They now have social media arenas reminiscent of the Romans cheering at the sight of a thumb down meaning there will be a bloodshed. People can have a certain vibe and act out of the norms, but it does not make them necessarily guilty. The chief prosecutor adopting the children beggars belief! The whole family were co-conspirators and involved in the crime? I would love to hear your answers to them. I appreciate this whole blog just want to give you a heads up. According to the state, the shooter was well inside the car and would have had gun powder on its clothing, body or hair if 3 people were shot in the car at close distance. They should have taken their timeto investigatethis case thoroughly and without prejudice. This is what I try to do when I research a case that was deemed to be a slam dunk. A long long time ago. As I stated towards the beginning of my response, Im taking issue with the blog and the subjective language used. And, while Cheryl died, the other two children survived with terrible wounds Danny was left paralyzed from the waist down and Christie suffered a stroke that left her with a speech impairment. The point is our trials need to be conducted fairly and based on evidence. Most importantly why would anybody shoot 3 children potentially fatally and leave the adult with a wound in her arm. On May 19, 1983, Diane and her kids visited a friend to look at her new horse, and then went for a drive; not at all unusual for this family not living according to middle class rules. One could argue that this blog does not stick to what came out at trial. U seem very one sided on every case Ann Rule has ever written just as u claim she did to u. N her parents didnt want custody of the children just like the father. On a side note, what do you think of parole of Leslie Van Houton? It sounds pretty fair to me. A test for the presence of gunshot residue conducted on Dianes hands the night of the shooting, returned a negative result (Appendix 23). Her mom is still alive and would love to have contact but respect that they wont. Not that it matters, your opinion is about the case and not subject to geography. After Diane got divorced from her husband in 1980, she had taken up a job at the U.S. postal service office, and thats where she first met him. I do not know what happened on Old Mohawk Road on that dark evening, but I know that they did not have enough evidence totry andconvict Diane Downs. 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. You are telling me to take my smugness elsewhere because it is tiresome. I saw footage of Diane herself laughing during the re-enactment of the crime. In Rules book, Diane is portrayed as a horrible selfish mother but her family and friends saw another version; she lovedher childrendearly and worked hard to be a good provider. But you are right, some members of the jury and public had a reasonable doubt. At least two of those school mates reported Christies tortured confession to their mother It is my hope that Leslie Van Houten and Diane Downs are never paroled. This same witness corroborated that Diane did not stop to do something suspicious or dispose of the gun. Dianewas jealous ofthe other woman, but Robert Knickerbockers wife said that she foundher rather friendly during their encounter. She managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. Inflammatory and speculative She had no priors and no history of violence in prison. time it was the situation was down. Did u learn nothing?? So it was a relentless game totry to reel her in. And Hugi seemed pretty sure he would get what he was asking for. 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). It was omnipresent in the courtroom as well as the Duran Duran song Hungry like the Wolf that supposedly was playing when the children were shot in the car. He said all the police needed was for Diane to bear witness against her ex-husband. She did not have the opportunity to clean her hands with the right product to erase all traces and she was tested pretty fast, contrary to many other cases. Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial: speculation 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. You are right. 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. The whole case is crazy. It was not the right gun. If she was the shooter, it had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Any thoughts on that? The implication was not only cruel, in the light of what Diane was suffering, it was also clear. The next day, on June 16, 1983, CSD terminated Dianes visitations with her children altogether. Page 10 of Case History. He was buried at burial place, Arizona. Conflict of interest on steroids!! The poor jury went along and Jagger did not put much ofa defense anyway. Is it just to continue to punish her so long after she is obviously no longer a danger in any way to anyone? And by the way, I wrote the blogs about Rule way before she passed. Tina, if you look at family pictures of the Downs, Christie is the eldest and this is her picture. He hired Jim Jagger on the 1st of June 1983, 11 days after the shooting. Even if I have no doubt that Hugi loved the kids, we have to wonder why he adopted them two years later just when little Christie started saying she had no clue who shot them. If you have an opinion on drugging a child to make her talk, a judge presiding over a criminal case when he was in family court and removed the children from the defendants or the forensics, ballistic, etc. Robert resides in Tucson, AZ with Deborah. Accused of her side of the story what the state says how would it be possible for her to do what they presumed. So many of the cases Lise writes about on this blog either have no forensic evidence that supports the verdict or have very misleading forensic evidence that may or may not support the verdict, depending on who is interpreting it. Just saw the video of Dianes parole hearing. But people never want to touch the high profile cases where the defendant is not likable. Basically then at that I base a lot on what I see and hear from her in her own words in footage of a 28 yr old woman. To this day, there is not enough evidence to prove her guilt or innocence. She states, I did not shoot my children and I cant say I did. So I did not post your comment about his answer to your inquiry. . Everywhere, EXCEPT the door through which Diane reported to police, the male stranger had passed. Page 37 of Case History. She was given a life sentence plus 50 years. Diane followed the detectives to their car. Blood spatter is not an exact science, and is interpreted differently by experts. Q. $30k AVERAGE INCOME Our wealth data indicates income average is $30k. Id have more influence arguing for better relationships with Mexico at a Donald Trump rally in Mexico. To find out which of Robert De Niro's films stand out among the rest, Stacker found his top 50 movies based on IMDb user ratings. Robert Lee Knickerbocker 2013 Robert Lee Knickerbocker, died 2013. It was demonstrated at trial that the shooter shot the kids at close range. Robert has lived in Tucson, AZ in a single family house with Lori. In fact, Diane and her lawyer wanted Christie to be able to heal before being questioned and to be accompanied and taped during the sessions. No matter how horrible people think she is. Due process always matters. And with hindsight, the fact that this young mother had a personality disorder probably brought a lot of drama to the mix. Plus, Diane could have never cleaned her clothes and her hair to remove blood and gun powder. Instead of talking about her being locked up for so long, answer some very legitimate questions regarding this case. Diane didnt ask Knick to leave his wife. And the state refusing to turn them over to the defense? And the fact that Tracy wrote in his notes that Christies reaction could have been excitement to see her mom but they decided to only mention extreme fear? I am not biased. In fact, if someone was Hungry like the Wolf in this courtroom, it was a certain crime author who could already smell and taste the fortune coming her way after the publication of this juicy story. The blog tries to bring balance and more objectivity to a case that was TOTALLY one sided and still is. It does not get any bigger than this. The rest of the family? I personally disagree with that practice but it is common. No way. To the authorities, it was a ridiculous notion that they would not entertain so they did not follow on numerous leads coming from people who had seen someone corresponding to that description. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. There was never a real motive for the crime even if the State insisted that Diane wanted to be free to pursue her love interest; using her journals to support theirclaim. It is beyond belief that the State of Oregon allowed the prosecutor to adopt those children. Not optional, kids should not be in limbo that long, but it happens all the time. Guilt or innocence no longer need to be debated in this case. I agree on many points with your comment. .well yay for youtubelol..is when I first heard her in old interviews. Dianes motive was simple, she wanted to remove her kids from the way so that she could be with Robert. It was also said at trial that the shooter would have been left handed, which was not the case for Diane. Eventually, in early 1983, Knickerbocker told Downs that he was not going to leave his wife for her and that he did not want to be father to Downs children or any children, for that matter. To this day, his record is mixed; his law license was suspended for 6 months in 2011, and there was also talk of a suspension in 2015. If you read the blog, you will see examples of his lack of dedication. I personally dont think she is innocent but that isnt the point. This happened in 1983, not 1893. A. I was still living in the house, yes, sir. Just like Rule though, your blog is extremely biased, and reads almost as though she told you exactly what to write at times. After six weeks in Oregon where the children were happily spending time with their grandparents while Diane worked her postal route, the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. She was extremely intelligent but her emotional IQ was no match and her desire for freedom, love and affection were dangerously dragging her down a path of self-destruction. It was Judge Footes first criminal case and it was against a woman whose children he had removed from her care even though she had not been convicted or sentenced; a conflict of interest and pure madness. She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. How one of them lied on the stand about ballistics? And if he really was attached to them and wanted to offer them a permanent home, it means he was unfit to be the prosecutor in this case. If not, why not? Christie could not speak but after some rehab, she said repeatedly that she did not know who shot them. I asked her brother James an answer to your question. 1st, you came back from a trip? I still remember my mother picking up the paper and seeing the headline. If appropriate family members could not be found to take placement of the children then family friends are the next step. Mainly because she is being kept caged due to her name recognition at this point, not her offense. I have no idea whether or not she was guilty of the crime. That towel should have been soaked in their blood not hers. 3. And Robert Knickerbocker became one of her lovers. . I know several foster parents and social workers. Despite all of this: that the attorney became a Foster Carer irrelevant, inflammatory, subjective and bears no reflection on the trial, or indeed the trial outcome. Inside, outside, top to bottom. 4. Something that would never stand in court now. Apparently drug mafia wanted to punish her for messing her nose in forbidden places, not because she was getting any real business in that but simply because she had one of the poorest judgements a person can have. I am posting Jamesanswer: Yes the allegations were said and you cannot take back what was saideven if retracted I mean if a guy admits to killing children over and over, shouldnt we pay attention to that? Steven and Diane married on November 13, 1973. They felt safe there. I have simply bothered researching the evidence and in some instances, the lack of it. The very suspicious aspect of this ballistic saga is that Hugi said they had the bill of sale and serial number for the first Ruger and it was definitely the murder weapon. I care about the experts reports written about Diane because they know her situation and mental state. We, who watched her parole hearing a few years ago prayed HARD that she wouldnt be set free, know she is guilty. She had been isolated from her whole family and being unethically interrogated. Thanks Kit, It is a bit of a mystery to me that not more people see that if we removed the high profile name and the accompanying media storm, the case was no slam dunk. He needed, now more than ever, to vacate the area asap. Nobody knows but her. The unicorn, the song, her personality. 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