On May 30, 1983, the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital Chaplain told Dianes father to hire an attorney because the State was going to take his grandchildren away. One of the flaws was the relationship between the DA and the children. It was pretty apparent during the course of this saga that the media and the state were willing to give a free pass to anyone willing to badmouth Diane. That poor girl. The american system often reminds me of what Charles Dickens talked about in his novels. You can believe what you like. All these years later, Diane Downs still maintains her innocence. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. 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. Detective Welch reminded Diane of the assault her sister witnessed in February 1983, in which steve Downs broke Dianes tailbone (Appendix 74, page 1025). I am not from USA, never have been there, but my impression is that in USA media are far more powerful than the justice system and rational thinking is crushed by easy emotional moods, stereotypes and a hunger for violence coated in a pompous moral attitude. Related to: Dana Knickerbocker. She was the first to admit that at times, she was somewhat neglectful, impatient, yelled too much, and could have been a better mother, but she seemed to have turned the corner and was doing her best with the means at her disposal. Downs called Robert Knickerbocker, a married man and a former coworker in Arizona with who she had been having an affair. Diane Downs is no exception. If you listen to the recording, Christie clearly says I dont know who did it. She was asleep, thats why. You hit the nail right on the head. Diane clearly would have had to have had her rights terminated by the court. Robert Knickerbocker in Tennessee We found 5 records for Robert Knickerbocker in Woodlawn, Saint Augustine and 2 other cities in Tennessee. Click to read The Case of Liysa Northon Who Said True Crime Does not Pay? What about the facts of the case? One of the jurors finally declared. Knickerbocker even reportedly told Downs he'd leave his wife and move to Oregon to be with her, where she'd taken a job with the U.S. She was not in the car when her children were shot. And she should be allowed parole! 4. They went through the process which demonstrates a certain level of commitment in itself. I like the way you keep an open mind about Diane herself and what she may or may not have been going through mentally. Charlene would call Diane at all hours of the day and night to threaten violence if Diane continued on with her husband. The roller coaster ride had nothing to do with Diane s children and Diane knew it. Washing soda is your best bet: It includes, among its ingredients, the exceedingly corrosive carbolic acid. It was pitch black outside. Being interested in a subject without bringing emotions to the table is always the most important step. If it doesnt matter to you, it should. I appreciate the way you dont try to determine guilt or innocence in your blogs but instead focus on due process and the right of all to a fair trial. Open ended sentences like this are meant to provide a means of control and public safety when considering dangerous offenders who may pose a continued risk to the public. In fact, watching that was the first time I heard her voice and saw her presence, it was a year or so later that old interviews showed up on YouTube. Diane had learned from nine months of interaction with Knick, that the man was consistent only in his inconsistency. Gun shot residue is not always present. Other Locations Watertown, NY Scottsdale, AZ . What they did to her daughter is unconscionable. I was raised by an evil narcissist and have not only seen this kind of behavior before, but I have seen the face of the devil and it is a look of pure evil that gives me the creeps. Evidence from a ballistics expert. This blogger thinks that if you had bothered reading the blogs that you just mentioned, you would know that I do not call anyone innocent. Someone said to me that any of us, if scrutinized under a microscope, would come out looking pretty bad. Whats wrong with the system is whats wrong with us. I like to believe the best about people too but there are certain things that absolutely cant be ignored. 80% MARRIED 80% of these people are married, and 20% are single. She's been imprisoned for nearly 35 years. This really makes me angry, that prosecuter and judge should be sued along with the writter. Their haste to go to trial created this mess and lingering doubts. There was no blood on the front seats so Cheryl was laying down and Christie was asleep laying down and never witnessed anything. Instead of grieving, Alice went partying and had sex. Ann Rule has always been sensationalist, and her books were almost unreadable at the end of her publishing days. Diane found with him, the kind of relationship she had never known before: there was actually care and intimacy involved. Her arm was severely damaged, so shattered that she needed a graft from a hip bone. I think that looked at through a more objective lens, many aspects of the Downs case are highly questionable. Instead, there is blood splatter on the ceiling of the car. 6. They finally charged her and she did 10 years for the death of her children. This video has Dianes attorney, Jim Jagger, at 1 minutes and 20 seconds that might have some good shots. Anything less is a conflict of interest. Diane herself stated Cheryl was asleep on the front floorboard completely covered up with Dianes jacket how the hell did a stranger or a hitman(one of Dianes OTHER stories) KNOW Cheryl was there. Lise lasalle you mention THIS When she (Diane) resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. They rarely are, especially in the US. If you are not bothered by lack of due process and a prosecutor making up psychiatric labels and adopting kids from a defendant or a judge who gets promoted from family court to criminal court to hang Diane, I am sure bothered by it. Looking for Robert Knickerbocker? If you use this mixed water, you can lift off a gunpowder stain.. The states own witness, Dr. George Suckow and Dr. Polly Jamison denounced Prosecutor Hugis practice as improper and unethical (Appendix 101 and 104). Lori, I luv how you ended your comment Lets also remember that this is the US of A and we dont lock people up for being narcissistic, antisocial histrionic individuals. I think DD is guilty, but I also think her trial was far from due process, and that is the important issue. To Lisa Griggs They were treated very badly in this matter. It was a fairly new science at the time so thats all it took to find him not guilty. but I think there are some extreme cases that knock women in a bad psychotic way that can be life threatening. Guilty or not, the case was handled with prejudice and many errors occurred. In the spring of 1986, Christie confided to school mates that shed been coerced to lie in court, to implicate her mother (Appendix 1-2). Robert Knickerbocker first came into the eyes of the investigators when, upon arrival at the hospital to visit her children after the incident, Diane phoned him looking extremely calm. Where is the blood spatter on Diane? My website is in the process of being migrated so it has no photos. Or can have an accomplice. In 2008, a psych evaluation by L. Williams, Ph.D., Chief of Mental Health at Valley State Prison for Women, explained Dianes lack of emotions and its relationship to her case. If you had, you would clearly know that I do not claim her guilt or innocence. The timing of her arrival at the hospital should have been discussed and explained in more details. Robert came clean to his wife about the affair, and then, went on to help the police in their investigation. Almost immediately, police suspected that something was amiss. The Case of Liysa Northon Who Said True Crime Does not Pay? Why am I not arguing the facts of the trial? View their profile including current address, phone number 480-307-XXXX, background check reports, and property record on Whitepages, the most trusted online directory. Strange how Jagger is pretty absent too except for the few photos where he is wrongly identified as Hugi. They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business: argumentative The next morning Diane appeared in the courtroom with a police report written by Detective Pond a year earlier, in which Ms. Patterson was sure Diane had gone nowhere near the bathroom the night of the shooting (Appendix 62). Did u learn nothing?? Diane did not get a fair trial. When they recaptured her, she was very docile. When he said that he and his wife had reconciled he wasnt lying either, because, throughout the investigation and the trial in which Robert testified against Diane his wife stood by him. I do not care if the bushy haired stranger made no sense or if they could not explain the why of the tragedy, I do not care if she was madly in love with a guy because all that counts is proof and evidence in a court of law, and there was definitely a reasonable doubt. Additionally, homicide or assault victims shot by someone else can test positive for GSR. She knew that Knickerbocker hated trouble of any kind, and thathe would have never come back to her after an ugly shooting where she had been wounded and her kids damaged. The authorities wanted to see them mourn and fall apart. As a married man, the ball was in his court and he decided to go for it. At least two of those school mates reported Christies tortured confession to their mother They did not want reunification to keep their verdict intact. It does seem time has done worse to her. Dianes automobile was secured and examined and no gun was found. I have simply bothered researching the evidence and in some instances, the lack of it. Maybe someone needs to read Part two in Dr. Billings in-depth review of the Diane Downs Murder Case in Oregon. I am a firm believer of where there is smoke there is fire. All rights reserved. They were in foster care for two years before the prosecutor adopted them. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. They did not like her attitude and she did not behave the way they expected a grieving mother to act. I cant believe that it was allowed to happen, actually. A reader told me that I should have a website with all the comments. Even if they say that she did not get involved in rehabilitation programs, she did participate, but obviously did not admit to killing her daughter and injuring the others. It always feels like punishment at all costs. Whats next? The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb. Years later, Christie was heard saying by classmates that she did not know who shot her. UNLOCK PROFILE. And to say that her mental health has degraded is an understatement, but more reason not to keep her eternally incarcerated. Downs herself had been shot in the forearm during what she claimed was a struggle with the mysterious stranger. Ask them what they did to a good man. Its a fact. Instead, they treated the Downs with great cruelty long after their daughter was incarcerated and they fought hard for them. One of the jurors finally declared we started as a group and finished as a group., He also said we dont want to put pressure on the group, we dont want to end up bickering. Children imitate their parents every move. 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She did diagnose her as suffering from cyclothymic disorder and treated her accordingly. I agree that the phone call from Angel was totally inappropriate. The parole board in Oregon was asking to provide reasonable cause to show she was not a danger to society and it had to be supported by a psychiatrists report or a Wardens letter and Downs provided both. Diane Downs and Alice Crummins were considered sluts and cold-blooded women and were judged on their unusual character. Sign up for service and obituary updates. Diane Frederickson was born August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona. In the 21st century, it's not just urns and gravestones anymore. Foote ruled in favor of the prosecution and against the defenseon most of the admissible evidence questions including all the nurses notes about Danny talking about a man shooting him but admitted Christies reports about her mother shooting her. 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. Robert Knickerbocker in Michigan. How could they expect a normal mother/daughter reunion between a beaten inmate whose mental health had degraded and a daughter trapped in this insanity? And the state refusing to turn them over to the defense? I watched the highlights of her hearing. There were days she was unhappy to see the staff and her family because she was very ill. That poor girl had a lot of bad moments where she would cry constantly or trigger the machines and to have defined this single incident as one of terror instead of excitement over seeing her mom was biased and self-serving. You mention her youngest daughter, and how Ann made sure she only heard negative information about Diane.. Actor Robert Blake was found not guilty of the shooting murder of his wife. Probably a 911 button. In hindsight Im sure the grandparents wish they had pursued visitation more aggressively. The lack of balance and objectivity. They should have left her alone. The tape of Christie and her adoption by the prosecutor are facts. And they kept at her and made suggestions when she would not implicate her mom. 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. It wasnt until Prosecutor Hugi said Dr. Jamison had labeled Diane a deviant sociopath that Mr. It is called a conflict of interest. so which one is it????? No services are scheduled at this time. How interesting. Now Diane Downs did not say any of this, but told a hard to believe story, and then changed it from one to two masked guys, etc. And it is not like these two were white as snow. I do not believe that this type of abuse would occur today. LMFAO!!!! There are documented cases of suicides where the person has no GNR, as well as murder cases. Diane found a full-time job with the U.S. Post Office in 1981, and was stationed in Chandler. I have researched the case and pointed out discrepancies and the fact that it was not the slam dunk that they were portraying. So they did everything in their power to slant the media and the public in their favor. Do you remember a couple of days after that, December The role of Diane Downs was played by none other than Farrah Fawcett and her lover was played by Ryan ONeal who had been Farrahs love interest in real life. She felt fulfilled when she was pregnant because she believedit was the road to unconditional love. More reason to have investigated the case more thoroughly. I go fishing with a jurors husband. I feel sorry for Diane too. That says it all. Not in this case. Is there any update? The police DID fingerprint the car, from grill to trunk and in between. 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