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Diane Downs (The devil)
Elizabeth Diane Downs (née Frederickson; born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter and attempted to murder her other two children in May 1983.
Following the crimes, she told police a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children.
She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years.
Downs briefly escaped in 1987 and was recaptured.
She is the subject of a book by Ann Rule and a made-for-TV movie based upon it, both called Small Sacrifices.
She was denied parole in December 2008 and again in December 2010; her next hearing is set for 2021
Early life
Diane Downs was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 7, 1955, to parents Wesley Linden and Willadene Frederickson.
She has testified that her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old.
Diane graduated from Moon Valley High School in Phoenix where she met her husband, Steve Downs.
After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous
behavior, and soon returned to her parents' home in Arizona.
On November 13, 1973, Diane married Steve Downs after running away from home. Their first child, Christie Ann, was born in 1974.
Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, with Stephen Daniel being born in 1979. The couple divorced in 1980 because Steve thought Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, was the result of an affair Diane had.
On May 8, 1982,...
Following the crimes, she told police a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children.
She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years.
Downs briefly escaped in 1987 and was recaptured.
She is the subject of a book by Ann Rule and a made-for-TV movie based upon it, both called Small Sacrifices.
She was denied parole in December 2008 and again in December 2010; her next hearing is set for 2021
Early life
Diane Downs was born in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 7, 1955, to parents Wesley Linden and Willadene Frederickson.
She has testified that her father sexually abused her when she was 12 years old.
Diane graduated from Moon Valley High School in Phoenix where she met her husband, Steve Downs.
After high school, she enrolled at Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College in Orange, California, but was expelled after one year for promiscuous
behavior, and soon returned to her parents' home in Arizona.
On November 13, 1973, Diane married Steve Downs after running away from home. Their first child, Christie Ann, was born in 1974.
Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, with Stephen Daniel being born in 1979. The couple divorced in 1980 because Steve thought Stephen Daniel, known as Danny, was the result of an affair Diane had.
On May 8, 1982,...
