Three names shake the world of all parents: Andrea Yates, Megan Huntsman, and Deena Schlosser.
All three mothers did what most parents (and people) perceive as unthinkable; those mothers killed their children, yet they’re not the only ones.
Regardless of the underlying issue, the mental capacity to come up with the driving force behind the killing is beyond comprehension.
In most cases of maternal filicide, the killers – or mothers – are often considered mentally ill or unstable.
Some are psychologically disturbed, but there might be several incidents in which sinister motives were at play.
Every murder is a heinous crime, but maternal filicide is nearly inconceivable.
Take the case of Diane Downs as an example; she was never considered psychologically unfit for trial before and throughout the legal proceedings where she was found guilty of killing her daughter and assaulting two other children.
The key witness in the trial was Christie Downs, the daughter who survived the attack.
There were doubts whether Christie told the truth in her testimony, but the evidence showed that Diane was as guilty as sin.
10 /10 Someone Shot The Kids
On the night of May 19, 1983, Diane Downs took her three kids: Christie Ann (aged 8), Cheryl Lynn (aged 7), and Stephen Daniel (aged 3), to the McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield, Oregon.
The car was all splattered with blood, as were the kids, but no noticeable sign of severe injury on herself.
Upon arrival, she repeatedly shouted that somebody had just shot her children.
Judy Patterson, the hospital receptionist on shift that night, did what she had always done in emergencies involving a crime: she dropped everything and called the police.
9 /10 Carjacked
The 7-year-old Cheryl was already dead on arrival.
Daniel was severely injured that the doctors were almost sure he would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Christie’s injuries rendered her arms paralyzed and speech gabled.
Each had been shot at from close range, and Diane had a gunshot wound to the left forearm.
According to Downs, they were carjacked near Springfield by an unknown male, and downs said he appeared to need help.
When she pulled over to inquire, the man pointed the gun through the window and fired off the shots.