TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: THE CASE OF ANDREA YATES

Ninetoes takes a look at another case involving infanticide and postpartum depression/psychosis.

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ, and I am on the beat with the Case of Andrea Yates. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

Andrea Yates is a Texas mother who went on trial for drowning her five children in a bathtub. She drowned her children on June 20, 2001. In the years leading up to the murders, Andrea Yates exhibited severe postpartum depression/psychosis and schizophrenia.

During her teen years, Yates suffered from depression and bulimia. When she was seventeen, she told a friend she had often thought about suicide. She graduated from Milby High School in 1982, where she was the class valedictorian. She completed a two-year pre-nursing program at the University of Houston and graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. 

She met her husband, Russel “Rusty” Yates, in 1989. They were married in 1993, and they announced they would “have as many babies as nature would allow.” They had four children by 1999: Noah (1994), John (1995), Paul (1997), and Luke (1999). After the birth of her fourth child, Yate’s depression had come back. On June 16, 1999, Rusty found Andrea shaking and chewing her fingers. The next day she attempted suicide by overdosing on pills. She was hospitalized and prescribed antidepressants. Soon after her discharge from the hospital, she begged her husband to let her die as she held a knife to her throat. She was hospitalized again and this time was prescribed the antipsychotic medication Haldol. Her condition improved immediately. Rusty moved the family to a smaller house, and she was temporarily stabilized. This did not last long. In July of that year, she had a nervous breakdown and tried to commit suicide two times. She was eventually diagnosed with postpartum psychosis.

Yates’ first psychiatrist, Dr. Eileen Starbranch, urged the couple NOT to have any more children, as it would guarantee future psychotic depression. Their fifth child was conceived seven weeks after her discharge. She stopped taking Haldol in March 2000 and gave birth to her daughter, Mary, eight months later.

Yates seemed to be coping well until the death of her father on March 12, 2001. She started self-mutilation, stopped taking her medication, and stopped feeding Mary. She required immediate hospitalization. She came under the care of Dr. Mohammed Saeed on April 1, 2001. Her condition deteriorated on May 3, 2001, and she filled the bathtub and intended to drown her children that day but decided against it. She was hospitalized the next day.

On the day of the murders, June 20, 2001, Rusty left for work, leaving Andrea alone with the children. This went against Dr. Saeed’s instructions not to leave her alone. Rusty’s mother was scheduled to be with her an hour after he left for work. In that time, she drowned all five children, starting with Paul, Luke, and John. She drowned Mary and left her in the tub. Noah asked her what was wrong with Mary, then ran. She caught up to him and drowned him, leaving him in the tub as she laid Mary in John’s arms. She called the police, telling them she needed an officer, but refused to say why. She then called Rusty and told him she needed him home right away.

When the responding officers got to the Yates home, Andrea answered the door with her hair soaking wet. She looked at the officer and said, “I killed my kids.”  They entered the house and found the deceased children. While in custody, she told the defense psychiatrist that she killed her children to preserve their innocence and keep them from going to hell.

Yates was indicted on one count of capital murder for the deaths of her sons Noah (7) and John (5). She was also indicted on one count of capital murder for the death of her daughter Mary (6 months old). Her husband stood by her side during the trial, saying it was the illness that killed the children, and not his wife. Yates pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. She cited postpartum psychosis as the cause.

In March 2002, the jury found Yates guilty on all charges. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 40 years. Her husband divorced her in 2004 and remarried in 2006.

On January 6, 2005, the Texas Court of Appeals granted her a new trial. The decision was made after a defense witness compared elements of Yates’ case to an episode of the television show Law and Order. No such episode aired.

Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity at her retrial on July 26, 2006. She was committed to North Texas State Hospital and was transferred to Kerrville State Hospital, where she remains to this day. She has repeatedly refused a review of her case so she can continue treatment.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

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