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1983: How can a mother shoot her own children?
Small Sacrifices
What you need to know before your trail
Somebody just shot my kids!’ Diane Downs brought her car to a halt in front of a Springfield, Oregon, hospital, her three gravely wounded children beside her. Thus begins the shocking tale of a truly unthinkable crime that shattered the tranquility of a tight-knit community. As police searched for the ‘shaggy-haried stranger’ Diane accused of shooting 8-year-old Christie, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 3-year-old Danny in cold blood, a suspicion grew that was even more horrifying than the crime itself: Did Diane shoot her own children? A dedicated district attorney, haunted by this question, searched for the destructive forces that seemed to possess this beautiful young mother and uncovered a chronology of incest, psychological wounding, desperate affairs and surrogate motherhood.
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Springfield Oregon
The true and shocking story of how one woman, a mother, shot her three children on a remote country road.
She then drove them to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital claiming that a big hairy stranger had flagged down the car late at night and on stopping, the man tried to steal the keys. When Diane resisted, he shot the children and then ran off into the night.
On arriving at the hospital, Cheryl was already dead, Danny was paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie had suffered a stroke. Downs herself had been shot in the left forearm but apart from that, was unhurt.
Police were immediately suspicious of the story and the way in which Downs seemed very calm and even telephoned her married lover from the hospital.
Forensic evidence proved Diane had indeed committed the crime herself. It is believed she wanted rid of her children as her married lover was not interested in being a father to them.
Diane was arrested and is in prison.
The surviving two children were adopted by the lead prosecutor on the case and his wife.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: Small Sacrifices
Destination : Springfield Author/Guide: Ann Rule Departure Time: 1983
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