It is 10:48 p.m. on May 19, 1983. A red Nissan sports car pulled into the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital ER in Springfield, Oregon. A young woman jumped out of the car and began shouting: “Someone killed my kids!" Inside were three children, two girls and a boy, covered in blood. The children had been shot multiple times at close range (about 0-6 inches). 7-year-old Cheryl was already dead, 8-year-old Christie had suffered a stroke from immense blood loss, and 3-year-old Danny was paralyzed from a bullet wound to his spine. Their mother, 27-year-old postal worker Diane Downs, had a minor gunshot wound to her left arm. All this happened while Duran-Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" played in the background. Who was the culprit? A shaggy-haired man? Two men in ski masks? A drug dealer? A corrupt police officer? Or somebody closer than we think... Sources for this episode:
Wikipedia Oregonlive.com www.thoughco.com Murderpedia Heavy.com ABC’s 20/20 Reddit: User trochanter_the_great Link to mother’s letter: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/march112014/diane-downs-wf.php Link to her mother’s website saying her daughter is innocent: http://www.dianedowns.com/
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