She Shot Her Three Children Because Her Lover Didn’t Want Kids

The night of May 19, 1983, the emergency room of McKenzie-Williamette Hospital in Springfield, Oregon suddenly became the scene of an unfolding mystery that would rock the community. A woman named Diane Downs came rushing in with a gunshot wound to the arm and explained to the staff that her three children were outside in her car and were also injured.

In the backseat of Diane’s car were Christie, 8, Cheryl, 7, and Danny, 3. All were covered in blood after being shot. Cheryl was declared dead on arrival and the other two children were admitted to the hospital in critical condition.

Diane’s Account

Hospital staff notified the police who arrived at the scene and began questioning Diane as to what happened. She offered the explanation that she was driving along a rural road when a “bushy-haired” man flagged her down. When she stopped, he attempted to carjack her and then shot her and her children.

Police immediately found the story to be problematic and Diane appeared extremely calm for someone whose children had just been shot by some strange man.

She stated that after the incident, she drove at high speeds to get to the hospital as soon as possible, however, witnesses reported seeing her vehicle driving towards the hospital at a creeping pace of 5 to 7 mph.

Other Damning Factors

Police found it concerning that Diane seemed more worried about calling a man named Robert “Knick” Knickerbocker than being updated on the condition of her children or notifying their father, Steven Downs. When investigators searched Diane’s car, they discovered that while the backseat was stained with blood, there was no blood nor gunshot residue in or near the driver's seat where she was supposedly sitting when she was shot. Diane also denied owning a .22 caliber handgun, the same type used in the shootings, but investigators discovered that was a lie.

Knickerbocker was questioned by police, and he informed them of his and Diane’s former relationship. He stated that she was now obsessed with him and had been stalking him. When officers searched Diane’s home, they located her diary, which confirmed her affair and overall obsession with Knickerbocker. Diane had also made note of how he had informed her that he did not want children.

After the shooting, Diane’s daughter Christie had suffered a stroke due to the trauma she had suffered and was unable to speak. When her mother would enter the room, however, her eyes would dart back and forth frantically and her vital signs would spike. Months after the incident, through rehabilitation, Christie was able to speak again and told investigators what happened.

When District Attorney Fred Hugi asked Christie if she remembered who shot her, she simply replied, “My mom.”

Diane was asked by investigators to reenact the event by showing them what happened the night that she and her children were attacked in the car, which was recorded. She proceeded to laugh and joke while doing so. She did not give the appearance of a grieving mother and assault survivor. Here’s the video.

She also spoke to news station after news station. She spoke to every reporter and TV personality that would listen to her story. However, most interviews turned into being about her and what she had suffered rather than her children.

With all the evidence in place, Diane Downs was arrested on February 28, 1984, and charged with murder, attempted murder, and criminal assault.

Who Was Diane Downs Before She Became the Murdering Mother?

Diane Downs was born Elizabeth Diane Frederickson on August 7, 1955, in Phoenix, AZ. Her parents were Wesley and Willadene Frederickson, and she was the oldest of four children. Diane’s family moved around quite a bit until her father got a job with the U.S. Postal Service when Diane was 11. Diane reported after her arrest that she had been molested by her father, an accusation that she later recanted.

The Frederickson’s were very conservative and Diane seemed to share her parent’s values until she turned 14. It was then that she became defiant and rebellious. She began dating Steven Downs, the 16-year-old boy that lived across the street.

After graduation, Steven went into the Navy and Diane enrolled in Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College. After Steven left for training, Diane cheated on him and was even expelled from her school for promiscuity. Upon Steven’s return in 1973, the two married. Even with their turbulent relationship, the couple had their first child, Christie, in 1974. In 1975, Cheryl Lynn was born and with two children being enough for Steven, he had a vasectomy.

Diane somehow became pregnant again, but this time had an abortion. The family moved to Mesa, AZ in 1978 and both Steven and Diane found jobs at a local mobile home manufacturing company. Diane began having affairs with several of her male co-workers and once again became pregnant. Even though Steven knew he was not the father, he claimed baby Danny as his own.

Diane and Steven finally called it quits in 1978 and divorced. Over the next few years, Diane had relationships with several men, but none lasted very long. She decided to become a surrogate mother but failed two psychiatric exams required during the application process. They showed that while very intelligent, Diane also showed psychotic tendencies. Diane reportedly found this funny and told several of her friends.

Diane managed to get a full-time job as a postal carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in 1981. The children would often stay with Steven or his parents while Diane was at work, however, neighbors became concerned when the children were in Diane’s care.

They reported that the children were often inappropriately dressed for the weather, and repeatedly came to their houses asking for food. They also stated that if Diane could not find a babysitter, she would just simply leave the children at home, with 6-year-old Christie in charge.

Also in 1981, Diane was finally able to get a job as a surrogate and was paid $10,000 after delivering the baby. During this time, she also met co-worker, Robert “Knick” Knickerbocker. She fell madly in love with him and begged him to leave his wife. Knick ended their relationship because he began to feel suffocated by Diane and he still loved his wife.

Diane moved to Oregon and hoped that Knick would follow her. When he didn’t, she continued to bombard him with letters. Knick agreed to meet with her in April 1983 and told her that the relationship was completely over, and he had no intention of “being a daddy” to her children.

Prosecution

On June 17, 1984, Downs was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. Psychiatric testing after her indictment showed her to be narcissistic, histrionic and suffering from antisocial personality disorders.

Downs actually escaped the Oregon Women’s Correctional Center on July 11, 1987, but was recaptured on July 21 in Salem, Oregon. Another five years were tacked on to her sentence and she was transferred to the New Jersey Department of Corrections. In 2010, she was transferred back west to the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, CA, where she remains today.

In 2009, after 25 years in prison, she was eligible for parole, but during the application process, she pledged her innocence, still maintaining that a “bushy-haired stranger” shot her children. Her application was denied. Her second parole application in December 2010 was also rejected.

The Aftermath

Christie and Danny were adopted by Fred Hugi, one of the prosecutors on the case, and his wife Joanne in 1984. Both are now adults and have made lives for themselves and their families, despite what their mother did to them. Neither of them wished to remain in the spotlight after the incident that almost took their lives and neither of them has had any contact with Diane.

Christie, who is in her mid-40s, still lives in Springfield, Oregon, and has children of her own, a son and a daughter, who is named Cheryl, after her little sister that died.

There is very little information on Danny after his adoption by the Hugis, as he wishes his life to remain private. He remains partially paralyzed from the waist down but is living a healthy and normal life.

Downs was pregnant when she was arrested and gave birth to her fourth child later in 1984. She named the girl “Amy Elizabeth”, but her name was changed to Rebecca after she was adopted. Of all of Diane’s children, she has been the most vocal about her mother’s crimes. She has been on several talk shows, including Oprah and 20/20, and described how it has altered her life.

Rebecca began investigating who her birth mother was when she was 11. She read the book by Ann Rule and saw a mini-series about her mother’s crimes. She described the feeling she had, saying

“It was gut-wrenching. It changed me. … My innocence was gone.”

Christie and Danny do not have contact with Rebecca.

Diane Downs’ next chance for parole is sometime in 2021. Stand by for updates on the decision.

The book “Small Sacrifices” was written by Ann Rule and detailed Downs’ life. It was published in 1987 and then adapted into a made-for-TV movie. It aired in 1989 and starred Farrah Fawcett as Downs.

***Story previously published on Medium.com by the author***