to Reye syndrome. On November 22, 1973, Tinning gave birth to son Timothy; on December 10, he was brought back to the hospital, dead. Tinning told doctors she found him lifeless in his crib. Doctors attributed his death to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In March 1975, Tinning's fifth child, Nathan, was born; that autumn, he died in the car while out with her. In August 1978, the Tinnings adopted newborn Michael; on October 29, Marybeth gave birth to her sixth child, Mary Frances. In January 1979, she rushed her to the emergency room, directly across the street from their apartment, saying she was having a seizure. The staff was able to revive her, reporting "aborted SIDS". A month later, Tinning returned to the hospital with her in full cardiac arrest; she was revived but had irreversible brain damage. She died two days later after being taken off life support. The Tinnings' eighth child, Jonathan, was born in fall 1979; he died in March 1980, after being kept on life support in Albany for four weeks. In February 1981, Michael fell down the stairs and suffered a concussion. On March 2, Tinning took him to the doctor because he wouldn't wake up; he was already dead when she arrived. Since he was adopted, the long-suspected belief that the deaths in the Tinning family was of genetic origin was discarded. Tami Lynne was born on August 22, 1985; on December 20, she died of being smothered. On that day, the Tinnings were visited by Betsy Mannix of Schenectady County's Department of Social Services, and by Bob Imfeld of the Schenectady Police Department, concerning Tami Lynne's death. The causes of the children's deaths were listed diversely, as natural, undetermined, or SIDS. Six autopsies of them took place after Tami Lynne's death, but they did not reveal any signs of abuse. Prior to Tami Lynne's death, there had been no suspicion found in the sequence of deaths. "There were so many of us in on it, I guess," said Dr. Robert L. Sullivan, Schenectady County's Chief Medical Examiner. "If anyone is negligent, I suppose I am. I probably should have said, 'There must be more to it than this.' But we all think, and don't do." Arrest and interrogation Marybeth and Joseph Tinning were separately taken to the Schenectady Police Department for questioning about Tami Lynne's death. During the police interrogation, Marybeth signed