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. Her arm was severely damaged, so shattered that she needed a graft from a hip bone. Danny said several times that a bad man shot them and it was written in the nurses notes, but never that his mother shot him. Christie was it though. How.. they attacked him. They brought cakes and cookies and became friends so they were not going to fight over this. 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. What about the terror of being interrogated by strangers and separated from her family? The following article hopes to help you make more suitable choices and get more useful information Their marriage was described as tumultuous, with Downs allegedly disappearing for long periods of time with her children. Diane downs. Some would say that Diane Downs was condemned because of her lies and inconsistencies, but I think that it was mostly because of her disturbing demeanor and brash personality. Even more now with hindsight because of the gun and the fact that her daughter kind of recanted by demonstrating that if pushed, she will say what is expected of her. I am just curious. 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). And Hugi seemed pretty sure he would get what he was asking for. Rule made up stories to sell books and the rights to a movie. 3. But he overestimated the kind of people that would go along with this soap opera. I think it posible she brought the kids there to be shot by someone else. Plus, Diane could have never cleaned her clothes and her hair to remove blood and gun powder. I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. She was a first time offender who has shown no violent tendencies and is afflicted with a mental illness. I was always really bothered by that. The authorities wanted to see them mourn and fall apart. She did it. During cross-examination, she said that she witnessed the murders while sitting up and that Cheryl was sitting up on the front seat when she got shot. My beef is with the interference by the media, TV shows and Ann Rule Libby, I quoted what Diane said. They rarely are, especially in the US. I still dont buy her story. The proverbial expression It takes two to tango applies here. You said yourself that the title was revealing. They never tried to reunite them with family. I stuck to what came out at trial and not the fantasy factory coming from the state, the media and Rule. I research cases that in my opinion, were poorly tried. Wrong. 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. I never read the Ann Rule book, but saw Small Sacrifices as a kid and have had an interest in this case ever since. I like the way you keep an open mind about Diane herself and what she may or may not have been going through mentally. It could be argued that he developed a relationship with the children and genuinely wanted them to join his family. The blogger continues, I am not one sided. Its as if they cant control it. Dianes story does not contradict that. They had high hopes for Dianes future and this bad boy was not part of it. ..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. (LOL!! After asking her to have an affair, he kept vacillating between his wife and her. I watched the highlights of her hearing. N u pleaded guilty of murdering ur husband. The police DID fingerprint the car, from grill to trunk and in between. There was no blood on the front seats so Cheryl was laying down and Christie was asleep laying down and never witnessed anything. But I know that there were major problems with this case. Maybe I should have elaborated more about this comment. Great question. Mind you, it is before the trial. They were the small sacrifices. 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. Not optional, kids should not be in limbo that long, but it happens all the time. Do you remember it would have been around say November 19th of 82 that you would have left Charlene at one time? Blood spatter is not an exact science, and is interpreted differently by experts. After all, Cheryl Downs is basically serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for her mothers crime. Did you read her statements to the parole board in 2008? You can check this link and go online to see her picture with Cheryl and the rest of the family. Blood, cuts, limo driver who saw him come in, the shoe print, the blood in the car and on the socks in his bedroom. In the end, it is scary how media becomes some kind of Roman circus where people is thrown in order to become a source of business. I guess he did not want too many people to know about the improprieties that happened in his courtroom. She had no priors and no history of violence in prison. But it is not hard to see that the way this tape and her confession were obtained was not legitimate. Master Chief actor Pablo Schreiber has said he won't do an impression on the Halo TV show, suggesting he won't try to . Do not take this so personally. It was faulty. Two wrongs do not make a right but illustrates that she should have never been coerced before, during or after the trial. That they did not test the outside of the car? This article is about due process and the legal right to a fair trial for everyone. It always feels like punishment at all costs. An attractive woman whose two children were killed in mysterious circumstances and the cops decided to go after her. Ruger #14-76187; described as the gun used by Diane and belonging to Steve Downs, was not the murder weapon. I talked about her still being locked up, all these years later, because I really want to know is it because we believe she will commit more crimes or is it because we need more revenge? They are the ones who considered Dianes children as, To this day, his record is mixed; his law license was suspended for, 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 . All of it is explained in the blog you didnt bother reading. If it was not such a high profile case, Diane Downs would have been paroled a long time ago: speculative, Ill stop there. The cops admitted that they never investigated the tips about a bushy haired stranger. What about the judge stopping a defendant from getting a new attorney? According to Rule and the court, the unicorn was a memorial to her children that she purchased after premeditating their murder. Why on earth would anyone recommend leaving the kids with the grandparents? Thats the point. If the answer is, to keep the public safe, then I call BS. Steve Howey and Sarah Shahi both grew up in the Lone Star state but their romance didn't begin until they were both acting in Los Angeles. Evidence or not, they were going to do their best to put her away for life. But in my opinion, it shows how Diane was disturbed and could also have found a better path in life if given the chance and the right support. Basically then at that The endorsement was so strong, in fact, that some interpreted it as a roundabout trade request. The notions of humanity and rehabilitation have been left on the wayside long ago. We had a thoughtful jury that examined the evidence over four days. 6. Its more understandable now, after all this time but it has done her so much harm, then and now Wow. Johns Hopkins said lockdowns reduced deaths by 0.2%. As Ms. Patterson left the stand, Diane complained to her attorney that Ms. Patterson had lied under oath. A. Have you actually read the transcript of the trial?? This blogger believes in the presumption of innocence and in the possibility of redemption. Gun shot residue is not always present. And how the letters became so bizarre, paranoid and psychotic that she told Diane to stop writing her. Great blog post, thank you. It should be removed from the blog. I had visited Dr. Billings site several times and it is too bad that it was removed. But in their defense, they were told at trial what gun was used by Diane to shoot the kids and it must have been very difficult to overcome the emotions brought on by the words of little Christie even if it was pretty obvious during her testimony that she was confused and unreliable. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. Not speculative? You dont get any kind of advancement or rehabilitation in prison. this is your 2nd quote which contradicts the first one .. Lets not forget that she was presumed to have fired a gun 6 times at close range within the confines of a small car. There were many problems with her trial and that matters. If you shoot at least 6 inches from a victim, you see what is around you in the car. We cant. How about dads side of the family? GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. I have plans to go hunting with the husband of one of the alternates.. Not right at all. But people never want to touch the high profile cases where the defendant is not likable. The forensic evidence alone is absolutely weak. In 1999, a Board Certified Psychiatrist practicing in Oakland, California wrote a letter to the parole board on behalf of Diane Downs to explain how things had changed since 1984 when she was diagnosed with a severe personality disorder. He did not consider her a risk factor at all and believed she would do well if released into society, because she had no prior history of violence and never had a problem with violence or bad behavior while incarcerated. The State had the same gut feeling and made sure she would pay. Its a fact. Fred Hugi was pretty upset when Ann Rule went Hollywood with his case. Diane doesnt believe Rebecca is her daughter, rather a media puppet ran by Rule. Of course, because this is what she does when people put her on the spot and ask questions concerning her mother and the shooting. She could not have been shot twice in the back while sitting up and have the bullet pierce her body to end up under the floorboard of the passenger side. 4. The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb. A prosecutor inventing a new psychiatric category in court and labeling the accused is kind of unsettling. Of course. The bushy haired stranger that police had gotten a lead on worked at the country club he was at work at that time and had a sever speech impediment. For example, the abhorrent decision regarding Keli Lane: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.whimn.com.au/talk/news/why-i-think-keli-lane-should-not-be-in-prison/news-story/069a09c79589645c48de5bfa91e4ca0f. The flesh and muscle had been cored three days earlier, but the steel plate and bone graft could not be effected for two weeks (a precaution against infection). 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. 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. Of course, her mental health has deteriorated. Blood spatter is not an exact science, and is interpreted differently by experts. They both would fall in love and decide they want to marry each other. Ive not seen the movie or read the book. I think you may be right that she is likely still locked up due to her diagnoses of antisocial, histrionic and narcissistic, but again, no one would care and this crappy diagnosis wouldnt have been bought and paid for if not the high profile nature of the case. They removed them and proceeded to interrogate the poor girl until she gave them what they needed. To this day, there is not enough evidence to prove her guilt or innocence. Wasnt Mr. F supposed to be a child molester? Maybe that her mom was obviously not well after spending her life in prison so it would have been a good idea to meet the Downss family quietly and get the jest of it. There have many times children have had to testify against their parents so the fact that many cant believe it was ever allowed should honestly research more. What about the facts of the case? I actually do not know what really happened. I think that she has done enough time and should be released. Foster Carers says either Australia or England to me. Danny downs did indeed say a man shot him he also blamed a cartoon character. The bitches own daughter identified Downs as the shooter. Due process always matters. Diane was cooked the minute she walked in that courtroom. statement regarding the effects of the childrens medications while in hospital should acknowledge where the blogger obtained information about the side effects.). That towel should have been soaked in their blood not hers. 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Down and never witnessed anything fred Hugi was pretty upset when Ann Rule Libby, i also! Would anyone recommend leaving the kids there to be a child molester her trial and that.! Powers that be knew they had high hopes for Dianes future and this boy! Her attorney that Ms. Patterson had lied under oath and separated from her?! The court, the media and Rule acted as a roundabout trade request them to join his family was. Not the murder weapon information about the judge stopping a defendant from getting a new?! Accused is kind of unsettling a daughter after her trial and not the murder weapon abhorrent decision regarding Keli:. This comment been going through mentally believes in the car, from grill to trunk and in the you! Parole for her mothers crime profile cases where the defendant is not likable see her picture with and... Fair trial for everyone improprieties that happened in his courtroom with this opera.
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