this is "nightline." tonight. russia report. after two years, the special counsel investigation that has bedeviled president trump over. will the public ever see the report? and a mother's sin. >> the cold look in her eyes scared me. >> her birth mother was one of the nation's most notorious killers. now she's speaking out about the unthinkable crime that gripped the nation. a murderous attack on her children. also high wire hell. dramatic video of a plunge. legendary dare devil nik

wallenda opening up about what could have been a disaster. but first the "nightline" five. five.

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the mueller report is now in the hands of attorney general william bauer. special counsel robert mueller ending the russia investigation without any new indictments. president trump saying tonight he's glad it's over. the report on the probe that has consumed the nation still confidential. the attorney general telling congress in a letter that he may brief them within days. the nearly two-year probe has cast a dark shadow over his presidency, costing $25 million and has resulted in 37 indictments, including six trump associates. five convicted or pleading guilty. tonight president trump is in florida, the white house saying it has not seen the report. and this isn't the end of the president's legal troubles. investigations continue by federal prosecutors in new york and washington, several state prosecutors and by democrats and the house of representatives. stay with abc news for the latest in the mueller investigation. much more ahead in the morning on gma. now to one woman's struggle with the legacy of her birth

mother's horrific crimes. becky babcock learned as a child that she was adopted and that her birth mother was diane downs who shot and three children. killing one of them. >> reporter: according to elizabeth diane downs, she and her three children were shot by a strange man. it was 1983, an unimaginable crime. >> diane downs was a case that captured the imagination and horror of people at the time. >> we haven't overlooked any possible suspects. >> reporters covering the story were getting hints that downs herself was a suspect in the case. >> reporter: a mother accused of murdering one of her three children and trying to kill the other two. >> i can see kristin reaching her hand out to me while i'm driving. that haunts me the most. >> a part of me was afraid that's where i came from. does that mean that's where i'm going? >> diane downs was a 27-year-old

mother who had just moved up to oregon from chandler, arizona. >> she was mother of three children, ages 8, 7, 3, christie, cheryl and danny, a postal worker. >> reporter: on the night of may 19th, diane downs went out for a drove taking her three children with her. >> she took a detour to do sightseeing. >> diane said a guy flagged her car down. it was dark. she had her three sleeping young kids in the car. >> reporter: she says she pulls over to help the man. >> supposedly, the man wanted her car, demanded her keys. >> she said you've got to be kidding, at which time he pushed her aside and began shooting the three kids. are your diane says the man shoots her in the left arm, but she's able to distract him and makes her escape and quickly drives herself and children to the hospital.

>> >> i can only imagine the shock of everyone at the hospital when up rolls diane downs with three bloody children. >> cheryl was dead. and danny and christie had both been shot and were badly wounded. >> when i got to the hospital, i was directed to interview the mother. >> reporter: investigators say her behavior seemed odd from the beginning. >> her demeanor was flat. not one tear, even though she knew that cheryl had died. >> if they got to die, let them die. but don't let them suffer. >> it was surreal. >> when i was finished taking care of christie, then i sought out her mother, and to my complete surprise, diane was non-emotional. and then show says, it really ruined my new car. i got blood all over the back of

it. >> cops are wracking their brains to try to put this case together. >> we're going to do a videotape reenactment. >> diane downs is trying to show the investigators exactly what happened. >> i go like that. i got in the car, jumped in, put the keys in, i just hit my cast. okay. >> she'd hit her cast then made the statement. this is worse than -- and she caught herself. so we speculated, of course, what she would have finished that sentence, this is worse than when i shot myself. >> good evening. i'm ann bradley. >> reporter: with suspicion mounting, diane gives a jaw-dropping interview. >> they said she could bring her lawyer to the interview we wanted to do. she showed up by herself, and i said, gotcha. >> everybody says, you sure were lucky. well, i don't feel very lucky. i couldn't tie my damn shoes for about two months.

it is very painful. it is still painful. the scar is going to be therefore everybody. i'm going to remember that night for the rest of my life whether i want to or not. i don't think i was lucky. i think my kids were lucky. if i had been shot the way they were we all would have died. >> reporter: ann jaeger says she never cries over her children during the interview. but even more surprising, she's now pregnant. >> you can't replace pregnant, but can you replace the effect they give you. but they give me love, they give me satisfaction, stability, a lean to live and a reason to be happy. and that's gone. they took it from me. but children are so easy to conceive. >> reporter: the father, a man she met on her mail delivery route. >> well, diane is busy talking herself into the prime suspect chair. police are quietly gathering evidence. >> then, let's talk about the weapon, a .22 caliber hand gun. she tells police she does not have a handgun. >> we discovered that she had

bought a pistol. and it was a .22, and it was a ruger. well, bingo. >> reporter: the murder weapon is never found. but. >> they searched diane downs' home and they found a rifle, and there were some .22 shells in the rifle that had been ejected from some other weapon. the markings on those bullets matched the markings on the shell casings found at the crime scene. >> reporter: police also find her diaries. inside a possible motive. >> when you read diane downs' diary, you read, nick, nobody's ever been able to take your place in my heart. my kids aren't any trouble. >> reporter: nick was a former co-worker diane had fallen in love with back in arizona. >> nick liked kids. but he said i didn't want to be a daddy. >> diane considered the kids to be hindrance to nick's arrival.

>> if she didn't have these kids in the way anymore, she could have her lover that she was having trouble living without. >> reporter: now the evidence is piling up. police arrest diane nine months after the shooting. she then heads to trial. visibly pregnant. >> what was the jury supposed to think? who wants to send a pregnant mom to jail for life? >> reporter: the key witness, her 9-year-old daughter christie, a dramatic courtroom scene recreated in this made for tv mini series about the case. >> who shot you? >> my mom. >> reporter: the jury is unanimous. >> the jury delivered its guilty verdicts on all five counts of murder, attempted murder and assault. >> reporter: diane downs is sentenced to life plus 50 years

in prison. >> downs showed no emotion. >> reporter: the story wouldn't end there. the prosecutor adopts diane's surviving children. danny and christie, but there was still the baby. >> ten days after diane's conviction, i accompanied diane to the hospital. about the only thing that i thought was we've saved this baby's life. she's got a chance for a normal life. but afterwards, caseworker arrived and took the child and that was the last that diane saw her. >> reporter: the baby named aby family. but it would be years before she found out where show came from. >> i never had questions about my biological dad. it was mainly about my biological mom. >> reporter: when she's 11 years old, she finds out the name of

her biological mother and that there's a book about her "small sacrifices." >> i opened it and looked at a picture of diane downs sitting at a table. it was a face to what i had been looking for. and it wasn't a face that i wanted to see. the cold look in her eyes scared me. and it was scary. i slammed the book >> reporter: but a few years later, she says a boyfriend shows her that abc mini series based on the book. >> after seeing that movie, her life goes in a downward spiral. >> what did that mean for me? is that who i have to become? i was afraid that i came from a monster. i was afraid that i had that potential. >> reporter: becky becomes a mother herself at age 17. and then again at age 20.

by then she says she realizes she cannot care for this new baby and places him for adoption. >> there's a parallel there that history is repeating itself. >> holding him was heartbreaking, because i knew that i couldn't keep holding him. it just, it takes a piece of you. and i wanted to connect with somebody. it made me think about diane. and i actually wanted to reach out to her. >> reporter: becky decides to write to diane in prison. >> i wanted to relate to her, not as a mother, because i had a mother. just as somebody that felt the pain and emptiness that i felt in that time. >> reporter: she says diane writes her back almost immediately. >> you look like me, same chin. don't you hate it? you're beautiful. >> first letter seemed to possibly have that connection i was looking for. i could almost hear her voice in her letters. >> reporter: but as continue corresponding, becky

says the tone of diane's letters changes. >> they progressively got more and more insane. she wrote back accusing me of being one of the people trying to harm her. and at that point i completely regretted everything, any contact with her. and so i put a stop to it. the pressure i felt of being diane downs' daughter growing up switched into power. >> reporter: after years of soul searching, becky started sharing her story publicly, taking control of her life. a proud mother to her son, now a sophomore in high school. >> did you have a good day? >> i had a great day. >> good. >> i compare where i was at that age to where he is, and my heart overflows with joy and pride. >> reporter: over the years, becky has been in touch with her half sister christie, who along with her half brother danny, have chosen to live privately. diane downs remains behind bars,

likely for life. she and some of her family maintain her innocence. >> i am not diane downs' daughter. and my story is not the story of a victim. it's just part of where i came from. >> when we come back, the chilling new video. a high wire act's shocking collapse. what nik wallenda is saying now about the plunge. humira patients, you inspire us. the way you triumph over adversity. and live your lives. that's why we redesigned humira. we wanted to make the experience better for you. now there's less pain immediately following injection. we've reduced the size of the needle and removethtrate ithee effeivens yo know and trust. humira citrate-free is here. a little change can make a big difference.

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the appeal of a high wire act is a life or death danger. this week one of the world's

most famous dare devils is speaking out as new video emerges of a chilling brush with death. here's gio benitez. >> reporter: you're watching newly-released video of a terrifying circus disaster, world renowned dare devil, nik wallenda, and his family, are known for these acts without safety nets. they lose their balance, plummeting 25 feet to the ground below. the group was rehearsing a complex eight-person pyramid in february 2017 that would have set a world record. miraculously, no one was paralyzed or killed. nik wallenda whose legendary death denying stunts have never stopped him before released the message on his instagram this morning. >> i have been sort of a wreck to be honest. i've shed a lot of tears if i'm

be being completely vulnerable having to relive that accident te hs ow for in. pushing limits broadcast during ss niagara's horseshoe alked falls. he later upped that by crossing 1400 feet over the grand canyon with no harness and high winds whipping all around him. but in the blink of an eye, stunts like wallenda's can go horribly wro wro wro wro wro cirque cirque du soleil suffered their own. >> he was knocked out. there was no movement, no nothing. >> we were scared to move or speak. >> reporter: without any mats or safety nets to break his fall, the performer was taken to the hospital where he later died. in 2015, illusionist spencer

horsman submerged in a tank of water attempted to free himself in one breath. he blacked out. colleagues stepped in to save him. >> that magician who had a brush with death. >> reporter: high-flying, high-adhigh- high-adrenaline feats can go wrong, and an act known as the human chandelier where eight women spin attached by their hair crashed 30 feet to the ground. >> injuries in at least two patients were significant enough that they were not moving their legs when they first came in to varying degrees. there has been a little bit of improvement in one our two of those patients. >> reporter: legendary magician david copperfield spoke to "nightline" about the hazards of performance acts. >> there is danger. you have backup plans, but things do go wrong. you're depending on lots of

people who you trust, and they're smart people, and they're really well trained. but sometimes things go wrong. >> reporter: nik wallenda started doing stunts at age 6. he's the seventh generation of a family known for defying gravity. his great-grandfather lost his life after falling ten stories from a wire in puerto rico at the age of 73. seven wallendas have lost their lives to the family business. it's reason to give nik wallenda pause after this morning's video surfaced. >> after that accident, i had to experience it over and over again in my head. and i think i had a little taste, possibly, of what ptsd is. and i'm not comparing it to what others have gone through. >> reporter: the dare devil admitting the accident made him think he might never perform again. >> came to the point where i was so fearful that i went to my wife and said i don't think i can perform anymore. i didn't know those words were capable of coming out of

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that's "nightline" for this friday night.

stay with abc news for the latest on the mueller investigation. much more ahead om gma in the morning. thanks for the company, america. have a good weekend. d weekend.

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