When Diane Downs was in trial she was with a little girl. Diane Downs gave birth to her fourth child 10 days before she was sentenced. This baby girl was adopted out to parents who named her Rebecca Babcock.
Her story became public last night on ABC.
Babcock always knew that she had been adopted, but was shocked to learn that she was the daughter of a convicted murderer. At age 16 it is hard to comprehend that her mother’s conviction flowed from shooting her own children.
More so when that mother is a liar whose only real motive for destroying her children's lives was because they became unwanted baggage in her relationship with a married man.
The other surviving children eventually went to live with one of the prosecutors of the case, Fred Hugi. He and his wife Joanne adopted them in 1984. The youngest child, Danny, was left a paraplegic as a result of the shooting. His older sister Christie has permanent partial paralysis on one side of her body.
Pictures of Diane Downs and her children.
Babcock has chosen to share her story about “being the seed of a monster and how that legacy has shaped her life.” Knowing that your mother was shooting your family members while you were in her womb must be mind boggling and unsettling in your spirit.
Diane Downs remains in prison in California. She was denied parole in 2008 and continues to proclaim her innocence.
