From Cradle to Grave by Joyce Egginton (May 1990)

Insane or Just Plain Evil?
Review by Kim Cantrell

Between 1967 and 1985, Marybeth Tinning would give birth to eight children and adopt one child.

All of the children would die; eight of them under suspicious circumstances.

Many of the residents of Schenectady, New York, believed Marybeth when she said the children had died of a genetic disorder and, with lack of a better explanation, doctors agreed. 

But then how do you explain the death of the Tinning’s adopted son Michael?  He had no biological ties to Marybeth and Joe; disproving any theories of a genetic “death gene.”

In Joyce Egginton’s 1990 book titled From Cradle To Grave, readers are given a well-written, extremely in-depth look at the Tinning case. 

Egginton does an excellent job of remaining neutral on the issue of guilt or innocence; leaving the reader to play the thirteenth juror.

From beginning to end, Tinning’s story leaves readers mesmerized, frustrated, saddened, and confused – could there have been an unknown genetic disorder or did a mother truly kill all of her children? (I’ve definitely got an opinion, do you?)

Readers will also find themselves asking:  how could so many children from one household die before police took notice?

From Cradle to Grave can be a bit hard to stomach, but it is an excellent book and I strongly recommend adding it to your true crime reading list.

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UPDATES FROM THIS BOOK:

Marybeth Tinning remains incarcerated at the Bedford Hills prison. She has been denied parole three times since 2007. Her next parole eligibility date is in 2011.

Joseph Tinning (Marybeth’s father-in-law) died at St. Clare’s hospital on July 17, 2006. His wife, Edna Tinning, passed away less than year earlier on August 1, 2005. His obituary does not mention that he is proceeded in death by his nine grandchildren from Marybeth and Joe.

Carol Tinning died in 2001 at the age of 62.

Joe Tinning lives in Duanesburg, New York and remains married to Marybeth.