Elizabeth Diane Frederickson Downs (born August 7, 1955) is an American criminal who murdered her daughter, and attempted to murder her other two children, in May 1983.
Following the crimes, she told police a man had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children.
She was convicted in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years.
Downs briefly escaped in 1987 and was recaptured.
She is the subject of a book by Ann Rule and a made-for-TV movie based upon it, both called Small Sacrifices.
She was denied parole in December 2008 and again in December 2010; however, she is eligible to try again in 2021, at age 65.