In 2001 Rusty Yates received a call from his very calm, cool, and collected wife Andrea telling him that he needed to come home the children were dead. That day Andrea's plan that had been in progress finally happened. Andrea had been suffering for years from post-pardum depression and schizophrenia. She had been on medication for her illnesses and seeing a therapist, until recently when she just stopped helping herself all together. Her family attended church regularly and she, as a woman, was drilled with her being a bad mother. She heard it from her husband and her preacher, and the voice of the devil she heard in her head. She was told that since she was a bad mother her children would be eternally damned, and who wants that to be the fate of her children. So the devil agreed to help her solve her problem. If she killed her children- she was guaranteeing there way in to heaven instead of eternal damnation. So she planned for months the murder of her 5 children ranging from ages 6 months- 7 years. Finally the day came for her to execute her plan. SO she filled the bathtub full of water and drowned each one starting with the 2, 3, and 5 year olds followed by the baby and then her oldest son who actually managed to get free and run- where she chased him down and listened heartlessly to him crying and telling her he was sorry! She then called her husband and the police. She knew what she was doing was wrong, knew she was going to get punished, and was totally alright with what she'd done.
The following site leads to a full case run-down of the Andrea Yates trial: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/5.html
This is an interesting story. The main thing that gets me is why wasn't she in some type of psych ward for the rest of her life? She obviously had issues, and it should be the husbands responsibility to get her the help she needed. She was obviously a threat to herself, as she tried to commit suicide twice, so why didn't he commit her somewhere? I think if these actions would have been taken, this whole thing may have been prevented.
As far as the trial, I don't think prison is a proper place for her. She needs to be taken to a psych ward where she can be watched. Prison I think will only make her more crazy. This is where the insanity plea would actually work, I think. I'm not much for the insanity plea, but this woman seems seriously disturbed, and I think she needs some major help. Prison isn't going to do anything, she'll probably try to either commit suicide again, or try to hurt or even kill some of the other inmates. She needs to be somewhere where someone will watch her around the clock, not prison.
I remember this case and what disturbed me more than the mother murdering her children is that she did not get sentenced to death. I am sorry but I will have to disagree with you on the fact that it was her husband’s job to get her help. If anything was the husband’s job it would have been to get his kids away from her care after her first showing signs of instability. I do think that there are people out there who are mentally disturbed like this lady, but I do not think that should give them a free pass from prison to the asylum. I think that the insanity plea is an easy way out. I do think that if someone can be helped then they should be placed in an asylum after then have done the time for whatever crime they committed. I do not think that someone who cannot be helped are did something to the extent of murder should be granted that same "pleasure". As stated she had been planning to do this for months. Right there shows that she has some type of mental process. A person who can plan a murder, especially a murder of all five of her children, have a sense of what they are doing and should realize it is wrong. I believe that the insanity plea would be more plausible if this was something she did in the heat of the moment, but she did not. She planned it out and that process shows that she is mentally capable of knowing right from wrong.
While reading this article, it seems that her husband was helping her in every way but the right way. He took her to the hospital and tried to help her by taking her away from home when she wanted to, but both him and the doctors should have put her into some kind of psych ward. They all knew she was not taking any of the medication that they gave her, and even if she did take the medication, she was still thinking about killing her children. She was not afraid of telling everyone about the voices she was hearing and how she felt upset and depressed all the time. I agree with the previous comment about getting the children away from their mother. Both the husband and the workers should have known that they were not safe with their mother, because she had so many psychological problems. She could barely take care of herself, so how would she be able to take care of five children?
I heard this story when it was popular in the news, and it still shocks me just as much as it did then. At first you get so upset with the mom, thinking how in her right mind could she do this to her children? Then you read further into the story and almost feel sympathetic for her. She thought she was doing her children justice by killing them because she feared she would corrupt them, how sad is that? Something was seriously wrong with her, and her pastor and husband should of further looked into it instead of doing the things they did. Mental illness can (clearly) make someone do crazy things that they would otherwise never do. Andrea should have been watching a lot more closely than she was to make sure that she was still taking her medication. If I was the husband, I would want what was best for my wife and children. This leads me to think that her husband wasn't doing enough to ensure the safety of his family. If my spouse took themselves off of their medication, I wouldn't allow them to be around my children. Someone who suffers from the same mental illnesses that Andrea did should be watched closely in her every move. I know that was Andrea did was horrible, but this whole situation could of been avoided if she took care of herself properly. However, someone who is mentally unstable doesn't know how to take care of themselves, so her husband/family/friends should of helped her take care of her illness.
I have seen a couple different documentary type shows discussing Andrea Yates and the murder of her five children. Although this story is unpleasant and very sad to hear about, it is also a captivating story to figure out what was going through this Mothers head. There are a few different ways to interpret Andrea’s behavior, She was either actually demon possessed as she said, had some serious mental health issues that were taking over, or she is just an evil person.
If you were to believe that first option that she was demon possessed, you would need a religious background and believe in the forces of evil in Satan. Many times in the Bible it discusses instances where individuals were possessed with evil spirits. The second option could be plausible especially looking at the history of her mental health, and recent events in her life such as her Dad passing away. She could have been mentally unstable and delusional at this time and mistaken it for Satan living in her. The third belief is disheartening, but sometimes perfectly normal people simply do evil things.
Whichever way you interpret Andrea’s behavior it is still a tragic incident for the five children and Andrea and her husband. Now Andrea is locked away in a psychiatric facility, which is for the best. She will be able to receive the mental health care that she needs, and will not be able to cause any harm to anyone else. Unfortunately there is not a happy ending to this story, but may her kids rest in peace.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evil-deeds/200805/sympathy-the-devil