Twelve years later and I still find myself still gravitating toward discussions of this case. Since the thread has been revitalized for the time being, here's my thoughts:
I do believe she smoked weed regularly and, perhaps, drank on a regular basis, too. Yet her behavior that day suggests she deliberately got wasted in a very short time at a very early hour, for a reason -- she wanted to kill herself and didn't care if she took all five kids with her. When she threw that phone out the window, (investigator's theory for the location at which her phone was found), I think she did so not from shame or a desire to hide evidence, but with an aim to finish the job, unobstructed. To me this is the most damning evidence of all.
I wonder if prior to this final act she was harboring anger toward not only her child-like husband, but maybe also toward her pretty, popular, sister-in-law, Jackie - as well as toward her own brother, Jackie's husband.
If you've read Jackie Hance's heartbreakingly honest book of what happened the day of the accident and the excruciating months that followed, it is obvious that the only commonality between Jackie and Diane was that both women were high energy and doted on their children. The similarities seemed to end there.
Jackie was a stay-at-home mom, while Diane was the breadwinner. Jackie was petite and adorable, while Diane, though not unattractive, had become somewhat frumpish in appearance. Jackie had a loyal, devoted group of girlfriends, and she seemed to have enjoyed regular, frequent recreational and social outlets. Diane's free time likely amounted to catching up on household chores, the occasional night out and, by Daniel's own words, smoking pot to relax after the kids were in bed.
And, of course, there was also that camper they drove to the lake that weekend and, presumably, used other times as well.
It's probable, imo, that Diane had good intentions when she invited her nieces to join her, Danny and their kids for the weekend. I do wonder, though, if she'd had a change of heart once the weekend arrived, along with the irony of the situation: She may very well have asked herself why it was she giving a "free" weekend to Jackie and Warren instead of the other way around.
According to Jackie Hance's recollection as stated in her book, Diane called to say she'd be late picking the girls up for the trip; Jackie said this was unusual as Diane was always punctual. (On the way home, too, she called one of the Hances to say she'd be late. Diane's uncharacteristic tardiness that weekend could have been passive-aggressive behavior expressed toward the Hances.)
The final breaking point may have come at the campground at which Diane probably did the lion's share of work. I can imagine Danny fishing over at the lake with his dog, while his wife fired up the grill, prepared the meals, supervised and amused the children, and made sure Danny relaxed, undisturbed.
Maybe someday (under hypnosis or something)memories will come to Brian that might add another layer of possible causation for Diane's state of mind that day. Until then, we can only guess and add our own theories, which is all this is.
