However, after exchanging words, Babcock said the letters "kept coming and were strange, to say the least.". 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. But after several letters, Downs' tone changed. She began to think about her birth mother. "I was worried that she could turn out like her biological mom," Hammond said. 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.". Becky Babcock, the daughter of convicted child killer Diane Downs, is part of a 20/20 documentary on the case. She then ran away from home and married husband, Steven Downs, in 1973, with whom she had . Sometimes lust can become lethal for a woman. 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. They had been shot multiple times at close range; 7-year-old Cheryl was already dead. What is the Spanish language plot outline for Fatal Attraction (2008)? They followed the mother's murder trial carefully. She received a five-year additional sentence for the escape. In July, the South Carolina mother fatally shot her estranged husband's girlfriend before driving back to her home and fatally shooting her two children, 9-year-old son Hayden King, and 5-year-old daughter Harper Edens, in the back of her SUV. And that's how I found out.". "She immediately pulled the weapon out and pointed it at Mr. Sheats and wanted to blame him: 'You made me do this, you're making me do this,'" Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls previously told PEOPLE. In fact she seems never to have gone after them. 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. Diane Downs' story of how her children were shot begins to unravel. She was given a life sentence plus 50 years. On June 17, 1984, a jury found Diane Downs guilty of murder and attempted murder. The couple regularly argued about financial issues and fought over alleged infidelities. "I wish you'd taken me with . The two beautiful young Mormon athletes seemed to have a perfect marriage, but Janet's sisters say that changed dramatically when Abaroa revealed he cheated. With seven-year-old Cheryl dead, three-year-old Danny paralyzed from the waist down at three years of age, and eight-year-old Christie suffering a stroke that impaired her speech, authorities initially believed Downs. Downs and some of her family continue to maintain her innocence and claim a convicted felon has confessed to shooting the children. 9 (May, 1945). Missing baby is feared dead as police arrest aristocrat Constance Marten and boyfriend on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter: 200 officers search allotments and compost bins near where . After everything was said and done, psychiatrists diagnosed Diane with narcissistic . The letters eventually led her to realize her mom was crazy. Training And Servicing Center. Babcock was adopted by another family, and has already spoken in public about learning about her birth mother and struggles associated with that. When her son, Christian, was 3 years old, Becky got pregnant again. 4.7 out of 5 stars 3,152. "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.". The Downs documentary airs on 20/20 from 9 to 11 p.m. Friday, March 22 on ABC. 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.. Downs launched a violent attack on three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. $37.75 8 Used from $37.75. "It's been quite a journey. Babcock said the letters "progressively got more and more insane" something she noticed after asking about her biological father. Before killing herself last June, Carola Arnau, 40, fatally shot her two children daughter 10-year-old Bellailani and son Noah, 4 in their Pennsylvania home. He says yes. Her children were often seen unkempt and appeared malnourished. The first thing I'll say about the movie, Unexpected, is that it lives up to its title. The 20/20 special includes an interview with Becky Babcock, the child with whom Downs was pregnant during the trial. The witness who saw her drive slowly after the shooting only furthered suspicions. 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. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years. More than a year prior, Pasztor had lost custody of the pair due to substance abuse problems. 01:20:35. Diane Downs laughs while reenacting shooting of 3 children: Part 2. 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. Cheryl was killed, Danny & Christie survived, but suffered life-altering injuries. I fell off the path for awhile. It was into this environment that Christie, Cheryl Lynn, and Stephen Daniel (Danny) were born in 1974, 1976, and 1979, respectively. "I wish I was born of my real parents," she said. At birth, her parents named her Elizabeth Diane Frederickson. The mom-of-four confessed to killing them by putting antifreeze in their drinks. After finding the book, she said: "I opened it and I looked at a picture of Diane Downs sitting at a table. After both her husband, Mark, and son, Shaun, died untimely deaths in 2012, and her then-24-year-old daughter, Sarah, was hospitalized for organ failure, Diane Staudte was charged with murdering Mark and trying to kill Sarah. Dr. Steven Wilhite opened up in the documentary about his interaction with Downs at the hospital. 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. "I think we kind of maybe subconsciously watched for any signs of anything unusual," said Jackie Babcock. And she's not set to meet with the parole board again until 2025. Mothers are put on this earth to take care of their children. Guns in America. A troubled woman uses poison to get her way, a mother's infatuation turns deadly for her children and passion twists two teens into cold-hearted killers. The names of her parents are Wesley Linden and Willadene Frederickson. ", Former Lane County District Attorney Pat Horton explained: "Her demeanor at the hospital did not conform to a traditional grieving mother whose children had just been shot, one murdered, the other two seriously clinging to life. Downs' claim of a "bushy-haired stranger' ambushing them fell apart quickly. $8.99 $ 8. She has a brilliant mind with no conscience to guide it. But as Downs was about to begin her new life behind bars, she brought new life into the world. When it comes intentionally, at the hands of a parent, it is just an outrage. Diane and Rachel both pleaded guilty in the deaths and the assault of Sarah. A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. A look at the cold-hearted criminal who was convicted of murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children in 1983.A look at the cold-hearted criminal who was convicted of murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children in 1983.A look at the cold-hearted criminal who was convicted of murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children in 1983. This past July, a California jury sentenced Sarah Lynn Kreuger, 27, and her boyfriend, 29-year-old Ryan Scott Warner, to life in prison for the 2014 torture and murder of Kreuger's daughter Kayleigh Slusher. After shooting herself in the left forearm, Diane Downs drove to the hospital at a snails pace. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. 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. Smith like Downs, also pursued a man who didn't want to be with her because she had children. And in 1984, Diane Downs was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Had Downs felt this same emptiness when she gave Becky away? "I don't want to be here without you. In August 2020, Smith was sentenced to life in prison. psaume de protection contre la sorcellerie. 45:53. Shortly after her death, Zadie's mother, Stephanie Diane Smith, mourned her daughter's death on Instagram. Not one tear, even though she knew that Cheryl had died," he said. I had no concern for myself.". The couple watched their new daughter for signs of emotional disturbance, they said. As a freshman at Moon Valley High School, Downs dressed like a grown woman of the 1960s and dated older boys. Downs told investigators she and her children had been shot during a carjacking, but then police found a secret diary detailing her obsession with a married man who did not want kids, after which she was charged with killing her 7-year-old daughter. She was indicted in three deaths but prosecuted only for one smothering 4-month-old Tami Lynne in 1985 with a pillow. She told police she was too addicted to methamphetamine to properly care for the children. "They were in the way.". Then, she killed herself. Though the film's title is quite catchy, some studio execs weren't sold. A troubled woman uses poison to get her way, a mother's infatuation turns deadly for her children and passion twists two teens into cold-hearted killers. Babcock first went public about her mother in 2010 and has also met her in a bid to find out about her roots. Her fourth baby, Amy Elizabeth, was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock. Oregon Department of CorrectionsDiane Downs in 2018. Reunited in Arizona, the two got married on Nov. 13, 1973. 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. "I wanted to know how she felt, if she loved me, if she wanted me if she connected with me before she had given me up for adoption," Babcock explained. Babcock decided to reach out to Diane Downs -- her birth mother, whom she calls a monster -- in prison. Downs lied and said she didnt own a gun, but a search warrant revealed otherwise. Rachel, who agreed to testify against her mother, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. 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. Downs was recaptured in Salem, Oregon, on July 21. 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. Inside were three children, two girls and a boy, covered in blood. View Lab Report - ZOOLOGY189-QUIZ 27.pdf from SCN EG101 at Ilocos Sur Polythecnic State College. 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. Downs, who still maintains her innocence, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. In an interesting development, in 1986, Christie and Danny Downs were adopted by Fred Hugi, the lead prosecutor who put their mother behind bars for the rest of her life. "I don't know if you're going to believe me," she wrote. She was interviewed by 20/20 in 2010, among other outlets. Downslaunched a violent attackon three of her children, Danny, Cheryl Lynn, and Christie Anne in 1983. In another she wrote: "If you love your little boy, you'll take him far from here." Years later, a boyfriend whom Becky had let in on her secret invited her over to watch a movie, "Small Sacrifices." I was taught right from wrong.". Her fourth baby, Amy Elizabeth, was adopted and given the name BeckyBabcock. 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. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Drama. That's where she is right now, behind bars, but this year, in 2020, there is a possibility of her being released on parole. 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