May 13, 2010, 7:54 AM. The 1989 movie, shown in two parts, was based on the best selling true story by Ann Rule . She has a brilliant mind with no conscience to guide it. Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. In October 1994, South Carolina officials launched a nine-day search for Susan Smith's two sons, 14-month-old Alex and 3-year-old Michael. During the documentary, Babcock reacted to viewing her biological mom's creepy 2010 parole hearing. During her second pregnancy, Becky Babcock was broke, homeless and living in a women's shelter. They had another sibling, born in the middle, in 1976, Cheryl Lynn, but she didn't survive the shooting. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. "We picked the most amazing family I could possibly think of.". New interviews and details - Tonight at 9/8c on ABC. "Her demeanor was flat. The special will look at the case, in which Elizabeth Diane Downs -- her full name -- was accused of trying to kill all three of her children after she became infatuated with a married man. The special will look at the case, in which Elizabeth Diane Downs -- her full name -- was accused of trying to kill all three of her children after she became infatuated with a married man. She is 67 years old as of 2022. "It appears they [the kids] were shot in their sleep, and there would not have been any struggle, as pathetic as a comfort that that is," Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said afterward. The documentary comes as Downs who gave birth to four children is serving a life sentence for horrific crimes she committed against her own kids. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. . Authorities searched the home and found additional bodies placed in plastic bags and contained in a separate cardboard box. In 2016, Diane was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The two would graduate together but briefly part, as Diane Downs enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, and Steve enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Diane Downs was born August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona. After a 10-day manhunt, police arrested her in a small apartment where she was staying with a fellow inmate's husband, less than a mile from the prison. And to my complete surprise, Diane was not emotional not a tear in her eye. It was a childhood straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting. She was sentenced to life in prison and an additional 50 years after shooting her three children, killing one. The mother of three who fell in love with a married man did the unthinkable in 1983: she murdered her 7-year . She received a five-year additional sentence for the escape. The shocking and disturbing truth was, Smith confessed that she had purposely pushed the car into the river drowning the children in hopes of winning her boyfriend back. And she's not set to meet with the parole board again until 2025. The two surviving kids are also stand-outs, especially the small daughter who must choose whether or not to testify against the monstrously narcissistic Downs. Includes an interview with daughter, Becky. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Diane Downs shot her three children, killing her seven-year-old daughter Cheryl and wounding her other two children.An in-depth look at the lives and crimes . But Babcock realized that, deep down, she was nothing like her mother. Babcock told her story to Glamour. "I tried to make myself think about it once. He saved her life and updated Downs to suspicious results. Babcock decided to reach out to Diane Downs -- her birth mother, whom she calls a monster -- in prison. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. "The precautions that we took were to let people know that were coming in contact with Becky, her daycare person, her babysitter for Becky's own safety.". Downs' claim of a "bushy-haired stranger' ambushing them fell apart quickly. "It became real at that point. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? That one is Diane Downs, the American mother of three who murdered one of her offspring, and but for the skill of the doctor interviewed here, might have killed all three. But Downs would ultimately be expelled after a year for promiscuous behavior. In 1989 SMALL SACRIFICES was made into the popular TV movie of the same name starring Farrah Fawcett, which earned her an Emmy nomination. However, after exchanging words, Babcock said the letters "kept coming and were strange, to say the least.". Becker, who used to coach the current Australian Open champion until 2016, told press at the . Downs had vowed that she would get her children back, so her escape . Marianne Bachmeier, Germanys Revenge Mother who shot her childs killer, Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the sick child who killed her mother. Diane Downs, born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1955, is a convicted murderer who is serving life in prison. She recently recalled the waves of emotion. Hours after their disappearance, the children's dead bodies were found in the backseat of a car that had been parked by Pasztor behind a police station. She told police she was too addicted to methamphetamine to properly care for the children. They & Downs' daughter she had in 1984 were adopted. Sometimes lust can become lethal for a woman. The medical examiner was unable to determine the girl's cause of death. For years, Diane Downs seemed to have a wonderful life. Diane Downs is shown being led into the Lane County Courthouse on the first day of her trial, after being accused of shooting her three children, one fatally. 45:53. The mom-of-four confessed to killing them by putting antifreeze in their drinks. They fought about money and Steven's suspicions that Diane was cheating on him. Officials said they believe Edens and husband Ben Edens were in the midst of a messy divorce and custody battle and that she planned to do something that would have "everlasting consequences for her husband.". Diane often left Steven and went back to her parents, but they would always reconcile. She confessed and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. She is in jail in California after being denied parole in 2008 and 2010. Oturum an. She then fired a round into her own arm before driving to the hospital to claim that a bushy-haired stranger had assaulted her family during a terrifying carjacking. "It's been quite a journey. This documentary relates the tales of four female killers, one you might have heard of. Yates' then-husband, Rusty, filed for divorce a few years after the killings. A must-see for crime buffs. Refusing to take rejection, Smith also fabricated a story about being car jacked by a strange man causing her two children to drown while strapped in their mother's car. Filmow. Babcock decided to cut off all contact. Shortly after her death, Zadie's mother, Stephanie Diane Smith, mourned her daughter's death on Instagram. Jessie Buckley goes full Hollywood glam in a glitzy floor length dress . Not one tear, he said. "Her demeanor was flat. So Downs decided to murder them so she could be with him. She successfully escaped the Oregon Women's Correctional Center and used clothing to keep herself from getting harmed by the barbed-wire fence, according to ABC News. On July 11, 1987, a Saturday morning, Downs escaped a woman's prison by climbing a 12- to 15-foot-high chain-link fence around the detention center. She said that opening up her mom's letter in October 2006 was like "pandora's box" as she "chose" to allowed her mom into her life. did diane downs get parole in 2020how often does louisville water company bill. See production, box office & company info. "I wanted to relate to her not as a mother because I had a mother, but just as somebody who shared the pain and emptiness that I felt in that time.". "Throughout my teen years, I was wild and after the movie, it escalated," Babcock said. Seasons. Rachel, who agreed to testify against her mother, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. She said that opening up her mom's letter in October 2006 was like "pandora's box" as she "chose" to allowed her mom into her life. Downs, who again comes up for parole next year, was denied parole previously, in 2008 and 2010. The film was based on her mother's life. Yates, now 52, was initially convicted of the killings and sentenced to life in prison. Even Becky's closest friend, Kaylee Hammond, worried that nature was winning over nurture. And so begins a wild tale of murder, sexual abuse, and mental health. Diane Downs a 28 year old mother shot her 3 kids point blank killing one, paralysing another, and leaving the third with life long injuries. But that idyllic image shattered in the early 1980s. Sometimes lust can become lethal for a woman. 99. May 14, 2010 -- On June 17, 1984, Diane Downs was found guilty of shooting her three children, killing one. Diane Downs's bio is filled with facts like Bio, Books, Net Worth, Murder, Movies, Affari, Husband, Children, Family, Parents, Age, Facts, Wiki, Famous, Birthday, Documentary, Daughter, Married, Divorce, Salary, Career, Famous for, Biography, Ethnicity, News, Killer and more can also be found. Serial Killers - John George Haigh (Acid Bath Murderer) - Documentary. She was sentenced to life in prison and an additional 50 years after shooting her three children, killing one. It was scary and I slammed the book shut and I left," Babcock recounted after seeing her mom's photo. She began to think about her birth mother. : 1) LL Inside The Chilling Crimes Of John Joubert, The Eagle Scout Who Became A Serial Killer, Why The Story Of John And Lorena Bobbitt Is More Complex Than Just Castration, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Downs briefly attended Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California but was forced to leave after just one year for "promiscuous behaviour". Years later, a boyfriend whom Becky had let in on her secret invited her over to watch a movie, "Small Sacrifices." "I couldn't raise another baby and do that to the son I already had," Babcock said. "Just know that someone very powerful has been watching over you all your life for me," Downs wrote in one letter. Dr. Steven Wilhite opened up in the documentary about his interaction with Downs at the hospital. A two-hour "20/20" documentary special on ABC explores the shocking case of Diane Downs, who was convicted of shooting her three children, and includes an interview with the daughter with whom . "I don't know if you're going to believe me," she wrote. Flasher once dubbed the Naked Carpenter loses court appeal over walking through town in see-through trousers, Inside Bob Proctor's love story with wife before death as The Secret contributor's touching quotes on romance revealed, Fan of shop dummies amasses the worlds creepiest collection of 40,000 mannequins, I was overseas when I found out my son, 18, had a cardiac arrest - we rushed home but he died days later, NYC school's vegan meals slammed as girl is served burrito with CHEESE, serving a life sentence for horrific crimes. "And so my babysitter's like, 'Oh, you know about Diane Downs?' But I believe that I may possibly be your biological daughter." "We were always hiking, biking, traveling," Becky Babcock said in a recent interview. The part that shows when I was born, it's as close as I'd ever come to witnessing my own birth. I'm not going to spoil that for you here. "Oh, gosh, she was adorable," Jackie Babcock told "20/20" in a recent interview. Her fourth baby, Amy Elizabeth, was adopted and given the name Becky . Babcock felt lost after the adoption, she said. The stranger, Downs claimed, shot her three children. First Documentary, June 2. I got blood all over the back of it. What did Bob Proctor say about the Law of Attraction in The Secret? In another she wrote: "If you love your little boy, you'll take him far from here." While being questioned by police, Diane's second-youngest daughter, Rachel, admitted to helping her mother poison her father, brother and sister. See State v. Downs , 733 P.2d 119 (Or. Christie Ann, born in 1974, is the eldest of the Downs children, and Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, born in 1979, is the youngest. "If you do something so horrific, at some point you have to ask for forgiveness.". He rushed back for the emergency and recalled thinking Christie was dead. In the footage from Down's parole hearing, Babcock's biological mom is heard talking about "milk carton kids" and boasting about her intelligence. 'The Watcher' Character John Graff is Inspired by Real-Life Family Murderer and Longtime Fugitive John List, Andrea Yates, Who Drowned Her 5 Kids in a Tub in 2001, Annually Declines Release from Mental Hospital, Woman Who Wrote 'How to Murder Your Husband' Essay Sentenced to Life in Prison for Killing Her Husband, College Crimes: 15 Shocking Cases That Ended in Tragedy, A Timeline of Adnan Syed's Case After His Release from Prison and What's Next for 'Serial' Subject, Shocking Family Crimes: Chris Watts, the Menendez Brothers and More. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). By the time Danny was born, arguments over infidelities had become so intense that Steve became convinced that Danny wasnt his biological son at all but the product of an affair. However, after exchanging words, Babcock said the letters "kept coming and were strange, to say the least.". ABC News. Ann Rule's shocking and powerful account of the destructive forces that drove Diane Downs, a beautiful young mother, to shoot her three young children in cold blood. Elizabeth Diane Downs (ne Frederickson; born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter and attempted to murder her other two children near Springfield, Oregon, in May 1983.Following the crimes, she made claims to police that a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. But after several letters, Downs' tone changed. She said: "She doesn't make any sense and it honestly sounds like It just she thinks that she's smarter than the law and that she believes her own lies. Each time I thought "Oh right, this is how its going to go, " I was brought up short by a, well, unexpected plot twist. "Being taken away from [Downs] was the best thing that could have ever happened," she said. ABC's "20/20" has a true crime documentary about Diane Downs, who shot her three young children in 1983, killing one and injuring two. At the time of the shooting, the children's father, Miguel Arnau, was working. kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist. The 20/20 special includes an interview with Becky Babcock, the child with whom Downs was pregnant during the trial. The Babcocks were determined to keep Becky's parentage a secret from her. Ann was a full-time true crime . The Real Jigsaw Murderer Full Documentary Stephen Marshall. People judge me for that.". As Diane Downs comes up for parole next year, her daughter speaks out. I was taught right from wrong.". "She started writing back about people that want to harm me andshe told me that if I loved my little boy I would take him far away from there," Babcock continued. Diane Downs biography. Judge Foote: The death of a child is one of life's greatest tragedies, what might have been. That is until Christie recovered and told them who really shot her. In August 2020, Smith was sentenced to life in prison. Becky had no idea what she was about to watch. That's too much for an 8-year-old to take on.". Kitaplk. Steve Downs, their father, actually left Diane in 1980 because he thought that Danny was the result of an . She is in jail in California after being denied parole in 2008 and 2010. Both she and Downs remain in prison to this day. Watchlist. On July 11, 1987, a Saturday morning, Downs escaped a woman's prison by climbing a 12- to 15-foot-high chain-link fence around the detention center. She said that after "being a teenager" following the birth of her first son, she made the "hardest decision" to put her second child up for adoption. It aired on ABC on November 12-14, 1989. Christy Sheats called her family into the living room for a family meeting in June 2016, hours after husband Jason Sheats told her he planned to divorce her. Though the film's title is quite catchy, some studio execs weren't sold. Downs lied and said she didnt own a gun, but a search warrant revealed otherwise. The names of her parents are Wesley Linden and Willadene Frederickson. She received a five-year additional sentence for the escape. Ara. She is a sociopath: an antisocial personality without any concern for the rights of others. "My adopted parents. "I think her thought was, 'If she can't have them, nobody can,'" Leanne Pasztor, Amber's mother, told PEOPLE. Like us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TheSunUSand follow us from our main Twitter account at@TheSunUS, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Viewers of ABC's 20/20's documentary about Diane Downs, pictured, have gotten a deeper look into the killer mom's life, BeckyBabcock's biological mom is Diane Downs, Diane Downs launched a violent attack on three of her children in 1983, Downs is serving a life sentence for horrific crimes she committed against her own kids, Diane Downs documentary 5 chilling revelations about killer mom on ABC 20/20 from bizarre jail letters to scary book, 'Shooter' Jamel Flint arrested after killing high school football star Isiah O. Robinson, 18, & injuring 4 others, Richard Samuel Gray, 32, arrested for 'killing girlfriend' after manhunt and Amber Alert as 'kidnapped' kids found safe, Inside Nashville Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking deadly restaurant rampage that killed 4 after GUILTY verdict. Becky Babcock, the fourth and youngest child of Downs, explained in the documentary MY MOTHER'S SINS the reasoning behind why she began writing letters to her jailed mom. Diane Downs had vowed for years that she would get her children back. . She then ran away from home and married husband, Steven Downs, in 1973, with whom she had . Mo. NR | 03.29.2019. Becky Babcock grew up in a beautiful house in Bend, Ore., only 100 miles -- but a world away -- from the legacy of her birth mother. They were in the way.. 1987), rev. "She started writing back about people that want to harm me andshe told me that if I loved my little boy I would take him far away from there," Babcock continued. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Downs, who still maintains her innocence, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. "I wanted to relate to her not as a mother because I had a mother, but just as somebody who shared the pain and emptiness that I felt in that time.". I had no concern for myself.". A peculiar and disturbing case catches the attention of the police when a young mother and her children, all severely injured, show up in a hospital's emergency room. Inside were three children, two girls and a boy, covered in blood. Within two years, she would attempt to murder her kids in the hopeful pursuit of regaining his affection. Small Sacrifices: The Shocking True Crime Case of Diane Downs. I slept around with a lot of people. Becky Babcock's biological mom is Diane Downs Credit: ABC NEws. "It just makes my skin crawl, just to hear her voice and see her. Diane Downs is currently serving her sentence of life plus 50 years at Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, Calif., where she's been since August 1993. "I asked the babysitter and I made it sound as if I knew," Babcock said. "Disgust, sadness," Babcock said. Ms. Downs gives a chilling first-hand account of how she and her children were gut down by an assailant's bullets only to find themselves further victimized by Oregon State legal system.

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