George Parnum

Even with a long and documented history of mental illness, including suicide attempts, she was charged and convicted of capital murder. But the verdict was later overturned, and in a subsequent trial, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She testified she believed her children's deaths would save their souls.

Andrea Yates was committed to a Texas mental hospital where she remains today, now 52 years old. You talk to Andrea on a weekly basis?

How is she doing?

George Parnum was and still is Andrea's attorney.

Parnum says she spends her days making crafts, which are sold anonymously to benefit charity. And according to People Magazine, she also spends time watching videos of her children.

For the most part, it's a life of solitude. She never leaves the hospital and has few visitors. And while the case comes up for review yearly, Andrea has never sought to be released. Rusty Yates divorced Andrea three years after the incident. He later remarried and had another child, a son who's now eight. According to recent court documents, his second wife filed for divorce last year.

In a 2015 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he spoke about his grieving and where his acceptance is now.

Five beautiful lives lost, 15 years later, a tragedy that still resonates. For today, Janet Shamley on NBC News, Houston.