Scary stories

Woman shoots her own children

Diane Downs (Elizabeth Diane Frederickson Downs) is a convicted murderer responsible for shooting her three children.

Childhood Years

Diane Downs was born on August 7, 1955 in Phoenix, Arizona. She was the oldest of four children. Her parents Wes and Willadene moved the family around different towns until Wes got a stable job with the U.S. Postal service when Diane was around 11 years old.

The Frederickson's had conservative values, and until the age 14 Diane seemed to follow her parent's rules. Entering into her teen years a more defiant Diane emerged as she struggled to fit into the "in" crowd at school, much of which meant going against the wishes of her parents.

At the age of 14, Diane dropped her formal name Elizabeth, for her middle name Diane. She got rid of her childish hairstyle opting instead for a trendy, shorter and bleached blond style. She began wearing clothing that was more stylish and that showed off her maturing figure. She also discovered boys and began a relationship with Steven Downs, a 16-year-old boy who lived across the street.

Her parents did not approve of Steven or of the relationship, but that did little to sway Diane and by the time she was 16 their relationship had become sexual.

Marriage

After high school Steven joined the Navy and Diane attended Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College. The couple promised to remain faithful to each other, but Diane apparently failed at that and after one year at school she was expelled for promiscuity.

Their long distant relationship seemed to survive, and in November 1973, with Steven now home from the Navy, the two decided to marry. The marriage was tumultuous from the start. Fighting about money problems and accusations of infidelities often resulted in spurts of Diane leaving Stephen to go to her parent's home.

In 1974, despite the problems in their marriage the Downs had their first child, Christie.

Six months later Diane joined the Navy, but returned home after three weeks of basic training because of severe blisters. Diane later said her real reason for getting out of the Navy was because Steven was neglecting Christie.

Having a child did not seem to help the marriage, but Diane enjoyed being pregnant and in 1975 their second child, Cheryl Lynn was born.

Raising two children was enough for Steven and he had a vasectomy. This did not stop Diane from getting pregnant again, but this time she decided to have an abortion. She named the aborted child, Carrie.

In 1978 the Downs moved to Mesa, Arizona where they both found jobs at a mobile home manufacturing company. While there Diane began having affairs with some of her male coworkers and she became pregnant. In December 1979, Stephen Daniel "Danny" Downs was born and Steven accepted the child even though he knew he was not his father.

The marriage lasted about a year more and in 1980 Steve and Diane decide to divorce.

Affairs

Diane spent the next few years moving in and out with different men, having affairs with married men and at times trying to reconcile with Steven.

To help support herself she decided to become a surrogate mother, but failed two psychiatric exams required for the applicants. One of the test showed that Diane was very intelligent, but also psychotic - a fact that she found funny and would brag to friends about.

In 1981 Diane got a full-time job as a postal carrier for the U.S. Post Office. The children often stayed with Diane's parents, Steven or with Danny's father. When the children did stay with Diane, neighbors voiced concerns about their care. The children were often seen poorly dressed for the weather and at times hungry, asking for food. If Diane was unable to find a sitter she would still go to work, leaving six-year-old Christie in charge of the children.