The Murder of Cheryl Lynn Downs Part 1

It was late on May 19, 1983 when the car pulled up to the ER in Springfield, Oregon. Inside were three children, and they'd all been shot in the chest. Their mother, Elizabeth Diane Downs, had a horrifying story to tell: she'd been driving the kids home that night when a bushy haired stranger had flagged her down. He tried to steal her car, but when Diane put up a fight, he pulled out a gun and shot her kids. The story seemed so bizarre to detectives, so unbelievable, that they couldn't help but suspect Diane of being behind the shooting. But why would a mother shoot her own children? Don't want to wait a whole week for part 2? It's up right now on our Patreon! Subscribe at any level and listen to part 2 right away! www.patreon.com/truecrimecreepers Free shipping on all merch, now until August 12! Promo code CREEPERS www.truecrimecreepersmerch.com Sources: Books Small Sacrifices (Anne Rule) Articles ABC News | Surgeon Who Helped Save 1 of Diane Downs’ Kids in 1983 After She Shot Her Recalls Chilling Interaction (Effron, Lauren, and Dooley, Sean) Murderpedia | Diane Downs TimeToast | Diane Downs Timeline Wikipedia | Diane Downs ABC News | Woman On Finding Peace After Learning Mother is Child Killer Diane Downs: 'Though That's Biologically My Makeup, It's Not Who I am Inside (Taudte, Jeca, Schiffman, Keren and Francis, Enjoli) The Famous People | Diane Downs Biography The Mommy Murder Case of Diane Downs That Rocked the 80s (Casaus, Sara) Distractify | Diane Downs Was Sentenced to Life in Prison, but What Happened to Her Husband? Alcatraz East Crime Museum | Diane Downs Heavy | Diane Downs’ Children Now: Christie, Danny & Becky Today Crime Museum | Diane Downs DeLani Bartlette | Diane Downs: Hungry Like the Wolf Diane Downs Website The Trouble With Justice | The Diane Downs Case Was No Small Sacrifice Videos Inside Edition | Diane Downs Says From Prison That She Shot Her 3 Kids for Her Lover Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/truecrimecreepers) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices