Episode 03: Diane Downs

May 19, 1983. Springfield, OR. Diane Downs pulls up to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital, laying on her horn. 'Call the cops! He shot my kids!' she exclaims as doctors and nurses rush out to see what's wrong. Despite the urgency of the situation, Diane remains remarkably calm while recounting the events, a response that strikes investigators and hospital staff as odd.

The Diane Downs case was one of the first true crime cases I studied. I heard of it back in 1989 when the made-for-TV movie, Small Sacrifices, aired on ABC. Played by Farrah Fawcett, Diane Downs was “car-crash gorgeous”—you couldn’t help but look, despite how disconcerting. The case is mind-boggling, in that we wonder how a mother could be so heartless, cruel, and selfish to shoot her own children. Ann Rule’s book of the same name (on which the movie was based) delved into Diane’s backstory, lending understanding to her psychology. In fact, Diane’s story makes a good case for how environmental factors may create mental illness.

Those familiar with Diane Downs are well-aware that she lies. Still, it’s the truth in the lie that helps us glean understanding: Diane claimed that a man more powerful than her tried to take what was hers (her children, her car); though this carjacking tale was untrue—Diane indeed shot her children—I believe that in her past someone more powerful did destroy her. I believe that a child loved and cared for growing up does not grow into an adult that kills her children. In this episode, in addition to the crime chart, I explore Diane Downs’ astrology chart and backstory, showing how her childhood trauma created the Diane Downs we know.