You have funeral questions, we have answers. Search for birth, death, marriage, divorce, US Census, and military records. I think it posible she brought the kids there to be shot by someone else. 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. There are many cases where investigators jump to conclusions either because in their gut they think they know or pressure to make an arrestand i guess with all the attention this case got they gave their gut and the public what they wanted. Phone . Not an easy situation for him as I would imagine. The presence or absence of records for any individual is not a guarantee of any kind. For Downs, this was the last straw in a series of culminating disappointments in her life. Downs story also changed over the the course of several interrogations, leading police to suspect that there hadnt been a violent predator on the road that night at all, but rather Downs had attacked her own children and shot herself to make her story more believable. Do you remember it would have been around say November 19th of 82 that you would have left Charlene at one time? She is supposed to be locked up for murder, etc. 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. 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. What man has ever publicly revered a former secret mistress? If they could not find the gun or any trace of a shooting on Diane, and you think shes guilty, it would mean she had an accomplice. I couldnt get my hands on the book nor find anything in librariesso basically it was many years later I dove into knowing more about this case, that kinda haunted me. Everyone deserves peace. On June 2nd, 1983, Juvenile Court Judge Gregory Foote held a hearing to take Christie and Danny away from ALL blood family (thus isolating them). The question is of course, how can we determine guilt or innocence without a fair trial? Downs was constantly provoked by inmates because of the nature of her situation, and she never once attacked or defended herself in a violent manner. No matter how much Ive read, or how many of her constant at the time interviews I watch on YouTube, the things that come from her brain to her mouth never cease to amaze me. The person leaned into the car. All these years later, Diane Downs still maintains her innocence. But I am more than willing to review any new info. Instead, they treated the Downs with great cruelty long after their daughter was incarcerated and they fought hard for them. They rarely are, especially in the US. It turned out to be a mistake because he was married to a County Circuit Court Judge who would become a colleague of Foote and he had no intention of defending Diane vigorously. 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. The only reason they kept her in prison even if she had all the right documentation and support, is because she is high profile. I go through every new finding and I point out what was done at trial that did not respect due process. The couple married in November 1973, when Diane was only 18 years old. 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). There was no question in Dianes mind that Knick would take another mistress if she married him, and that hed move on again. One should also wonder why their biological father who was so eager to bash his ex on the stand was not given custody, and did not stay in contact with his two remaining children: relevance? I do not discuss her guilt or innocence because this is not what the blog is about, but I personally hope she is released one day. Have you actually read the transcript of the trial?? 5. Email Address: r CNKF @amphi.com +1 email. I will post it when I get it. The men in her life were in no shape or form called on their irresponsible or wild behavior. In 1992 I became involved in this work following my interest and research into a notorious murder trial that was held in Oregon many years ago. And their plan worked. I am not saying that Diane was a saint or Ann Rule a demon. She had no priors and no history of violence in prison. 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. If the grandparents and uncle had visitation rights, they could have respected some rules as far as not discussing the case, but imagine if she had told them that she did not remember? Steve knew that Diane had multiple affairs, and that Danny was not his biological son, and he and Diane divorced in 1980. And in fact this would have been about the time that Charlene broke a bottle of liquor that you had. I saw footage of Diane herself laughing during the re-enactment of the crime. The GSR? What about the fact that they never found the gun? Instead of blaming societal problems and working at finding solutions, prison always seem to be their option. I can't bear any of my tribal members to go through what I went through, says Ashlea Aldrichs mother. If not, why not? She talked to Diane for 15 minutes, there was thebizarre and partialOprah interview that was basically a lets bash Diane event and she wrote to Diane in jail to ask her what she thought of Hugi adopting her children. I know several people who know or knew both of the surviving children as well as Diane. It probably was not salacious enough for her readers that she polled online to establish if there was enough interest in the story to fill her pockets with a definite blockbuster. In 1991, David Brewer, a juror who deliberated Dianes fate in her 1984 trial, came forward to say he and another juror had decided to acquit Downs by the close of the States presentation. I would also like to express my disbelief that the same judge presided over both the child welfare case and the criminal one. She would have been released under strict conditions with the support of her family and under the care of a mental health specialist. When your goal is to call me dude, insult my name and trash my blog, you can go on other sites who will love to spar with you while swallowing the old narrative of high profile cases. Kidnapped in broad daylight at home with her children present, she bravely made a 911 call, however a tragic mistake would seal her fate. Probably a 911 button. At the time, among 49 prisoners denied parole, the board had given only four inmates, including Downs, a 10-year wait. Do not take this so personally. Not exclusively a USA trait, this happens also in many countries, but in a technologically advanced superpower like USA this attitude is more shocking, and maybe also more worldwide spread. Late Tom Billings had been the first who openly questioned Diane Downs guilt. I cant believe that it was allowed to happen, actually. An earlier commenter wrote that it doesnt matter that the trail or the investigation was faultyWHAT !? Wow does he ever look different than how they portrayed him in the TV movie. Robert Craig KNICKERBOCKER was born on December 25, 1932 and passed away on May 15, 2015 in Tucson, AZ and is under the care of. The harm done to families by unscrupulous district attorneys who bully children into falsely testifying against their parents has been recorded in a documentary called Witch Hunt by Sean Penn about Kern County (CA) District Attorney Ed Jagels. And even when confronted by the wrongful practices used at trial to get her convicted, are ok with her being locked up for life. Her father also insisted shetry to help catch the shooter. The jurors had doubts. What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative? As you said, the system has to work for everyone and you cant change the rules because a case is high profile without muddying the waters. Anything less is a conflict of interest. He hired Jim Jagger on the 1st of June 1983, 11 days after the shooting. They sure forgot to tell us about her pulse racing during these sessions. Also, aside from her original mental state, which may or may not excuse her aloofness (doesnt prove shes a killer by the way! Teams of people and detectives combed the area for months looking for the gun but it was nowhere to be found. It appeared rigged: Rigged? By the way, that interview with Christie by a biased advocate named Angel borders on abusive. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. But as usual, it was slanted in the worst possible way. I did not shoot my children.. Knickerbocker reported to the police that Downs had stalked him and seemed . Lise lasalle you mention THIS When she (Diane) resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. From reading the blog and my little understanding of this case, Ms Downs remains in custody as she is considered a dangerous offender. Yes, isnt it shocking that some people would voice that a faulty investigation does not matter? And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. When you hear her in interviews she sounds more concerned with herself than her kids. It should have raised a red flag concerning her mental stability or the possibility that more people were involved. They hated her attitude and thought she was promiscuous and showed no sorrow or remorse. This is a conflict of interest. I am just curious. It was pitch black outside. Mind you, it is before the trial. 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. You do not refute any of the points I made in the blogs. It does seem time has done worse to her. Removing the children from her and presiding over her criminal trial? It sounds pretty fair to me. If there is a fair trial and sentencing, I usually dont write about a case, but high profile cases tend to need more scrutiny because emotions run high. The details about the gun missing, the daughters testimony and the fact that she had no blood or gun residues are facts. What a terrible injustice. I try to bring out the details that were ignored because Down was so unpopular: this blog is clearly one sided. Take your smugness elsewhere, at long last. Why arent you debating the faulty ballistics, and the fact that the gun they affirmed was used in the commission of the crime was not the right one? They went after Diane at trial for tapping her foot when they played Hungry like the wolf. A second child, Cheryl, quickly followed in January 1976. Just before 11 P.M., Diane Downs reportedly pulled her blood-soaked car up to the door of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and screamed, Somebody just shot my kids!, Photo by: Diane Downs [Wikimedia Commons]. So appropriate! That didnt seem right so we wrote a letter to Mr Hugi with a request for visitation rights. Diane Downs's boyfriend, Robert Knickerbocker was never a suspect or a person of interest in the case. Criminalist James Pex was pretty clear about this. The car was splattered with blood, but Diane had none on her. So how she behaved at the time, should not have been a factor influencing the authorities. The only living witness to the crime was Christie, whose stroke impaired her speech and made her unable to speak to police. It should have been investigated further. Surely before Diane downs, there were other mothers who killed their kids..or allegedly did, however in 83 and 84 it made national news, nothing quite like it had come across the media world, which during that decade was really skyrocketing in sensationalismI believe is where it started, becoming less news and more entertainment. The fact that the DA adopted the children, since it was after the trial, is more of a gray area. I mean, yeah, I can see the no contact order with Diane. Downs had only been living in Oregon for six weeks when it seems she just snapped. You can believe what you like. This case needed to be examined more thoroughly, but the mob mentality didnt allow it. Her release was recommended by a warden and a psychiatrist. Why? 1) Gunshot residue/blood splatter. Charlene would call Diane at all hours of the day and night to threaten violence if Diane continued on with her husband. time it was the situation was down. What about the terror of being interrogated by strangers and separated from her family? I will change it. She waseighteen and soon realized that she had jumped from the fire into the frying pan. Later that year, Downs was transferred to a maximum-security prison in New Jersey, where authorities believed she would be less likely to escape because she knew no one there and would have no place to run. In fact, I am surprised that people are not flabbergasted by the way this case was handled and tried and that what bothers them most is that I try to discuss it in a blog and dare defending this woman. Christie was only eight, had suffered gunshot wounds and was in shock. If you shoot at least 6 inches from a victim, you see what is around you in the car. Today, Diane Downs is 63 years old and sits in a California prison. During the process of the termination (which can take the whole 2 years in question, with appeals) the court is mandated to find family to take the children. 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. The roller coaster ride had nothing to do with Diane s children and Diane knew it. And Ann Rule said that the unicorn that was omnipresent in court was part of the premeditation. And yes, its your site, but dont act like a site is open for discussion if its not. She followed all the correct Parole Boardprocedures for two years with no hearing. They should have stayed out of it instead of contributing to her revictimization. She has come a long way. Almost immediately, police suspected that something was amiss. CK allowed DD to drive away despite the fact she could identify him and he had a gun? Why on earth would anyone recommend leaving the kids with the grandparents? Is there any update? Whats next? If youre in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist. I guess he did not want too many people to know about the improprieties that happened in his courtroom. View Robert Knickerbocker results in Florida (FL) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The gun is Def a big issue, the style of gun, whether it belonged to him or her, she Def had access to itthe child drew a picture of it, having large similarity to that gunbut it did always baffle me how she could find such a great hide for it in such a short period of time. Dianes story does not contradict that. On a side note, what do you think of parole of Leslie Van Houton? My question is: why is she still locked up? I still dont buy her story. By the way, this not a Diane Downs is innocent blog. 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