21. Mothers who Killed their Children/Maternal Filicide: Marybeth Tinning & Diane Downs

This week Nathalie and Rachel cover two cases of mothers who killed/attempted to kill their children. Nathalie starts off with some information about maternal filicide, including the different types and possible motives for murder. Rachel starts off the podcast with the story of Marybeth Tinning. After Marybeth and her husband, Joe, lost their first child, Jennifer, Marybeth was never quite the same. Marybeth had seven more children (and one adopted child) all died under mysterious circumstances. Even though she was only ever charged with the murder of her daughter, Tami Lynn, it is believed that she was responsible for all of their deaths. Nathalie then tells the story of Diane Downs. One night in May of 1983, Diane drove into the hospital in a blood-spattered car. She claimed that she and her three children were victims of a carjacking gone wrong. Investigators became suspicious after her story began to unravel and soon saw Diane had shot her children in an attempt to win back the affections of her ex-lover, Robert Knickerbocker. After her trial, Diane's two surviving children were adopted by the lead prosecutor on the case. Rachel's Sources: From Cradle to Grave: The Short Lives and Strange Deaths of Marybeth Tinning's Nine Children, by Joyce Egginton Notorious Child Killer Maybeth Tinning is Back Home in N.Y. Decades Later - and Is 'Laying Low', by KC Bakerhttps://people.com/crime/marybeth-tinning-child-murderer-parole-laying-low/ Marybeth Tinning: "I Am Not a Good Mother", by Delanie R. Bartlette https://medium.com/new-york-voice/marybeth-tinning-i-am-not-a-good-mother-6541229d4ae2 Nathalie's Sources: Coming soon!