Here is mommy prancing around in a reenactment laughing and telling jokes. I just hit my cast gotcha. Everybody says, you sure were lucky. Welsh i dont feel very lucky. I couldnt tie my damn shoes for months. I think my kids were lucky. Her kids are lucky . Her kids have been slaughtered. By the time she goes to trial, shes pregnant on purpose. The reality set in that thats who gave birth to me. I came from a monster. According to Elizabeth Diane downs, she and her three children were shot by a strange man. I never wanted to become Something Like that, Something Like her. Mrs. Downs was wounded in the left arm and was able to drive the children to the hospital that night. A part of me was afraid that thats where i came from. Does that mean where im going . 9yearold christy shot first, dan any in the back, cheryl shot from behind and die on the way to the hospital. And the fact that i felt some sort of a connection to her was terrifying. Over the weekend rumors began to fly about the case. We have not overlooked any possible suspects. Reporters covering the story were getting hints that downs herself was a suspect. But what has occurred here is just inexcusable. I knew i could never do Something Like that. At night when i close my eyes i can see christie reaching her hand out to me while im driving. That haunts me the most. Diane downs was a case that captured the imagination and the horror of people at the time. Law enforcement Officials Say theyre waiting for 9yearold christie to remember what happened that night. This is the kind of story you you just never forget. Another chapter in whats been a very unusual crime story. And to really understand it, you have to go all the way back to 1983 when it all happened. America in 1983 still felt pretty innocent. Ronald reagan was president its morning in america kind of notion. United states as a shining city on a hill. It is mrs. Reagans interest in drugs which has helped fire up the president. Nancy reagan at the time had her own drug program. Just say no. Im on the hunt im after you duran duran had come out with a song that was very popular called hungry like a wolf. And im hungry like the wolf and we went and bought an album that we played on a record player. You might remember those things. Everybody was watching dallas. Thats the america that was unfolding at the time. Elizabeth diane downs made her star turn. Diane downs was a 27yearold mother who had just moved up to oregon from chandler, arizona. Her marriage to her high school sweetheart, steve downs, sowered before she even left arizona, and apparently that was because of her reported infidelity. She was the mother of three children, ages eight, seven, and three. Christie, cheryl, and danny. She was a postal worker. Springfield was not nearly as sophisticated as eugene. Theyre really twin cities, but its more bluecollar. I really like how ann ruhl introduces eugene, oregon and springfield, oregon, in her book small sacrifices. She says, eugene, oregon is the successful sister of the paired cities. Cool, slender, professional. Her restaurants serve artichokes and ricotta pie, while springfield, oregon, half eugenes size, is the sister who never graduated from high school, who no longer notices the acrid smell from logging. I think springfield it sounds cliche, but a lot of people knew each other, and you felt pretty safe there. It really wasnt a scary place. When there was a murder of something, they would always say, Something Like that doesnt happen here, but of course it does. It was may 19, 1983, when diane took her children out to see a woman that she knew. Diane didnt leave until about 9 30 at night. They leave from the friends house. Theyre driving down the road. Christie remembers that hungry like the wolf was playing. And im hungry like the wolf and she took a detour to do some sightseeing. Diane said a guy had flagged her car down. It was dark. And she had her three sleeping, young kids in the car. A bushyhaired stranger was waving his arms, and she said of course she stopped and asked him what seems to be the matter. Supposedly, the man wanted her car, demanded her keys. She said, youve got to be kidding, at which time he pushed her aside. Im on the hunt im after you and began shooting the three kids. And what she described next was this choreography where he fired one more bullet. It hit her left arm. She had pretended to throw the keys into the bushes and as he was distracted, she jumped in the car and drove away. She says at that point she drove like a lunatic to the hospital. She makes it to the hospital e. R. , driving even though she herself has been shot in the arm, bleeding. She said, quick. My kids have been shot. Come out. I can only imagine the shock of everyone at the hospital when up rolls diane downs with three bloody children. I talked to the nurses who were there that night, and they were crying. They could, you know, the tears just started to run, i dont think they even realized it, talking about those little kids coming in all shot up. Cheryl was dead, and danny and christie had both been shot and were badly wounded. When i first walked into the e. R. , immediately they pointed me to christie. When i looked at christie i thought she was dead. Her pupils were dilated. Her Blood Pressure was nonexistent. She is so close to death its unbelievable. I got a phone call from dispatch, and i was told a mother and her children had been shot. When i got to the hospital, i was directed to interview the mother. So i stopped and got out and asked him what was the problem. He said, i want your car. I said, you got to be kidding. I mean how many people really do that in real life . They dont. Her demeanor was flat. Not one tear, even though she knew that cheryl had died. I just kept saying, god do whats best. If theyve got to die let them die but dont let them suffer. Her demeanor at the hospital did not conform to a traditional grieving mother whose children had just been shot. One murdered the other two seriously clinging to life. It was surreal. When i was finished taking care of christie, then i sought out her mother, and to my complete surprise, diane was nonemotional. Not a tear in her eye. And then she says, that really ruined my new car. I got blood all over the back of it. Ive never seen a reaction like that at all. Thursday night a man flagged down a woman and her three children on the road from marcola to springfield. Friday the manhunt began in earnest. Initially, there was panic. People in oregon were like, oh, my god. There is a crazy man on the loose who would gun down three small kids in a car. This is scary stuff. People were locking their doors, and they were feeling very unsafe. Kids werent allowed to go out by themselves. Mothers didnt go out in the evening and they sure didnt take their children. It became clear that the kids were gravely injured, and from what the police were indicating, they didnt have a lot to go on at that point. There have been no sightings of either the suspect or his car. Early on in the investigation, you know, we did not have a suspect. There is still an all points bulletin out for the man. Nor did we have a weapon. Investigators found some spent cartridges by the roadside. The only evidence we had were some casings that were found at the scene. We had divers in the river. But the gun was never found. We canvassed every home up and down knocking on doors, asking if anyone had seen any suspicious individuals. They came up with a composite. And that was circulated on every news station. Elizabeth downs says a shaggyhaired stranger shot at her. Cops are racking their brains to try to put this case thats together. We are going to do a reenactment. 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Take me to your best friends house going around this roundabout oh, yeah on the sleep number 360 smart bed. It senses your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. And now the queen sleep number 360® c4 smart bed is now 1,299. Save 400. Only for a limited time. Im leslie rule. My mother was true crime author ann rule, and she wrote about three dozen books on true crime. Thank you. Ann rule is the grand dame of true crime. Like her fictional counterpart, Jessica Fletcher on murder, she wrote, ann rule is a bestselling crime writer who sometimes gets involved in the subjects she writes about reallife killers. Ann rule died in 2015, but we spoke with her in 2010 about this case and the book she wrote on this case called small sacrifices. It was the story that changed my life. Several parts of diane downs story made no sense at all. What mother takes her kids out late at night in the dark for a sightseeing scenic drive on an abandoned road . What mother then stops to see what a man standing there would want . People started wondering, why is the mother only shot in the arm and the children have fatal and critical injuries . She had taken the time to carefully wrap her left arm in a towel while she drove to the hospital. Would you do that as a mother . I wouldnt put a towel on my arm. Id put it on them as a tourniquet. Rip it apart. P a little suspicious, so they come up with an idea. We ask diane if shed do a reenactment for us. We simply wanted to nail down her statements. And she was more than happy to do that. Sitting in the car is Elizabeth Diane downs. She can be seen sitting in the car. And shes kind of primping, making sure that her hair looked the way she wanted it. Diane downs is trying to show the investigators exactly what happened. Im throwing the keys. Okay . Im throwing the keys. So they can understand and get the forensics right. I go like that. I got in the car, jumped in, put the keys in. Ahh, i just hit my cast [ laughter ] started the car and left. The car door shut itself. She was giddy. She laughed, she cracked jokes. I mean, shes reenacting the gruesome shootings of her three children. She doesnt seem at all upset. God. Dang, this is worse than s i caught herself. We speculated of course what she wouldve said to finish that sentence. Lwhiis wors wi myself. I can guarantee you that performance by diane downs made cops stand up at attention and take another look at her story. Apartment and conducted a search at the residence. After she gave us consent to search, we found diaries where she had written almost daily. Diane had fallen in love with a coworker. His name was robert knickerbocker. Everybody called him knick. And she fell for him big time. He was married, but he was separated from his wife, charlene, at the time. Diane was thinking that her married lover in the post office in chandler, arizona, would follow her. And when i interview said, ann, i was just so glad when i realized shed crossed the county line, headed out of here, that i never considered following her. But she was desperate to get his attention. Diane is heartbroken. So the sheriffs deputies were still investigating. And in the meantime, diane was holding court, essentially, giving interviews to reporters. I was really surprised that diane downs and her family offered to have a News Conference very early on. I am here just to appeal for people out there, if they know anything to call in. They said that they wanted to set the story right. We were just out i guess sightseeing, i guess you would say, and the kids got tired. They fell asleep in the car, so i decided to just head on home. But i saw a road i hadnt been on before we like to take back roads. We just went down that road. And there was a guy standing in the road flagging me down so i stopped. Everybody knew it didnt ring true. Pretty much a lie. Everything she was saying was a lie. She could feel that the focus had changed from this bushyhaired stranger to her. If i had shot my own children, would i not have done a good job of it . Why would i have taken my kids to the hospital . Wouldnt i have made sure they were dead and then cried crocodile tears . Thats insane to think i would do such a thing and then bring the witnesses in against myself. Thats crazy. There wasnt a camera or a reporters notebook that she didnt chase. She gave one interview in full hair and makeup after the next. Thinking that this would somehow garner sympathy for her. It had just the opposite effect. Christie woke up, and as i say, she may be the only one to get me out of this. Would i have brought her to the hospital, wouldnt she be the one that i would make sure was dead . There are too many holes in it. Her children are still suffering. Danny is paralyzed, which she continues to tell everybody, oh, hes not paralyzed. Dannys going to walk again. I dont care if we just have to will him to walk. I think hes going to walk. The doctors all say he wont, but i know that your mind controls your body and if i can love him enough and encourage him enough i believe hell walk. And christy suffered a stroke. In my experience, if youve had a stroke of that nature, usually its hard to recover. It was a long time before i heard her talk. Now even though little christie lying here in a hospital bed couldnt speak, the nurses noted that every time diane down came into the room her vitals spiked, went off the chart, when she would sense her mother was in the room. The children were never back in dianes custody. The state of oregon removed them and they were placed in foster care. This is an Eyewitness News special report. In her own words, Elizabeth Diane downs. Good evening, im ann bradley. When we got to talk to her, i said she could bring her lawyer to the interview that we wanted to do. She showed up by herself. And i said, gotcha. The anne jaeger interview really helped diane downs dig her own grave. When this man shot my daughter, my first reaction was to snap back to my childhood, to the pain that had happened to me back then, my marriage, my entrapment by society. This man was bigger than me, he was stronger than me, he had more power because he had a gun. And i stood there and looked at christie reaching, and the blood that just kept gushing out of her mouth and what do you do . She used the word i or me so many times in that interview, youd never know her three children had been shot. Everybody says, you sure were lucky. Well, i dont feel lucky. I couldnt tie my damn shoes for about two months. It was very painful, it is still painful. The scar is going to be there forever. Im going to remember that night for the rest of my life whether i want to or not. I dont think i was very lucky. I think my kids were lucky. If i had been shot the way they were, we all would have died. Her kids are lucky . A child is dead. Two children are grievously hurt. And the kids are lucky . Its extraordinary. She could work things out in her mind so that they work for her. She wrapped so many layers of lies around her, she didnt know herself anymore, what was the truth. The more she talked, the better. Diane downs had a penchant for wanting the publicity, to talk, and the more she did, so the tighter the noose around her neck became. Even as things arent adding up, youre still presented with the question, what on earth would cause a mother to shoot her own children . So at that point police decide to go back to those diaries. There are pages and pages about how in love with knick she is, and how she wants to be with knick. So the question is, is that enough of a motive to actually kill her three children . Air wick at air wick, we know that, in nature, scent comes in waves gently and beautifully. Air wick essential mist is an expression of nature. 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