Marybeth Tinning

Marybeth Roe Tinning (born September 11, 1942) is an American murderer and suspected serial killer who was convicted in New York State of the murder of her ninth child, 4-month-old daughter Tami Lynne, on December 20, 1985. She is suspected to be similarly involved in the previous deaths of her eight children, all of which took place within the span of fourteen years.

The causes of death for Tinning's first eight children was initially thought to be genetic. Even when their sixth child, Michael – who was adopted and not of blood relation – died in 1981, authorities failed to open an investigation. Eventually, Schenectady County prosecutors had enough evidence – a laboratory test indicating death from asphyxia by suffocation – to charge Tinning in Tami Lynne's death. In July 1987, she was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to twenty years to life in prison. An appeal to the New York Supreme Court, arguing that her confession was coerced and there was insufficient evidence to convict her, was denied.

It is unclear if Tinning has ever been diagnosed with Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP). Some believe that her pattern of behavior aligns perfectly with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition's (DSM-5) Development and Course section on the disorder: "In individuals with recurrent episodes of falsification of signs and symptoms of illness and/or induction of injury, this pattern of successive deceptive contact with medical personnel, including hospitalizations, may become lifelong."

Tinning was incarcerated at Taconic Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, New York. She was denied parole six times, but was granted parole at her seventh hearing in July 2018 and was released on August 21 of that year.

Marybeth Roe was born to Ruth and Alton Lewis Roe on September 11, 1942, in the small town of Duanesburg, New York. There is little information available regarding her formative years. During some of this time, Marybeth's father was deployed overseas fighting in World War II, while her mother worked. Because both parents were frequently absent, Marybeth was occasionally shuffled among relatives; one elderly relative told her that she was an unwanted, accidental child. When her little brother reached adolescence, Marybeth told him, "You were the one they wanted, not me."

On completion of his active duty, Marybeth's father worked as a press operator in a nearby General Electric factory, which was the area's largest employer at the time. As an adult, she once claimed that her father abused her when she was a child. During a police interview in 1986, she told one investigator that her father had beaten her and locked her in a closet. During court testimony, she denied that her father had bad intentions. "My father hit me with a flyswatter," she told the court, "because he had arthritis and his hands were not of much use. And when he locked me in my room, I guess he thought I deserved it."

Marybeth was an average student at Duanesburg High School, from which she graduated in 1961. Following high school, she worked at various low-paying, unskilled jobs. She eventually settled on a job as a nursing assistant at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, New York, ten miles north of Duanesburg.

In 1963, Marybeth met Joseph Tinning on a blind date. They married in 1965 and their first child, Barbara, was born in May 1967, followed in January 1970 by Joseph Jr. In October 1971, Marybeth's father died of a heart attack.