‘I ran from the fact that I was her daughter’: Youngest child of kid-killer Diane Downs breaks her silence as the women who murdered one of her offspring comes up for parole
- Becky Babcock was born to Diane Downs while she was in prison for murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children
- She is speaking out on 20/20 this week about her mother, whom she learned about later in life after being adopted following her birth
- ‘For so long I ran from the fact that I was her daughter. The reality set in that that’s who gave birth to me,’ said Babcock
- Downs was charged in 1983 for murder and attempted murder after shooting her children top win the affection of a man who did not want kids
- Babcock will reveal more about her murderous mother on 20/20 this Friday at 9pm on ABC
The daughter born to Diane Downs while she was incarcerated for murdering one of her children and almost killing her two others is speaking out in a new episode of 20/20.
Becky Babcock was adopted soon after her mother gave birth, and only later learned that Downs had become pregnant while on trial for murder and attempted murder.
Downs believed that she might be able to win over the man of her dreams if she got rid of her children prose, and to this day has claimed she was innocent of the 1983 crime.
‘For so long I ran from the fact that I was her daughter,’ says Babcock in a preview for the special.
‘The reality set in that that’s who gave birth to me.’
Babcock will reveal more about her murderous mother on 20/20 this Friday at 9pm on ABC.
Monster: Becky Babcock was born to Diane Downs (above being transferred to a new prison in 1987) while she was in prison for murdering her daughter and attempting to kill her two other children
Breaking her silence: ‘For so long I ran from the fact that I was her daughter. The reality set in that that’s who gave birth to me,’ said Babcock (above)
Downs was convicted in 1984 of murder and attempted murder after shooting her three children.
She was sentenced to a maximum of life plus 55 years. She was eligible for parole because she has served 25 years, the minimum required.
Downs escaped from the Oregon Women’s Correctional Center for 10 days in 1987 and was later transferred out of state.
She had previously tried to escape from a New Jersey prison in 1989 and 1991, and in 1994 after arriving in California.
Downs also tried to get drugs in 1985 and was discovered to have engaged in sexual activity with another inmate that same year.
These offenses all resulted in Downs spending much of her time in ‘special housing units’ because of her escape attempts.
She has claimed to be a model citizen however, and said of her escape attempts that she was only trying to find the person who murdered her child.