A Case Of Bad Parenting: Mary Beth Tinning

Mary Beth Tinning. Everyone thought her to be a good mother until her children started dying off. Here's her story:

She had two children and was pregnant with another. She didn't seem to like the messy part of mothering: the cleaning, the crying, the dealing with the problems. She seemed only to care for the happy moments. It's like her babies were her play toys. One night, her son began crying and throwing Jell-O agaisnt the wall. It pushed her over the edge.

All the doctors were told was that she found him in his bed, not breathing. However, he seemed to be too old to die of SIDS. Everyone came swooping in trying to help Mary Beth and her husband, Joe, deal with the devastation that had just taken over their lives. Mary Beth liked the attention. Only two weeks after buring her son, her daughter was found the exact same way: not breathing in her bed, rushed to the hospital, pronounced dead.

Doctors began looking into reasons the children could be dying. They thought maybe it was some sort of genetic disease. After tons of testing, they found nothing. While police and others began to suspect Mary Beth, her husband could not believe she could've killed their kids.

She gave birth to her son and he, too, died the same way. After being advised not to get pregnant again, for fear that the children were dying from a genetic disorder, the couple celebrated a new pregnancy a year later. The pattern followed.

This kept happening until, finally, Mary Beth and Joe Tinning decided to adopt a child. After he died the exact same way, suddenly the possibility of a genetic disorder was gone. Still, husband Joe stuck by her side.

She also attempted to poison her husband. He ended up in the hospital. The doctors thought it was an overdose until he was questioned. He admitted that he thought Mary Beth tried to poison him but it didn't matter. He said, "You have to believe the wife."

Mary Beth and Joe got pregnant once more, thirteen years later. Tami Lynne - their last child - died the same way.

Finally, Mary Beth confessed to smothering Tami Lynne. She was convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Husabnd Joe continues to stick by her side, promising to provide a home for her if and when she gets released from prison. She is now eligiable for parole. Although she's filed, she has been denied thus far.

Nine dead children later - Jennifer, Joesph Jr., Barbra, Timothy, Nathan, Mary Frances, Jonathan, Micheal, and Tami Lynne - she is diagnosed with the most extreme case of Munchausen by proxy.