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did--or that she could--kill those children."
Diane demanded, and got, a hearing on June 6 to question the
State's right to remove her children from her custody. As in all
legal maneuverings, there were pluses and minuses in Hugi's
move to place Christie and Danny under protection of CSD. The
juvenile court proceedings gave Diane a forum, and like all legal
proceedings, the paperwork was the easy part. It would have to
be backed up with hard evidence at a fact-finding hearing or a trial
later. For the State the advantage of juvenile court proceedings is
that a judge alone presides and the standard of proof is a preponderance
of evidence, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. A
judge would tend to err--if at all--on the side of the children.
The disadvantage of the juvenile court hearing for the State is
that the defense is entitled to rights of discovery. They can legally
seek any evidence that the State and sheriff's office might have.
SMALL SACRIFICES 207
In a criminal case, such discovery would not be handed over
until the suspect's arraignment on indictment.
Jim Jagger could now tailor Diane's defense to the evidence
and exploit any holes in the State's case. And there were still
plenty of holes. "Like all legal proceedings," Hugi comments. "It
was easy to start--but like a tiger by the tail, impossible to turn
loose of gracefully. This proceeding might be used to call us out
before we were ready."
If Jagger chose, he could have two trials, call all the witnesses
who might appear in a later murder trial to the juvenile hearing
where all he had at stake was the custody of the children. Indeed,
he could call Christie Downs to the stand.
Up until June 6, 1983, Diane Downs was an unknown quantity to
the public. Willadene had given a brief press conference, Wes had
been quoted often, but Diane had appeared only in old photographs
reproduced on local front pages. In the television footage
filmed that June day, Diane approaches the juvenile hearing clinging
tightly to Willadene's arm. She limps slightly, and her left arm
is encased in plaster and supported by a navy blue sling. Glancing
sideways she realizes she is being filmed by the television cameras.
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In the space of a heartbeat, her limp becomes exaggerated.
There was no reason for her to limp. There would have been
miniscule, if any, pain from the hip shaved for the bone transplant,
but on that day Diane limped. As the cameras commit her
every move to film, Diane gulps noticeably, cuts her eyes again
toward the lens, and then she smiles--as if she has just been
given a wonderful surprise. Her limp becomes even more pronounced.
The cameras follow a beautiful--almost fragile--woman
in a modest blue ruffled dress until she disappears.
Whatever else might prove to be true or untrue about Diane's life, it is
apparent that she has, in this very instant on videotape,
discovered the dazzling power of the television camera. And the
camera clearly loves Diane; it traces her each movement lovingly.
It is as if Diane had waited her whole life for this moment.
"lane lost at the custody hearing; she would hereafter have to
"lake appointments to see my own children." But she'd won the ^edia. The
cameras had warmed her, and she could hardly wait 10 get home and tell her
diary about it.
Elizabeth Diane Downs had become the darling of the North-
^t media; she loved them all back, and the honeymoon would
208 ANN RULE
last for a long, long, time. Only Eugene at first, but then Portland
and Seattle, and Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, and New
York. All those cameras, and microphones, and notebooks. How
she had longed for someone to listen to her views. At last, she
had an audience.
Diane no longer shared information with the detectives. They
hated her. Paula Krogdahl hated her. Susan Staffel, the kids'
caseworker for the Children's Services Division, hated her.
"Stupid women. Stupid liars. I have met some of the lyingest
people since I've come to this state, and they're sheriffs and legal
people."
Henceforth, if Diane had something she wanted to say, she
would tell it to the press.
To hell with the detectives.
Diane didn't even mention Fred Hugi in her sweeping denunciation
of her tormentors. She had forgotten him--if he'd ever
registered at all. She had no idea he stalked her more relentlessly
than any of them.
4^
CHAPTER 20
"Look," Fred Hugi reminded the disgruntled group of cops and
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