Marybeth Tinning “She is a wicked woman”-John B. Poersch

By: Nakia Lang

What is a serial killer? A serial killer is a person who has suffered economic deprivation. Finding them self-incompetent to relate to other human beings in an orderly fashion that terminates the idea of violent doings. In order to be classified as a serial killer you would need to commit 3 or more murders over a certain time period. They have conditioned themselves to violent behavior by having fantasies, and thoughts of harming other individuals. These thoughts often begin during their childhood stage because of sexuality, sexual and physical abuse, loneliness; parents divorce, including many other forms of depression. The death of another individual is of no importance.

Marybeth Tinning

Background Information

Birth name: Marybeth Roe

Born: September 11, 1942 in Duansberg, New York

Father: Alton Roe

Number of Victims: 9

Period of Killings: 1972-1985

5 ft 4, blue eyes, blonde-short hair

Early LifeFather: worked as a press operator for General Electric

Low Wage Jobs: Ellis Hospital

Married: 1965 to Joe Tinning

Woman of average appearance

Killed 9 children over a period of 14 years

Alton Roe Her father, Alton

Roe, worked as a press operator in nearby General Electric, the area's largest employer. Marybeth once claimed that when she was a child, her father abused her. During a police interview in 1986, she told one investigator that her father had beaten her and locked her in a closet. But later 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

*Marybeth’s father may have been her spark

9 Murders1971 Jennifer: severe infection

1972 James: some type of seizure

1972 Barbara: gone into convulsions

1973 Timothy: found lifeless in crib

1975 Nathan: stopped breathing

1978 Mary Frances: some type of seizure

1980 Jonathan: stopped breathing

Marybeth and Daughter (Barbara)

Joseph Tinning Jr. Died within 90 days of each other

9 Murders1981 Michael (adopted): unconscious, wrapped in a blanket

1985 Tammi Lynn: stopped breathing

The deaths of her father and her baby may have irritated Marybeth's fragile mental condition. Never a happy, well-adjusted adult and frequently described as "strange" by many of her friends and family members, Marybeth seemed to become even more distant after Jennifer's death.

Confession & ConvictionPolice began to suspect something was fishy about the deaths of ALL her children. However, they couldn’t find evidence of wrong doing. After interrogation, Tinning confessed to smothering Lynne, Nathan, and Timothy. Nothing ever seemed to bother Joe.

Conviction Marybeth spoke about her life as a child and growing up in

Duanesburg. She stated that she grieved over the deaths of each of her nine children and denied any role in what happened to them. In all the cases, there were no other witnesses. Most of the facts available on each death had come from Marybeth. She told the initial story; she provided the much-needed details; she described the last moments of each child's life. It was all too convenient and there was no one to challenge her version of events. "I didn't do it!" she repeated. But after several hours of persistent questioning, Mary Beth gave in. Though she continued to insist she never hurt most of the children, she said Tami Lynne, Nathan and Timothy were the exceptions. "I did not do anything to Jennifer, Joseph, Barbara, Michael, Mary Frances, Jonathan," she said to Barnes and Karas, "Just these three, Timothy, Nathan and Tami. I smothered them each with a pillow because I'm not a good mother. I'm not a good mother because of the other children" (Tinning). Arrested and charged with murder. Up for parole March 2009.

Dr. Michael Baden"About three babies in a thousand die from

crib death. The odds against two crib deaths in one family are enormous. The

odds against three are astronomical" (Baden). "There is no known genetic

disease that can cause sudden death in healthy children," he wrote. “A baby will

not suffocate from snarled in blankets and bed sheets.”

Medical Examiner

“I’m not a good mother”

Johnathan

Michael

Tammi Lynn

Joseph Mary Frances

One by one Tinnings nine children died of mysterious causes

“From Cradle to Grave”

The end

Bibliographywww.sleepyhollowplans.comhttp://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/marybeth_tinning/13.

htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marybeth_Tinningwww.people.howstuffworks.comwww.cartoonstock.com