#20: The Mother and the Midnight Road - Shots in the Dark
Update: 2025-07-12
Description
"A mother’s story. A quiet road. And a truth no one wanted to hear."
May 1983 – Springfield, Oregon.
A red car pulls into the emergency bay of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. Inside are three young children—each shot at close range. One is dead on arrival. Another is paralyzed. The third is barely clinging to life. Their mother, 27-year-old Diane Downs, tells staff they were ambushed on a dark, rural road by a man who stepped into their path, demanded her car, and opened fire.
News of the shooting spreads quickly. A mother attacked. Her children the victims of a senseless act of violence. Local papers cover the case closely. Sympathy pours in from the community. But as investigators begin piecing together what happened on Old Mohawk Road, questions begin to emerge. There’s no physical evidence of a struggle. No sign of a suspect. The crime scene is quiet. Too quiet.
In this episode, we examine the events of that night, the immediate police response, and the growing public attention surrounding a case that would grip the country. From the first emergency call to the haunting testimony that followed, this is the story of three children, a quiet road, and a night that left Oregon forever changed.
LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles
www.nightwatchfiles.com
LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles
www.nightwatchfiles.com
May 1983 – Springfield, Oregon.
A red car pulls into the emergency bay of McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. Inside are three young children—each shot at close range. One is dead on arrival. Another is paralyzed. The third is barely clinging to life. Their mother, 27-year-old Diane Downs, tells staff they were ambushed on a dark, rural road by a man who stepped into their path, demanded her car, and opened fire.
News of the shooting spreads quickly. A mother attacked. Her children the victims of a senseless act of violence. Local papers cover the case closely. Sympathy pours in from the community. But as investigators begin piecing together what happened on Old Mohawk Road, questions begin to emerge. There’s no physical evidence of a struggle. No sign of a suspect. The crime scene is quiet. Too quiet.
In this episode, we examine the events of that night, the immediate police response, and the growing public attention surrounding a case that would grip the country. From the first emergency call to the haunting testimony that followed, this is the story of three children, a quiet road, and a night that left Oregon forever changed.
LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles
www.nightwatchfiles.com
LISTEN AD-FREE AND A DAY EARLY ON - https://patreon.com/NightwatchFiles
www.nightwatchfiles.com
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