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Suspects

History of Time Period

.22 caliber handgun said to be the murder weapon

Diane Downs- 27 year old mother of the three children. Had recently divorced her husband, Steve Downs, and relocated to Oregon where she got involved with a married man who broke her heart and left her. She was in love with him and knew with her children in the way, she could never be with him.

Steve Downs- father of the three children, and ex husband of Diane. Was said to be in Arizona during the shooting

Lew Lewiston- married man Diane had an affair with who left her. Was also said to be in Arizona during the shooting

"Bushy haired stranger"- the man Diane described to be the shooter who waved them down on the road. Was said to have known Ms. Downs because he was calling her by her name. She described him as while, late twenties, about 5 foot 9, and dark hair.

The crime was committed in May of 1983. This was a period of recession and bad economy. The cost of living and interest rates were really high, especially for a single mother of three children. Unemployment was a big issue around this time period, and Ms. Down's spent a lot of time finding jobs and distancing herself from her children.

Diane and her three children

Psychological Profile of a Suspect

The only reason someone would have tried to kill off these three children would be as a means to get rid of them. Diane said the shooter was a carjacker, which wouldn't add up because wouldn't he/she go for the driver? Diane got questioned because they believed the children were keeping her from pursuing her life with her lover.

Police sketch of the "bushy-haired stranger" Diane described to be the shooter

Entry in Diane's diary addressed to her former lover

Interviews

"What happened? I'm so confused. What could she have said or done to make you act this way? I spoke to you this morning for the last time. It broke my heart to hear you say 'don't call or write'. ...I still think of you as my best friend and my only lover, and you keep telling me to go away and find somebody else. You have got to be kidding..."

Conclusion

Lew Lewiston- "I wouldn't be with her if the children were around, it was an affair it didn't seem right." This may have been what led her to shoot her children, in hopes of getting her ex lover back.

Joseph Inman- witness who saw the read car driving about 5-7 mph along Old Mohawk Road around 10:20 pm.

Christie Downs- 8 year old daughter who was severely disabled due to a stroke. Her heart rate shot up after seeing her mother for the first time after the shooting, and was said to have fear in her eyes. When questioned in trial, she says it was her mother who shot them.

Diane Downs seemed abnormally calm when entering the hospital and managed to not shed a tear. When hearing that Danny had survived her response was "Do you mean the bullet missed his heart? Gee whiz!"

Background

Forensic Evidence

1) blood spatter on the right and rear interior side of the car (none on drivers side or steering wheel)

2) .22 caliber bullets found in children and shells found in car which was said to match a gun Diane owned

3) photo of unidentified man found in Diane's house

4) Diane's love letters written to her "lover" who left her

5) powder particles from bullets found in all three angles of the car besides drivers side

Diane Downs was driving along a rural road in Springfield, Oregon with her three children, Danny (3), Cheryl (7), and Christie (8) late at night on May 19, 1983 when said to be carjacked by a random stranger who then shot her and the children, killing Cheryl and wounded the other two. She then reported to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital seeking help for her severely injured children. Danny was left paralyzed and Christie suffered a disabling stroke and Diane herself was left with a few gun wounds to her left arm.

Diane Downs went on trial on May 10, 1984 and was declared guilty on June 14, 1984 for murder and attempt of murder. Because the death penalty wasn't offered, she was given a lifetime in jail plus an additional 50 years for using a firearm. Danny is currently confined to a wheelchair and Christie has grown into a very content adult.

Investigators

Robin Rutherford- first investigator to question Ms. Downs at the hospital

Dick Tracy- veteran of the county's homicide squad who also questioned Ms. Downs at the hospital about her background information/life and searched her house

Detective Doug Welch- Tracy's partner, interviewed Diane's ex husband

Jon Peckels- photographed wounds of diseased daughter, Cheryl

Ray Poole- collected bloody clothing from all three children

Paul Alton- investigator who noticed Christie's fearful reaction when seeing her mother after the shooting

Fred Hugi- prosecutor on the case

James O. Pex- forensics scientist who examined the interior of Ms. Downs' car

Cited Sources

"Diane Downs: Her Children Got in the Way of Her Love." Guilty As

Sin —. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

"Diane Downs." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 14

Dec. 2014.

Dooley, Sean. "The Diane Downs Story: 1983 Murder Case Focuses

on Mom." ABC News. ABC News Network, 12 May 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

Diane Downs Case

By: Sarah Chillag

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