Parole board says Diane Downs must remain in prison

SALEM, Ore. — The Oregon parole board has ruled that Diane Downs must remain in prison for killing one of her daughters a quarter-century ago and seriously wounding her two other children.

Maintaining that she is innocent, Downs answered questions via a video link from a California prison for more than two hours Tuesday in her first chance at parole.

Over the years, she has spun new versions of the shooting, stories that began with a bushy-haired stranger as the culprit. At the hearing, she produced a book that she claimed points to a conspiracy against her and her family.

The three board members deliberated less than half an hour and then said no. Downs sat expressionless, her hands folded on the table in front of her.

One of the investigators of the 1983 shootings described her answers as "a lot of the old Diane, except more so."

"I don't think Diane will ever give it up, ever," said retired detective Doug Welch. "She'll go to her grave denying that she ever shot her kids."

Dave Brewer, who sat on the jury that convicted Downs in 1984, attended the hearing.

"It provided some closure," he said. "It's nice when you convict someone of a crime like this that they stay convicted."

Downs' daughter, 7-year-old Cheryl Lynn, was fatally shot on a rural road near Springfield in 1983. Two other children, 3-year-old Danny and 8-year Christie Ann, were seriously wounded.

After she was sentenced to life in prison, plus 55 years, Downs was the subject of a best-selling book by Ann Rule and a made-for-television movie starring Farrah Fawcett.

The prosecution alleged Downs shot her children because she believed they were in the way of her relationship with a married man. At the time, Downs was a 27-year-old postal worker who had recently relocated to Oregon from Arizona after a divorce. She is now 53.

After shooting the children, Downs shot herself in the arm before driving to a hospital, prosecutors said. Those who treated Downs at the hospital noted her calm behavior. Later, as a video documented, she giggled at times as she re-enacted the attack for police.

Christie, who testified against her mother in 1984, and Danny were later adopted by a prosecutor in the case, Fred Hugi.

Now adults, they did not testify at the hearing although they could have. During questioning, Downs sat at a desk wearing a T-shirt.

"I did not shoot my children," she told the board. "I will never say I shot my children. My children are out there somewhere and I love them."

She choked up when talking about Cheryl.

"Cheryl was an awesome kid," she said. "Cheryl was funny, she was lovable, she was cuddly. ... The world has missed out on a lot because of missing Cheryl."

Downs will next be eligible for parole in 2011.