This was fantastic news as the youngster had somehow survived the impossible. Steve Downs, their father, actually left Diane in 1980 because he thought that Danny was the result of an . A fairly large suburb, Christie Downs has everything close by. Elizabeth Diane DOWNS, Petitioner-Appellant, v. Sonia HOYT, Respondent-Appellee. Conflicting . However, one thing she left out of the interview was how she had a gun. However, many couldnt believe their eyes when they saw Diane was pregnant as she arrived at the trial. . Video Testimony, Transcripts, and Exhibits of Staff and Outside Advisors Released Today. On the witness stand, the young girl was asked if she remembered who shot her. Thankfully, it was granted, and he could continue to treat the youngster. at 678, 105 S.Ct. That all changed when Rebecca was an adult. Christie Downs Community House. One of the main parts of Diane Downs story was how she immediately wanted to get her children to the hospital in a bid to save their lives. Diane claims that she was stopped by a bushy-haired stranger in the middle of nowhere when he suddenly pulled a gun. 370, 738 P.2d 199 (1987). Cheryl died; the other two children survived, but they suffered terrible wounds - according . At last, they decided it was time to tell the mother what they believed really happened. The team knew it was unlikely Danny Downs would ever be able to walk again, let alone the other effects of being shot. 172,930 Views Program ID: 436266-1 Category: House Committee Format: House Committee Location: 2358-C, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, District of Columbia, United States While its unclear what made them rule against Christie and Dannys dad, the courts ultimately thought it was better for the children to be placed into protective custody. 2052. Christie Downs, then eight years old, unexpectedly survived after her mother Diane shot her and her siblings, Danny and Cheryl, in the backseat of their car in Oregon in 1983. Its said that things often went from bad to worse. Diane Downs fell pregnant just a couple of months later, welcoming Christie Downs on October 7, 1974. While the government may not suggest that information not in evidence supports its case, United States v. Badger, 983 F.2d 1443, 1455 (7th Cir.1993), cert. The bullet in his back meant the youngster was paralyzed from the waist down. Everything seemed to be going perfectly for the Downs family as Diane was busy rebuilding a life for her children after divorcing their father. Still, the doctors didnt have time to question the story as they needed to treat the children. Downs's arguments, moreover, are speculative and fail to point out, as required by Bagley, how production of these materials would have created a reasonable probability of a different result. Diane allegedly scaled an 18-foot razor-wire fence after escaping from her cell at the Oregon Womens Correctional Center in Salem, Oregon. Cf. Diane was just 18 years old but determined to get married. Diane Downs qued embarazada solo un par de meses despus, dando la bienvenida a Christie Downs el 7 de octubre de 1974. Based on five years of sales, Christie Downs has seen . We find no clear error. 1168, 145 L.Ed.2d 1078 (2000). One of the many who has fought against her release is District Attorney Douglas Harcleroad, who wrote to the parole board in 2008 to plead that Diane was never released. Christie told Vergamini that she did not remember the shooting and that she was genuinely confused about what happened. See Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. The postconviction court found counsel made a valid tactical decision. Author Ann Rule told Heavy that Danny is a computer whiz who loves to play video games in his spare time.. Today, the story of the siblings continues to be a worldwide discussion, with many wondering what happened to them after their ordeal. However, being charged with taking her daughters life and attempting to end her other daughter and sons lives was enough to see she would never raise her child. Downs further contends that trial counsel's failure to object, move for a mistrial, or call Dr. Jamison was ineffective assistance. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Christie named her daughter Cheryl after her deceased sister. This is the official facebook site for Christie Downs Primary School, a. In short, while Christie's youth, suggestibility, and medical condition (she was aphasic, or unable to communicate with speech, when she first awoke after the shooting) may have been a basis for challenging her credibility, there are no grounds for finding a due process violation. Sadly, Tuko reports that Christie still lives with a speech handicap all these years later but is grateful to have survived the ordeal. FAILURE TO USE STATE'S FINGERPRINT REPORT. FAILURE TO PROVIDE MATERIAL, EXCULPATORY EVIDENCE. According to Robert, this even saw Diane go as far as to threaten his wife. Christie Ann, born in 1974, is the eldest of the Downs children, and Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, born in 1979, is the youngest. It was damning to say the least. After all, it was something they would never escape. In the end, the prosecutor kept fighting until Diane was moved as far away as possible. 851. On the night of May 19, 1983, Diane Downs entered an emergency room bay in Springfield, Oregon. When you understand and believe all things are possible to those who believe, there is hope. It appears he thought Diane would forget all about the affair and eventually find someone new to romance, leaving Robert to live his life. Once she understood what had happened, the authorities asked Christie what happened and who shot her and her siblings. After all, they would be over 1,000 miles away from anyone they knew and could settle into the ideal family life. Copyright 2023, Thomson Reuters. Neither can it be said to have constituted deficient performance. The jury found that she fatally shot one of her children, Cheryl, then age seven, and seriously wounded the other two, Christie and Danny, then ages eight and three. Tragically, it was the case for Christie Downs. In 1983, Diane Downs attempted to kill her three children over a love affair with a married man.. It's safe to say that after studying this case, we were not her biggest fan. Unless Downs can show bad faith on the part of the prosecution, failure to preserve potentially useful evidence does not constitute a denial of due process. She discussed different qualities that I carried at that time. Defense counsel did not object and made no motions. Diane Downs gave birth to four children. Tragically, Cheryl Downs had already passed away when she arrived at the hospital. Its believed Christie, eight, Cheryl, seven, and Danny, three, were all in the back of the car when something took place. On the outside, it looked as though Christie Downs and her family had everything they could need. Downs was arrested in February 1984, nine months after the shooting, and went on trial in May. This was even more of a worry when the world learned the prison where Diane had been living was just 66 miles away from the Downs childrens new home, meaning she could easily cover that ground. September 27, 2016. They said nothing about how she might have been hurt, and Christie's initial lack of memory was brought out at trial. Downs testified that her tire was fully inflated upon arrival in her driveway, during the altercation, and before Gillihan went to her tire. After graduating, Steve enrolled in the US Navy, meaning he was quickly deployed miles away from home. Everything was mounting against the mother faster than she imagined as people started to pick her story apart. Of course, the prosecutors needed to have a strong case if they were going to fight a pregnant woman and prove that she was the one who pulled the trigger on her own children. A little over a month since the start of the trial, on June 17, 1984, they announced they found Diane Downs guilty on all three charges. Diane with Danny, Christie and Cheryl. . Downs argues that these matters were material because (1) additional witnesses would have supported her version of the events and provided her with an opportunity to track down the shooter, and (2) they would have shown that Lane County authorities focused almost immediately on her rather than conducting a proper investigation. Tragically, its also reported that Danny still lives partially paralyzed, something thats unlikely to ever change. The attorney added that Diane continues to fabricate new versions of events. Apparently, she often changes who it was who attacked the family, sometimes stating it was illegal substance dealers or men wearing ski masks. denied, 303 Or. 28 U.S.C. Petitioner Elizabeth Diane Downs was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and assault in the Lane County Circuit Court in Oregon in 1984. Having a stroke and being in a coma meant Christie Downs needed to learn how to talk again. Limerence is down session will be prepared testimony could christie downs has ordered held at timms revamped the video is vote on a boundary between migrants. at 316, 115 S.Ct. According to Heavy, Christie Downs has come a long way since she was shot by her mother and survived. The state court found that trial counsel, after conferring with Downs, made a valid tactical judgment not to seek a mistrial and that the prosecutor's action was not in fact ground for a mistrial. Being a surrogate meant she got to turn that life over to them, and she hadnt done anything bad. The girl, Jennifer, was born in May 1982 and immediately handed to her new parents. The girl's testimony convicted Downs even though ballistics tests proved she had not fired a gun. As Downs cannot show that she did not receive a fair trial, understood as a trial resulting in a verdict worthy of confidence, the state court's rejection of this claim was not clearly erroneous. Downs also contends that the state's lengthy effort to revive the memory of Christie, the only eyewitness, involved suggestive questioning and improper influence which resulted in tainted testimony and denied her a fair trial. The cover sheets on both reports list deviant and sociopathic as relevant classifications. . Ballistics experts testified that bullets taken from Downs's home had extractor marks identical to cartridge casings found at the crime scene. Hospital workers and investigators believed that Diane Downs was too calm and knew it was more than just the shock of what had happened. Instead, they were concerned about how the mother was behaving after being through such a traumatic event with her three children. Downs argues that this evidence would have supported her theory that someone else was at the crime scene and undermined the state's theory that she had retrieved the gun from the trunk. Moving across the country was supposed to mean Diane and Robert could be together without raising any eyebrows. There is a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance, or sound trial strategy. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 689, 104 S.Ct. That wasnt all that stood in their way, as Diane eventually ran away from home. The police arrested Diane nine months after shooting her three children and read out the charges. The prosecution heavily relied on Christie Downs' testimony, while Diane pleaded her innocence. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976); Coleman v. Calderon, 150 F.3d 1105, 1116-17 (9th Cir.1998) (failure to disclose evidence of other suspects not material because there was no direct or circumstantial evidence linking the third persons to the crime), judgment rev'd on other grounds, 525 U.S. 141, 119 S.Ct. FBI Director Chris Wray told lawmakers Tuesday that the FBI has not seen any evidence indicating that the rioters who took part in the January 6 US Capitol attack were "fake Trump protesters . According to the interview, Diane admitted she had previously had a termination and lived every day thinking she had ended someones life. Now that she was gone, Robert could focus on the family he already had. However, Diane will never be allowed out of prison if certain people have their way. According to Steve Downs and Robert Knickerbocker, Diane bought the weapon in Arizona before she left the state. She argues that the district court, which held that the claim was procedurally barred, erred in failing to reach the merits because she has made a credible showing of innocence. Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298, 115 S.Ct. Sadly for everyone, thats seemingly not how it all unfolded. The notes also contained a record of an early interview with Christie in which she said that she did not know someone had injured her. John Reginald Halliday Christie. In the year before the Census, 12.5% of . 851, 130 L.Ed.2d 808 (1995), holds that if a petitioner presents evidence of innocence so strong that a court cannot have confidence in the outcome of the trial unless the court is also satisfied that the trial was free of nonharmless constitutional error, the petitioner should be allowed to pass through the gateway and argue the merits of his underlying claims. Id. She was followed by Cheryl, born on January 10, 1976, and Stephen Daniel Danny Downs, who entered the world on December 29, 1979. Thats why so many were surprised when Diane announced the family was moving across the nation. 2059, 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997). We may affirm on any ground supported by the record, even if it differs from the district court's rationale. 2528, 81 L.Ed.2d 413 (1984). Also, even before Christie's life begins she faces many troubles. As discussed above, Downs's Brady claim is not persuasive and so cannot support her gateway claim either. 3469, 77 L.Ed.2d 1201 (1983). She would later confess that her local postal worker's father had molested her when she was a young child. 500, 142 L.Ed.2d 521 (1998), cert. denied, 508 U.S. 928, 113 S.Ct. It appeared the distance was too much to handle and caused them to split. Danny and Christie Downs made headlines in the 80s when their mother took them to hospital with fatal bullet wounds. Downs also argues that trial counsel's failure to challenge the competency of Christie . Its decision to deny an evidentiary hearing was not an abuse of discretion. . Sold; SA; Christie Downs; Christie Downs, SA 5164 Property type Price Bed Filters Map. See United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 109, 96 S.Ct. Downs first sought habeas relief in the Eastern District of California in November 1993. Diane Downs, who was born Elizabeth Diane Frederickson on August 7, 1955, was originally from Phoenix. Robb, Judge . Theres a good chance Robert Knickerbocker never told Diane Downs why he wanted their relationship to end. Upon defense counsel's objection, the prosecutor apologized and immediately changed the topic. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 694, 104 S.Ct. Instead, its thought Diane took her time getting help as several witnesses came forward with their version of events. Eso no fue todo lo que se interpuso en su camino, ya que Diane finalmente se escap de casa. All rights reserved. Small Sacrifices A True Story of Passion and Murder by Ann. Learn more about FindLaws newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy. We offer a variety of spaces to hire for meetings and events of up to 80 people. See Transcript of the Record, Volume 2 of 2 at 9. It appears the judge stuck to their word, as Diane has been denied early release every time. The family was driving in Oregon when something unimaginable happened. The state had earlier moved successfully to exclude portions of the medical reports in which that statement appeared. Little did they know Diane had an ulterior motive. While he was far from being one of the youngsters who committed unthinkable crimes , it appeared no one thought that Steve would be able to step up and care for his children. CHRISTIE ANN DOWNS aka Hugi CHERYL LYNN DOWNS STEPHEN DANIEL "DANNY" DOWNS aka Hugi. It's hard to say exactly what convicted Diane Downs in the shooting of her children, a terrible event that played out on a dark night exactly 30 years ago, in 1983. For the reasons discussed above, we reject the contention. (Downs was denied access to her daughter both before and after the trial. Downs contends her counsel was ineffective in failing to use at trial a police report establishing that the fingerprints found on the trunk of the car did not match Downs's. We note particularly Christie's first substantive interview on June 1, 1983, referred to by counsel in oral argument, in which she recounted, in the presence of Dr. Wilhite and nurse Zaklan (and for a time Paula Krogdahl, a retired childcare worker), that she remembered going for a ride with her mother, sister, and brother and no one else in the car on the day she was hurt, and that there were no males present on the night of the shooting. Downs gave birth to another child shortly after the trial; that girl . At least, thats what Robert believed. The investigators spent weeks putting all the evidence together and covering every aspect of the tragic events to ensure they had all the facts before confronting Diane Downs. 2254(e)(2). 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