Diane downs new york times

Diane Downs is a woman who was convicted of murdering her three children in Oregon in 1983. The case was highly publicized and was the subject of a 1984 article in The New York Times.

The article, titled "Mother's Story of Tragedy and Survival," described the events surrounding the murder of Downs' children, who were shot and killed while they were sleeping in their beds. Downs claimed that she had been attacked by a stranger while she was driving home from a movie, and that the attacker had shot her children before fleeing the scene.

However, investigators soon discovered that Downs' story was full of inconsistencies and contradictions. They found evidence that suggested Downs had planned the murders in advance, and that she had been having an affair with a man who was not her husband.

Downs was arrested and charged with the murders of her children. She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison.

The case against Downs was widely covered in the media, and it remains one of the most infamous cases of maternal filicide in American history. The New York Times article about the case was one of many that were published in the days and weeks following the murders.

Here is the full text of the New York Times article:

MOTHER'S STORY OF TRAGEDY AND SURVIVAL

By LINDA DEUTSCH Special to The New York Times March 25, 1984

SALEM, Ore., March 24 - Diane Downs, the 29-year-old mother who was arrested last week in the shooting deaths of her three children, told a harrowing tale of tragedy and survival in her first public statement since the killings.

Speaking to reporters at the Marion County Jail, where she is being held without bail, Mrs. Downs described the events of the night of June 28, when her children, 7-year-old Cheryl, 8-year-old Stephen, and 3-year-old Danny, were shot and killed while they were sleeping in their beds.

Mrs. Downs said that she had taken her children to a movie at a local theater and then had driven home, where she was attacked by a stranger who was hiding in the bushes. The attacker, she said, shot her children and then fled the scene.

"I was driving home from the movie, and I saw a figure in the bushes," Mrs. Downs said. "I thought it was just a person, but then I saw a gun. He shot my children, and then he shot me. I was in shock, and I didn't know what to do."

Mrs. Downs said that she had been unable to save her children, and that she had been left to face the tragedy alone.

"I'm just a mother who lost her children," she said. "I'm not a monster. I'm just a person who was attacked and left to face the consequences."

Mrs. Downs' story has been met with skepticism by investigators, who have found evidence that suggests she may have planned the murders in advance. They have also discovered that Mrs. Downs had been having an affair with a man who was not her husband.

The case against Mrs. Downs is still under investigation, and it is unclear whether she will be charged with the murders of her children.