steve was a player who was also quite irresponsible and immature from time to time. Christie was born in October of 1974 and Cheryl Lynn in January of 1976. Go reading US: The American Gulag, 26 Mar 2009 Exploding prison populations in the US serve a basic need of capitalism. To listen to Christies taped conversation, click below. Diane Downs changed her story so many times, even at her parole hearing. The lousy men in their lives never took a hit because after all, it was these witches fault. According to your own experience Lori, dont they try to give grandparents custody or at least access in cases comparable to this one? Kenyans Compare Rachel Ruto, Margaret Kenyatta's Looks in Maasai Outfits, Kim Kardashian Looking for Love Again, Wants to Date Someone Who Isn't Famous, Kind Officers Drop Protesters in Nairobi CBD after Being Released from Central Police Station, Oburu Oginga Hints at Raila Odinga Vying for Presidency in 2027: "He's Not Retired", Naftali Kinuthia Says He Regrets Killing Lover Ivy Wangeci Using Axe: "Too Angry to Think". The american system often reminds me of what Charles Dickens talked about in his novels. I actually can relate to things she did and was like, especially chasing after a guy that dont want youi did one night stands during my chase..to try to get over himits was a dumb idea and really made things worse, but it made sense at the time. You dont get any kind of advancement or rehabilitation in prison. No matter how horrible people think she is. She talked to Diane for 15 minutes, there was thebizarre and partialOprah interview that was basically a lets bash Diane event and she wrote to Diane in jail to ask her what she thought of Hugi adopting her children. A. It was the story of two troubled young souls trying to survive without a safety net. When she resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. They hated her attitude and thought she was promiscuous and showed no sorrow or remorse. They were in foster care for two years before the prosecutor adopted them. Here's what we know. Do you remember probably about four or five days after This blogger believes in the presumption of innocence and in the possibility of redemption. Thanks again for bringing this to my attention. I believe DDs case needs to be re looked at and all evidence reviewed. Brewer changed his mind. She was more interested in the affection of men, which on that fateful day in 1983 gave her an idea. He has also once again decided to defy . I will take a screen shot of the sketch. Everything I outlined should be public knowledge. That hurt our family deeply. You say she made more of a fuss about her arm than about the injuries her children sustained. She repeated it years later at school. Right after her first surgery, The Detectives were adamant that they HAD to have Diane right then to recreate the incident- unless of course, you have something to hide. Maybe I should have elaborated more about this comment. Despite all of this: that the attorney became a Foster Carer irrelevant, inflammatory, subjective and bears no reflection on the trial, or indeed the trial outcome. I will change it. Right after the shooting, little Danny would ask the nurses, , Even Ann Rule in her book, keeps mentioning that, Every time, she said she did not know, they told her to think again and made suggestions. Mr. Jagger failed to challenge that competency. Page 40 of Case History. McPherron: And you had no contact with her . As for Diane, give me a break. The detectives took Diane to the crime scene and were able to retrieve shell cases on the ground where the incident happened. That is why people wonder why such a vital family member never gave the anticipated insightful interview. Ann Rule promotes her books as true crime stories so to this day, viewers believe that the book and the movie titled Small Sacrificesdocument the true story of the Diane Downs case; in fact, it is a mix bag of truth, falsehoods, interpretation and plain fiction. Hed left his first wife to co-habitate with (and later marry) Charlene. All Rights Reserved. What happened to Diane Downs ex-husband? tell someone else. They rarely get a break. Diane Downs and Alice Crummins were considered sluts and cold-blooded women and were judged on their unusual character. I am a Mortuary science student, true crime fanatic, and have been following the Downs case since it happened. They should have had ongoing contact and been placed with family as soon as they were out of the hospital and they never should have been interviewed without their own attorney (Guardian ad Litem) present. Therefore, to make their marriage work, they started a family, believing that it would make everything okay. It is not a hatefest and I do not wish death or life without parole on anyone. When you hear her in interviews she sounds more concerned with herself than her kids. And these men in black perceived this as an act of war, and proceeded to go after them with every legal or illegal means at their disposal. Hello. The police admitting on the stand that after 2 weeks, they stopped looking at suspects appears to be a fact. That towel should have been soaked in their blood not hers. What about the son saying that man and nurses noting that. Insulting a woman in prison since 30 years instead of debating the inconsistencies of this case is pretty pathetic. I read the letter they sent to the Downs when they were fighting to see their grandchildren. The trial was a whole miscarriage, that seems undeniable. We had a thoughtful jury that examined the evidence over four days. She may be highly vulnerable to losing control of her emotions in emotionally charged situations, creating faulty judgment and ineffective and inappropriate behavior. It did not matter that they had no evidence; they did not like her attitude and she was going to pay for it. Fingerprints at the crime scene were not produced by the State. 5. Sometimes it takes until late in life for connections to be made again. Steve Downs had allegedly stolen this gun from a friend named Billy Proctor, but after it was found and the ballistics did not match, Bill suddenly remembered keeping it only for a day before exchanging it for another Ruger automatic at a gun show in Mesa; which now meant that the gun that Diane allegedly used to shoot herself and the children, was still apparently nowhere to be found. Steve Downes has voiced the Master Chief in the Halo games since his 2001 debut, and his voice has become synonymous with the character.However, despite Jen Taylor being asked to reprise her role as the . Their life without parole sentences are a dime a dozen and so randomly used that it beats any notion of justice for all. She'd also shot herself in the forearm. It would never happen todaynever. The jurors had doubts. She was not in the car when her children were shot. I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. Parker Schnabel's net worth in 2023: Is he the richest on Gold Rush? Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya. I dont. Anyways, I was 10 years old when this happened, I stayed with my aunt and uncle a lot in those years, in which they watched A LOT of nightly news programs.lol most of it was like white noise to me, as I would play with my barbies on their living room floorbut I do remember this story. The last time I checked, it is my website and if you find it tiresome, no one is inviting you to stay or read the content; which you evidently did not read anyway. A number of them were clearly . Lise lasalle you mention THIS When she (Diane) resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. In this Battle of Cutthroats, Who has lost their head? I would also like to express my disbelief that the same judge presided over both the child welfare case and the criminal one. He could then have initiated the licensing process to foster and then adopt the children. I personally dont think she is innocent but that isnt the point. Hysteria. Diane had spent three days in the hospital ingesting massive doses of Morphine, Demerol, Percodan, and visterol. 4. There were days she was unhappy to see the staff and her family because she was very ill. That poor girl had a lot of bad moments where she would cry constantly or trigger the machines and to have defined this single incident as one of terror instead of excitement over seeing her mom was biased and self-serving. Ann Rule did not leave a great legacy as far as honest reporting goes, and she is not the only one to have commercialized a criminal case for personal gain. I did not shoot my children.. Evidence or not, they were going to do their best to put her away for life. Foote refused 30 to 50 reports by detectives of sightings or leads about the shooter but admitted reports from people in Arizona willing to badmouth Diane. Saying that I seem to be doing what I accuse Ann Rule of doing is kind of ironic because the point of this blog is to try to stay away from innuendo and fantasies like unicorns and songs that might have been playing or not during a tragic murder. It can safely be presumed, other children told their parents, and that some of those parents reported the disturbing revelation to states Attorney, Prosecutor Fred Hugi. So, what happened to the children's father? Downs was constantly provoked by inmates because of the nature of her situation, and she never once attacked or defended herself in a violent manner. Leaving out a lot of info that should be included and presenting a very one sided take on these things. I hope she is granted parole. And their plan worked. It was half baked escape plans that were more in her head than anything and that the media enjoyed blowing out of proportions. Would you know at what speed you are going if you were shot and driving with wounded children in the car? Even put in different hospitals. Brewer freely declared that Diane Downs would never have been convicted except that he believed the lie Jim Jagger permitted Fred Hugi to enter into the record. None of this is EVIDENCE of anything in regard to the murder trial, and not once did I read that it was. And if you claim your innocence, it obviously creates a vicious circle of not showing contrition. Any thoughts on how the detectives basically made up their mind right away in spite of numerous tips coming in? She did it. Van Houten has made her choices and needs to own up to her actions and stop putting all the blame on drugs and Manson. Its too late for me to call myself a murderer (when I am not) just to purchase my freedom. As you might know, Dianes father passed away after many years of anguish over the fate of his daughter. So obviously, she was the prime suspect. What mother takes her kids out at night and then stops for a stranger with her kids in the car? A demonstration in court strongly suggested that the shooter had to be left-handed to have been able to shoot in the car at the right angle. However, their marriage wasnt as great as they anticipated as Steve was a player and quite irresponsible and immature at the time. More often than not, Christie was interviewed by State Agents (Paula Krogdahl, Paul Alton, Steve Downs and Dick Tracy) within half an hour of having her Dilantin increased. Not right at all. What happened to Diane Downs' husband? If you shoot at least 6 inches from a victim, you see what is around you in the car. He still shouldnt have been allowed to adopt them while the appeals process was ongoing, if he had any role in those cases. As Ms. Patterson left the stand, Diane complained to her attorney that Ms. Patterson had lied under oath. Even if I have no doubt that Hugi loved the kids, we have to wonder why he adopted them two years later just when little Christie started saying she had no clue who shot them. She was a first time offender who has shown no violent tendencies and is afflicted with a mental illness. Why am I not arguing the facts of the trial? A new trial would be out of the question, so to me, parole would be the solution. Anne Rule might have inflamed the case with her book Small Sacrifices and her theory of the crime, but in reality, the case of Diane Downs was no small sacrifice. Regardless of the facts you point out, there is no doubt in my mind that Diane Downs is guilty. It became judicial kidnapping to obtain a coerced confession: inflammatory I would like to believe this is the truth. It was omnipresent in the courtroom as well as the Duran Duran song, The judge instructed them to continue on to force a verdict. I was raised by an evil narcissist and have not only seen this kind of behavior before, but I have seen the face of the devil and it is a look of pure evil that gives me the creeps. He had an attorney, Fred G. Campbell Jr., send us a letter denying our request and telling us: You are legally, as well as factually, a stranger to them. Who does he think he is? If personal diaries were to be believed, half of the population would be in great jeopardy. This unhealthy marriage survived and became a daily struggle. This case flew under my radar so to speak because it happened before my time. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. The prosecutor would gently shake his head and the good judge would follow with a ruling. She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. Or why the fact that he was a con artist made him such a credible guy in this case. That didnt seem right so we wrote a letter to Mr Hugi with a request for visitation rights. But you dont mention that she again has changed her story.. So should I put an addendum saying that Diane contradicted herself or was not satisfied with the sketch? At the time Diane had told police that a stranger attempted to carjack her and shot the kids, and thats what her ex husband was told, too. He was instead a result of an affair Diane had with a married man. Her family supported her. The role of Diane Downs was played by none other than Farrah Fawcett and her lover was played by Ryan ONeal who had been Farrahs love interest in real life. And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. Her parents Willadene and Wes were old school Baptist parents who raised her under strict guidelines without much warmth but complete devotion. The fact that Dianes injury was way more serious than they tried to pretend? . And he grew up there. In 1991, David Brewer, a juror who deliberated Dianes fate in her 1984 trial, came forward to say he and another juror had decided to acquit Downs by the close of the States presentation. Nearly every point you make here was addressed and disproved or not even allowed into evidence. I agree that the verdict may have been very different. As an adoptive parent I cant even imagine trying to justify to my daughter our adopting her if we had in any way been a part of the case to terminate her from her bio family. Ive done my research. I dont know how familiar she was with the area, but I do not think that it matters anyway. Except after the idea was subsequently planted in his head only to be alluded to in court, in spite of an agreement to never mention the subject. The fact that she and her brother Danny were eventually adopted by Fred Hugi who prosecuted Diane Downs is the most blatant case of conflict of interest I have ever heard of. An earlier commenter wrote that it doesnt matter that the trail or the investigation was faultyWHAT !? This is a scenario pretty hard to believe, but as they say, reality can sometimes be stranger than fiction. We make them president!!!! It gave Anne Rule carte blanche to legally use these labels in her book and it stuck. It deserved as much attention as a Unicorn, a song or all the other hearsay floating around because at least, they came from real people signing official documents. The first two children were Diane's kids with her ex husband Steve Downs. For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. Around 1 in 20 residents in Arkansas and Tennessee were missed during the 2020 census, and four other U.S. states had significant undercounts of their populations which could shortchange them Most people negotiate the ups and downs of . In 1992 I became involved in this work following my interest and research into a notorious murder trial that was held in Oregon many years ago. Since he was in possession of a similar gun, he was a suspect as well, but, when the ballistics did not match, Diane Downs quickly became the prime suspect. I also grew up in as time of the most infamous case in Australias judicial history: Lindy Chamberlain and the dingo stole my baby. Guilty or not, the case was handled with prejudice and many errors occurred. And this makes many people wonder about his whereabouts. It is beyond belief that the State of Oregon allowed the prosecutor to adopt those children. Can you imagine your little boy growing up to beat to death (with his bare hands and boots) Is she referring to her ex husband? When your goal is to call me dude, insult my name and trash my blog, you can go on other sites who will love to spar with you while swallowing the old narrative of high profile cases. She did not fit in and was now anxious to assert her independence and live her own life. The notions of humanity and rehabilitation have been left on the wayside long ago. Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. Criminalist James Pex was pretty clear about this. Downs wanted to get rid of the kids because her new boyfriend didn't want . If the answer is, to keep the public safe, then I call BS. As for how to answer this question,,, seems like he is assuming guilt and because of this my parents or me or my brothers and sister, our uncles and aunts were not considered because of an unproven allegation Does he truly believe this is ok??? Im not saying I know for a fact in my mind shes innocentbut there is NOT enough evidence for her to be guilty. And, one of them was her ex-husband, the father of the children that Diane had shot. A test for the presence of gunshot residue conducted on Dianes hands the night of the shooting, returned a negative result (Appendix 23). I asked her brother James an answer to your question. They now throw people in prison in the US for debts. I am a strong believer that pregnancy can do serious harm to some women. Most importantly why would anybody shoot 3 children potentially fatally and leave the adult with a wound in her arm. Q. I am interested in the truth. The blog I read is all about the improprieties and flat out misconduct in Dianes trial (and the way Ann Rule profited off of it with fiction). Seeing her giggle and laugh during a videoed reconstruction gave me, as a mother, a sickening feeling.