Convicted murderer elizabeth diane downs, currently isolated in the lockdown unit of a penitentiary in new jersey, has become a published author. Diane downs denies shooting kids, is denied parole. In december 2008 and in december 2010, she was denied parole. Six members of downs family have formed a corporation and plan to have a book penned by downs on oregon bookstore shelves by tuesday. I remember really enjoying that book, but after finishing this one im doubting my memories. According to court records, elizabeth diane frederickson downs, who. News, opinion and commentary general interest murder. Judy sat diane down in a seat and asked her to recall the events that had proceeded that night. Dec 10, 2008 december 9, 2008, diane downs parole hearing will take place and many people are hoping the oregon parole board will refuse her parole. I came away from it feeling that either she is the craziest woman in the country or to play devils advocate they hopped her up on some serious drugs before they allowed her to go in there. Although since 2008 she has been eligible for parole hearings every two years, the board also voted 2to1 to postpone her next hearing for 10 years the longest deferral allowed for reasons that include her failure to demonstrate understanding of what led. Diane downs at 2008 parole hearing diane downs tall tales and responses didnt impress the parole board. The decision downs listens as the parole board hands down its decision. Downs sentence meant she could not be considered for parole until 2009.
Downs appeared for fridays hearing after indicating in a letter that she would not take. Convicted child killer diane downs comes up for her second parole hearing on friday, and it may be a long time before she has another one. Downs whose conviction in 1984 for shooting her three children and killing one outside springfield inspired the ann rule book small sacrifices, is scheduled for a parole hearing friday. The diane downs case was no small sacrifice crime website.
After a hearing of nearly two hours, the threemember oregon board of parole and postprison supervision voted unanimously that downs remains dangerous and should stay in prison. Her parents wes and willadene moved the family to different towns until wes got a stable job with the u. The hearing rules allowed her only to respond to questions. Ap convicted oregon child killer diane downs says she wont participate in a parole hearing set for friday. Convicted child killer diane downs will stay in prison. The 55yearold downs appeared before a parole board via video from a sacramento prison cell friday morning, after initially. Notorious oregon child killer diane downs up for parole. Diane downs recent photo below as of december 2008 parole hearing ultimately, the parole board denied downs parole, finding that she continues to have, and exhibits, a mental deficiency condition or disorder which predisposes her to the commision of any crime and rendering her a. Aug 17, 2012 i know many things swirl around in the minds of those old enough to remember the case. Courts, in preparation, she offers her fourth version of the shooting of her children by the registerguard eugene, or.
Cityregion, the next release hearing for the former springfield resident who shot her three children is set for 2021 by the registerguard eugene, or. Downs participated in the hearing from the valley state prison for women in chowchilla, california. Anticipating a crowd of reporters and others, the parole board has moved its hearing to a community college studio. Elizabeth diane frederickson downs born august 7, 1955 is an american woman convicted of the may 1983 murder of her daughter and the attempted murder of her other two children. Over the years, i have told you and the rest of the world that a man shot me and my children. What i received was 50 more or less pages of the the true story of diane downs by barbara dailey which is only a phamphlet. Elizabeth diane downs, the oregon woman convicted of shooting her three children, and killing one, will get another parole hearing. Dec 10, 2008 diane downs denied by oregon parole board. Convicted child killer diane downs comes up for her second parole. Child killer diane downs gets parole hearing this friday. In denying parole, board members referred to psychologists determination that downs has a personality disorder with narcissistic and antisocial traits, and that downs is still a danger to other persons health and safety.
Dec 07, 2010 downs whose conviction in 1984 for shooting her three children and killing one outside springfield inspired the ann rule book small sacrifices, is scheduled for a parole hearing friday. Notorious oregon child killer diane downs up for parole the. American diane down is a criminal who has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her daughter. Dec 22, 2008 i read the transcript of her hearing and folks, it was scary. Convicted child killer diane downs denied parole the. Salem the oregon board of parole on tuesday quickly and unanimously rejected convicted child killer elizabeth diane downs bid for release from prison.
Notorious convicted killer diane downs believes coronavirus. But, as would be the case years later with both stuart and smith, the shocking truth eventually came to light that diane downs had allegedly lied about the deadly attack on her children. Twentyfive years later, diane downs still insists that she is innocent of shooting her children, one fatally, in a crime that riveted oregonians and was recounted in an ann rule book and a tv movie starring farrah fawcett. Elizabeth downs faced her second parole hearing on december 10, 2010.
Diane is the subject of a book by ann rule and a madefortv movie based upon it, both called small sacrifices. Salem ap convicted oregon child killer diane downs says she wont participate in a parole hearing set for friday, so the hearing will proceed without her. She was not permitted a statement, but answered questions from the parole board. Diane downs birth age, family diane downs was born elizabeth diane frederickson downs on the 7th. As the parole board members questioned downs, she tried to give rambling responses and was at times cut short. The threemember board deliberated less than a halfhour at downs first parole hearing since she began serving a lifeplus30years sentence for the may 1983 shooting of her three children. Sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in 1984 for shooting her three children, diane downs had her first parole hearing in 2008. Diane downs, one of oregons most notorious convicted murderers, is up for parole tuesday. For the life of me, i dont understand what rule saw in diane downs that made her want to write a fivehundredpage book about her. In 1983, diane downs said a stranger shot her 3 kids, but. Lane county district attorney douglas harcleroad wrote to the parole board, downs continues to fail to demonstrate any honest insight into her criminal behavior. She displayed a book that she said a fellow prisoner had given her.
Diane downs, who has always maintained she didnt commit the crime, has twice sought to regain her freedom though parole. Child killer downs set for oregon parole hearing local news. Salem convicted childkiller and former springfield resident diane downs on friday was denied parole and was not scheduled for another earlyrelease hearing until 2021. More on the book downs tries to explain the relationships between the persons in the photos in the book.
The three members of the board of parole listen to testimony from diane downs background, on screen during downs parole hearing on tuesday. Over the years, she said, i have told you and the rest of the world that a man shot me and my children. She is the subject of a book by ann rule and a madefortv movie based upon it, both called small sacrifices. Child killer diane downs gets parole hearing this friday kval. May 17, 2019 downs herself had been shot in the forearm during what she claimed was a struggle with the mysterious stranger. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years. Following the murder, she told police a stranger had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. Diane downs bio, age, parents, children, parole hearing. This hearing will take place in salem, but downs can testify via video from chowchilla, calif. Downs faced her second parole hearing on december 10, 2010. The parole board denied parole to downs in december of 2008, d.
Diane downs elizabeth diane frederickson downs is a convicted murderer responsible for shooting her three children. Dec 16, 2008 diane downs denied parole by board 04. Diane downs the book in this video, a parole board member asks downs to describe what happened the. Diane downs answered questions via video link from a california prison for more than two hours tuesday before the oregon parole board turned her down. Jul 22, 2014 diane downs changed her story so many times, even at her parole hearing. Downs is the 11th this year whose next parole hearing has been put off the full 10 years allowed by law. Dec 10, 2010 the oregon parole board rejected a plea from convicted child killer diane downs for parole. Fred hugi is a man of the highest integrity and i hope that dianes surviving two children finally found the love and stability they had been denied by their natural mother. In her first application for parole in 2008, downs. Child killer diane downs was denied release by a parole board tuesday after the board concluded she remained a danger to society. Shes reported as being the first heard the story from diane downs. Nov 20, 2016 judy patterson was the night receptionist on duty that fateful night. Diane downs is guilty beyond any doubt and i do not believe that her daughter was coached. Yet throughout the years her story has changed continuously from the assailant being one man to two men.
History of diane downs in timeline popular timelines. State denies parole to child killer downs city region. Dec 09, 2008 oregon child killer denied parole diane downs recalls slain 7yearold daughter as lovable and cuddly. Diane downs faces her first parole hearing tuesday. Diane was first eligible for parole in 2008 and during that hearing, she continued to say she was innocent.
This time, a new law that took effect this year allowed the state parole board to deny downs another hearing for 10 years after rejecting her second parole request on friday, the oregonian reported. From left, the board members are steven powers, candace wheeler and darcey barker. Mar 19, 2019 convicted child killer diane downs is seen on a video as the oregon parole board unanimously rules that she remains dangerous and must stay in prison during a hearing at chemeketa community. Diane downs denied by oregon parole board salemnews. Diane downs biography affair, single, ethnicity, nationality, salary married biography who is diane downs. A prosecutor wants the state parole board to use a new law lengthening the gap between parole hearings to keep convicted child killer diane downs from coming before the board again for a decade. The book diane downs refers to a book claiming it contains photos of an uncle and a husband who were murdered. Her first parole hearing was on december 9, 2008, and lane county district attorney douglas harcleroad wrote to the parole board, downs continues to fail to demonstrate any honest insight into her criminal behavioreven after her. In her first application for parole in 2008, downs reaffirmed her innocence. The oregon parole board rejected a plea from convicted child killer diane downs for parole. In this video from the hearing, diane downs discusses the book that she said would guide her. At a parole board hearing today, downs story grew even more fantastic. Child killer downs set for oregon parole hearing local. She was denied parole in december 2008 and again in december 2010.
Diane downs was born on august 7, 1955, in phoenix, arizona. An oregon parole board official says the hearing will take place with. After reading diane s applicaton for parole, her rebuttal to the psych report, the dangerous offender report, and the prosecutions opposition to parole, it is crystal clear that diane downs has continuously. At her 2008 parole hearing, downs blamed the shootings on haynes and suggested haynes had been hired by pat horton, who was the lake county district attorney when the shootings occurred. After three hours of interviews and thirty minutes of deliberation, diane downs was denied parole.
The oregon parole board has ruled that diane downs must remain in prison for killing one of her daughters a quartercentury ago and seriously wounding her two other children. Downs made the same threat in 2008 when she was first eligible for release but then took part. Downs is serving a life sentence for shooting her three children, killing one of them, on a rural road outside springfield in 1983. Diane claimed that her and the children had left a friends house at around 9. The parole board was expected to make their decision the same day, and on december 9, 2008, diane downs was denied parole. Basically the book is a combination of 2 main things a plea to her eldest daughter christie telling her that diane is innocent and a flat out denial that she did anything wrong and her blaming drs, nurses, social workers, cops, the da, adas, steve, bert and anyone and everyone involved in the case with the exception of one diane downs. Downs, 55, was first denied parole in december 2008, after serving nearly 25 years, but had the right to a new hearing two years later. Convicted killer diane downs was denied parole again friday, but this time shell have to wait 10 years for her next hearing. If it had been my intention to kill them and make sure that they were dead, i would not have taken them to the hospital at that time. Convicted oregon child killer diane downs says she won t participate in a parole hearing set for friday, so the hearing will proceed without her. Diane downs denied parole by board protect your kids. Downs will not be eligible for parole for another 10 years under a new oregon law, although she could. Diane downs 2008 hearing video clip link to kptv diane downs faced the parole board tuesday, sporting a hairstyle remniscent of the one she bore at the time of her arrest.
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