Small Sacrifices: A True Story Of Passion And Murder (1988) - Plot & Excerpts
9/6 - A true crime story of a mother who attempted to get rid of her kids because she believed that the man she was obsessed with would want her more if the kids were gone. I think this story would have been more horrific, would have had more of an impact on a reader when this was first published. Readers really would have been thinking "How could a mother do that to her own children?!" Today it's not that uncommon of a story, Law and Order has covered it many times. I'm not sure whether readers in the 80s would have been fooled, but without reading the back cover description and never having heard of the case I was immediately suspicious of Diane. Her affect at the hospital when she first brought her children in immediately said to me "All is not as it seems with this woman.".The thing that most shocks me actually is the willingness with which the men at the Chandler post office are ready to put their marriages on the line just for a quick fling or one night stand with Diane. At one point Rule says that Diane's plan was to sleep her way through all the married men at the Chandler post office branch. The way Diane said it and Rule wrote it made it seem as if the men had no say in the matter, as if as soon as they saw her and she made her invitation them having sex was a foregone conclusion. What's wrong with these men that they are so weak?! The whole situation brings to mind Jedi mind control and the idea that Jedi mind control only works on the weak-minded. To be continued...11/6 - I'm beginning to think maybe Diane didn't personally shoot her kids, that maybe she had a 'bushy-haired' accomplice. The fact that Christie remembered the 'man' coming around from the boot of the car, where Lew last saw Diane's guns. The comment Diane made about the 'man' maybe recognising her. The fact that the gun has gone so completely missing. The fact that Diane's car was seen driving at a snail's pace along the road where she said the shooting happened, an action which I think means that she was driving slowly while waiting for her accomplice to turn up at the pre-arranged location. All these clues lead me to think that Diane was working with a 'bushy-haired man' who took the gun with him after he'd shot the kids. I think this man might have been someone Diane knew from her past, but who she didn't think would remember her (not sure how that's possible, but that was the feeling I got from her comment wondering if he'd recognised her). If Diane had done the shooting herself I don't see how she could have managed the whole thing within the time frame - she had to get rid of the gun in a seemingly undiscoverable place, and she had to either wash her hands of any gun powder or get rid of the gloves she would've had to have been wearing to protect herself from that damning forensic evidence. Even then she couldn't have been sure that she hadn't gotten it on her clothes, so I just don't see how she could have been the only one involved in the crime. To be continued...12/6 - First, thanks to Rule for mentioning The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh as another interesting tale of a horrific murder, second, thanks to GR for recommending it to me (because I'm reading Small Sacrifices) and therefore reminding me that I wanted to add The Onion Field to my 'to read' shelf. New true crime book now on the 'to read' shelf. To be continued...13/6 - What an interesting woman, and by interesting I mean batshit crazy, though not in a 'raving lunatic' clinical diagnosis type of way (doctors said she had numerous personality disorders, but was definitely sane), crazy in the way that she must have been crazy to believe that she could murder her kids and get away with it and crazy to think that all she needed to do to get 'Lew' back for good was to eliminate her children from the picture.I looked Diane up on Wikipedia this morning and have just spent 13 minutes listening to Diane's second parole board hearing in 2010, she sounds even more confused about what the 'true' story is than ever. She gave the parole board her story of what happened the night of the shootings and it's considerably different from the two different stories that were related in this book. She discussed having a boyfriend, who had never been mentioned before, who claimed to work for the FBI; she said that the reason she and the kids went out that night was to pick up photos for this boyfriend; she forgot the part in her original story where she faked throwing her keys over her shoulder in order to distract the gunman while she jumped in the car and raced off; and she made a slip (maybe a Freudian slip) when she said that the gunman had jumped in the car in order to shoot the children (previously she had said that the gunman was outside of the car with her when the children were shot, that he leaned through the window to shoot them). I don't think you can trust anything this woman says, about anything.I don't understand why the man that she did this for, Lew Lewiston is the name he's given in Small Sacrifices, has a different name in Wikipedia, there his name is given as Robert Knickerbocker. You might say maybe he changed his name so she couldn't find him if she ever escaped again or was released, but then his name's there in the public domain for anyone on the internet to see. Maybe he asked Rule to change his name for the book?I'm glad to read that she's still in jail and that as of 2010 she will not be eligible for parole for another 10 years, instead of getting a hearing every two as she had previously (2008 and then 2010).
Having never heard of Diane Downs or read an Ann Rule book before I wasn't sure what this book would be like but the story intrigued me. I went into it with an open mind about the crime in question and decided to let it play out before deciding if I thought Diane had done it. From page one the story hooked me in and I found it hard to put down. Even days after I've finished it I continue to go back and read through certain passages again. Though I found Diane's behaviour strange to say the least in the aftermath of the crime, leaving the hospital while her children are barely alive (one was already dead, another would become clinically dead at one point and miraculously brought back to life) in order to return to the crime scene, then laughing and joking during a re-enactment of the crime. For me I started to realize she was truly guilty while reading diary entries. One written as a letter to her lover back in Arizona read I think I love my kids more than I love you, not something a mother would say. Curious I went online to see if I could find any of these interviews the book said she kept giving and found clips. One look into those cold eyes and I was forever grateful this woman has been locked away for good. When asked about how she felt about that night she seemed more concerned about the scar on her arm and that she couldn't tie her shoe for two months than the fact that her middle child was now dead and her two surviving children crippled and traumatized. I also found the movie and watched it and had mixed feelings about it the name changes were confusing and annoying and I won't get into the acting and "re-sequencing of events" part. But overall I think the book was well written no dull dragging moments here. I was very pleased to hear that the children were able to stay together and found a home where they are loved and cared for and by all accounts are living happy successful lives now despite what happened to them.
What do You think about Small Sacrifices: A True Story Of Passion And Murder (1988)?
Since becoming a fan of True Crime, I've been meaning to read Ann Rule, but it took her death to finally get her to the top of my to-read list. She is a prolific writer but I read somewhere that this is one of her better books. It did not disappoint. Her research is impressive and telling of the story is engrossing. Even though there is never much doubt to "who dun it" the narrative is still compelling. I can't say that I 'enjoyed' the book because in it the children are neglected, abused, and two are severely injured and one dies. What they endure and overcome is horrific. But I certainly found the case, trial and media coverage interesting and it was a good example of the True Crime genre. I will be reading more from Rule.
—Jessica
‘Small Sacrifices’ by Ann Rule is a true story about a woman who is willing to do whatever it takes just to be with the man she loves. Diane Downs knows that she had the power to be with any man that she wants. When she meets a man named Lew it seems like nothing could go wrong, and she feels like she’s finally found the one. There’s just one problem, Diane has 3 children; 8 year old Christie, 7 year old Cheryl and 3 year old Danny. Lew doesn’t seem to keen on the idea of her moving in with him as well as her three children. Everything seems to being going fine until one night when Diane and her three children are driving home from her friends house. She claims that a man was in the middle of the road and told her to give her the keys. Diane states that she got out of the car and handed the keys to the man when he shot her and her children. Diane then frantically drove to the Springfield Hospital where she began yelling “Somebody just shot my kids!” Everyone gives the young mother lots of sympathy for her children’s injuries until one day Diane becomes a suspect. The question that nobody can figure out is “Why would a mother kill her own children?” Could Diane Downs really be that psycho, and kill her own children to be with a man that she loves? I think that the author did a really good job writing this book. This has probably been one of my favorite books that I have read so far. Mostly because it’s a true story and I think that it makes it more interesting. I wouldn’t say that this book moved me in a good way, the ending to this book actually kind of made me mad. I cant really say why it made me mad though, without giving away the ending! I wouldn’t say that this book taught me anything. I would just say that it showed me that there are some really messed up people in this world, that are willing to do anything for someone they are obsessed with. My overall opinion on this book was that it was really good. Unlike most books it never got boring, something interesting and exciting was always happening. I would definitely rate this book a 5 out of 5 because I really enjoyed reading it. It was definitely one of the best books that I’ve ever read. I don’t really like books that get really boring towards the middle of the book. This book never reached a boring point, there was always something exciting or important that was happening. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes murder books, or someone that is just looking for a good book to read. The only bad thing about this book is that it’s kind of long, but you don’t even notice because you wont want to put this book down once you start reading it. This book is not for everyone though, if you don’t like murder/mystery type books then I wouldn’t recommend this book to you.
—Heidi
This is the first Ann Rule book I've read and I'll probably read more of hers. It's a very descriptive account of one of the most notorious murder cases where a woman shoots her three kids in order to be with her married boyfriend who didn't want kids. 2 of the kids survive, but only one is old enough to be a credible witness, despite her severe injuries. The case is relevant now because Becky Babcock or whatsherass is whoring out the fact that her biological mother is Diane Downs, despite the fact that she never grew up with the woman, wasn't abused by her like Christie, Cheryl, and Danny, and was not in the car that night on May 19, 1983. She was born a full year afterward and was conceived to be nothing more than a tool for Diane to achieve her means. She was immediately adopted out to a loving family, so it's a bit insensitive to use your older half-siblings' tragedy and trauma to get airtime. Apparently, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.Otherwise, it was really interesting to read a full account of the prosecutors, the kids, the background of everybody, and namely, Diane Downs. From a psychological standpoint, it was like getting an insider's account of a person with several personality disorders.
—Christine
