when she escape she went to this guys house, that i used to work with, and when she was caught he was on the news talking about it.


EUGENE, Ore. - On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs pulled her car to the side of a rural road in Springfield, shot her three young children and then shot herself in the arm.

Her 7-year-old daughter, Cheryl, died and her 8-year-old daughter, Christie, survived. Her youngest child, Danny, was left paralyzed.



Downs claimed she was carjacked by a man who shot her and her three kids, but police were suspicious from the start. She was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison, plus 50 years.

On Dec. 9, Downs will go before a parole board. She has always maintained that she is innocent but the Lane County District Attorney's Office will be fighting her release.

Even if the parole board approves her release, she still has a five-year sentence for her escape (four years after she went to prison, she escaped and was on the run for 10 days before getting captured) that must be considered. However, that could be written off for good behavior.

While we wait to see what will happen, video showing Downs re-enacting her version of what happened the day her children were shot has surfaced. In the video, recorded four days after the shooting, Downs is seen acting out what she said happened that day with a detective. At one point, she even giggles.



Lane County authorities use the video for training purposes. They say it is helpful in demonstrating the telltale signs of someone telling a lie.

ive seen that story shes a crazy ***** that should be beaten

Thats Eugene for ya!

it doesnt matter where you live as it can happen anywhere. not just one place.. and it wasent in eugene it was in springfield. as a old neighbor of mine her bf at the time used to live just right down the street from diane downs

ya theres a book and a movie out about that.
she was seriously deranged. some serious mental disorders.

'small sacrifices' is the name of the book. she shot her kids cos the married man she wanted had dumped her becasue he didnt want to be with a woman with kids.

i think she played the song hungry like a wolf while she shot her babies.

i wonder what mental disorders she was proven to have. Im thinking she had to have an antisocial personality.


shes never acknowledged or admitted that she killed her kids..even after years in prison

she only killed the one child and the other 2 the lawyer that took the case adopted the other 2
but didnt she have a child in prison. i might be wrong there

ya I think she killed one, paralyzed one, and the other did alright. she was a surrogate mother prior the shooting of her children and had at least one baby that way. and she was pregnant at her trial and was forced to give that baby up for adoption.


I believe what she did was horrible...but she was obviously distrubed. I would like to know if they got her on any medications currently and her the treated her pshycologically. I mean whjat she did was horrendous and terrible...but to do something like that you have to be horribly mentally ill.

and she still denies it completly.