2. Elizabeth Diane Frederickson Downs, her three
children, Christie, 8; Cheryl, 7; and Danny, 3.
She shot her three children, killing one, and then
told police a stranger had attempted to carjack her
and had shot the children.
When it all happened; May 19, 1983.
Springfield, Oregon
3. This crime was organized, Diane actually had a
diary where she wrote about this romance she
had with Nick Knickerbocker. She said that her
children bothered her and she wanted to get
rid of them.
Experts have for decades labeled Downs a
narcissistic psychopath meaning she cared
about herself too much.
-when they made her reenact the scene she was
doing her make-up fixing her hair and
laughing about everything.
4. Diane Downs is a manipulative person that likes grabbing peoples
attention. Diane has always wanted to be an actress. People think she
did this so she can be on TV and become famous.
I picked this topic because I am tired of listening and watching crimes
and stuff about males killing other people. I think its more interesting
learning about women that kill. But I really thought it was crazy how
Diane did this all for herself and for “love”.
MOVIE & Book: Small Sacrifices starring Farrah Fawcett
5. Diane Downs was found guilty on June 18, 1984.
Diane didn’t want to go to jail and made up that
she was pregnant thinking that it would close the
case but that didn’t happened and got 55 years in
prison. She later got sentenced to life in prison.
The surviving children went to live with one of the
prosecutors of the case.
On July 11, 1987, Diane managed to escape from
the Oregon Women's Correctional Center and was
recaptured in Salem, Oregon ten days later. She
received an additional five-year sentence for the
escape.
