Murder In America
EP. 185: TEXAS - Andrea Yates: The Mother Who Drowned Her 5 Children In A Bathtub (PT. 2)
Fri, 17 Jan 2025
In today's episode, we examine the disturbing crimes of Andrea Yates, one of the most infamous mothers in American history. In 2001, a brutal crime rocked a suburb of Houston, Texas. A mother had snapped and drowned 5 of her children in the bathtub of her home. But her backstory and the lead up to the crime runs deeper than one could ever have possibly imagined. - Listen to our new show, "THE CONSPIRACY FILES"!: -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5IY9nWD2MYDzlSYP48nRPl -Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/id1752719844 -Amazon/Audible - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ab1ade99-740c-46ae-8028-b2cf41eabf58/the-conspiracy-files -Pandora - https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-conspiracy-files/PC:1001089101 -iHeart - https://iheart.com/podcast/186907423/ -PocketCast - https://pca.st/dpdyrcca -CastBox - https://castbox.fm/channel/id6193084?country=us - Stay Connected: Join the Murder in America fam in our free Facebook Community for a behind-the-scenes look, more insights and current events in the true crime world: https://www.facebook.com/groups/4365229996855701 If you want even more Murder in America bonus content, including ad-free episodes, come join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/murderinamerica Instagram: http://instagram.com/murderinamerica/ Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/people/Murder-in-America-Podcast/100086268848682/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MurderInAmerica TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theparanormalfiles and https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneybrowen Feeling spooky? Follow Colin as he travels state to state (and even country to country!) investigating claims of extreme paranormal activity and visiting famous haunted locations on The Paranormal Files Official Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheParanormalFilesOfficialChannel - (c) BLOOD IN THE SINK PRODUCTIONS 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What warning signs indicated Andrea Yates' struggles?
But sadly, with the birth of each of her children, her postpartum depression was getting worse and worse. Over the years, her doctors had recommended that she stop having children altogether, but in her and Rusty's mind, this was God's will for them. So by 2001, they had five kids together, Mary, John, Luke, Paul, and Noah.
But in the summer of 2001, unbeknownst to everyone, Andrea Yates was on the verge of a mental breakdown. one so severe it would shock the nation. The warning signs had all been there, but no one knew what she was truly capable of. And soon enough, she would finally listen to those voices in her head, voices telling her to drown all five of her young children.
So this is part two of the Andrea Yates story. I'm Courtney Browen.
Chapter 2: What events led up to the tragic incident on June 20, 2001?
And I'm Colin Browen.
And you're listening to Murder in America.
In part one of this story, we left off with Andrea getting discharged from the psych ward once again. Over the past couple of years, she had been admitted on numerous occasions after multiple suicide attempts and severe hallucinations where she was hearing voices telling her to harm people. But like all the times before, Andrea would eventually get better.
She'd be discharged from the hospital and promised to take her medication, but she never followed through on those promises. Andrea didn't like the way this medication made her feel, so she would just stop taking it. And it would only be a matter of time until she started having psychotic symptoms once again. Now, in the spring of 2001, Andrea's father would die from a long battle of Alzheimer's.
In addition to that, she had also just given birth to her only daughter, Mary. So on top of losing her father, she was also experiencing another horrific bout of postpartum depression.
After getting released from the psych ward this time, her doctors told both Andrea and Rusty that she was not to be left alone with her children. At the end of the day, they feared what she might do if left unsupervised. So when Rusty left for work, he would have his mother Dora come stay with her and the kids. But it's around this time when Andrea started displaying some concerning behavior.
While her mother-in-law was staying with them, Andrea would walk over to the bathtub in their house and fill it up with water. When they asked her why she filled it up, she couldn't give them an answer. She simply said, quote, just in case I need it. It's also around this time when Andrea began to withdraw. She stopped eating, drinking, sleeping, and talking altogether.
So once again, Rusty knew it was time to take her back to the hospital.
On May 14th, 2001, Rusty took Andrea back to Dr. Saeed's office because she had once again slipped into a catatonic state. Rusty told the doctor that the antipsychotic medication, Risperdal, wasn't working, and he suggested that she be put back on Haldol. which had worked on Andrea in the past. He also told the doctor about how Andrea randomly filled up the bathtub several times that week.
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Chapter 3: How did Andrea Yates justify her actions?
On March 12th, 2002, exactly one year after the death of her father, Andrea Yates was found guilty of capital murder. When her verdict was read, Andrea started weeping. So did many of her friends and family members. Of course... They were horrified by what Andrea had done, but they all knew that she wasn't in her right state of mind. They all believed that she too was a victim.
Now, a few days later on March 15th, Andrea was said to be sentenced, but there was actually a huge update. Remember that Law & Order episode they talked about at her trial? Well, afterwards, Andrea's defense attorneys actually reached out to Law & Order's creator, Dick Wolf, to ask him about this episode. And as it turns out, no such episode existed. Dr. Dietz had provided false evidence.
Now, because of this, Andrea's attorneys tried to declare a mistrial, but Judge Belinda Hill denied the motion. And on March 15th, Andrea's sentencing phase began. She was facing two possible outcomes, life in prison or death penalty by lethal injection. Ultimately, after only 35 minutes of deliberation, the jury decided to spare her life.
Chapter 4: What was the community's reaction to the murders?
Chapter 5: How did Rusty Yates respond after the tragedy?
Chapter 6: What happened during Andrea Yates' interrogation?
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While the Yates children were being buried, their mother Andrea was still in the psychiatric jail cell undergoing evaluations. Throughout that week, she continued hearing Satan's voice inside the cinderblock walls of the jail. She also told Dr. Ferguson that there were objects in the light fixtures. She then leaned forward in her chair and loudly stated, It is the seventh deadly sin.
My children weren't righteous. They stumbled because I was evil. The way I was raising them, they could never be saved. They were going to perish. I was so stupid. Couldn't I have killed just one to fulfill the prophecy?
andrea then asked if her children were in heaven before saying that she wanted a razor to shave her head she told dr ferguson that she was satan and wanted to see if the mark of the beast 666 was still on the top of her head her defense psychiatrist dr lucy puryear would later say she was the sickest person i've ever seen in my life she was not bathed she was dressed in this orange jail outfit her shirt was falling off of her she didn't have a bra on her hair was hanging in her face and she was shaking
Her defense attorney would say, She had eyes when she looked at you. Had no pupils. They were like shark eyes. She can answer questions about what happened, but any sort of question about why or what's going on or what are you doing, it just sort of sent her into an immediate never-never land. But in Andrea's mind, she wasn't mentally ill.
She denied being sick at all, claiming that everything she experienced was actually happening. She told her doctors that she was Satan and even said, The state will impose the death penalty on Satan.
But as the news spread about her crime, the public seemed to have been divided. Some people, mostly men, believed she was pure evil. They didn't buy the fact that Andrea was actually insane. They thought it was all just an act to avoid responsibility. But a lot of people out there felt sorry for her, especially people who had dealt with postpartum depression or psychosis.
When people are in that state, They aren't themselves. Women all over the world who are great mothers have said that during postpartum psychosis, they too have had thoughts about harming their children. Most will get help before they ever act on these thoughts, but it does happen. And I do think that back then there was more of a stigma surrounding mental health.
People didn't understand it the way they do today. And after the murders hit the media, everyone wanted to point the blame somewhere. Some blamed Andrea. Media outlets demonized her, saying she was pure evil. Other people blamed Devereaux, the hospital who treated her. And some people even blamed her husband, Rusty.
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Chapter 7: What was the aftermath of the Yates case?
The links are in the description of this show, and you can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And now let's get back to our story. From there, Andrea was transferred from the county jail to Skyview, a prison psychiatric hospital in Rusk, Texas. In the beginning, she still showed signs of mental illness. But as the time went on, she got better.
Eventually, two years would pass. And after all that time of finally being consistent with her medication, Andrea showed signs of improvement. Now, on July 30th, 2004, Rusty Yates filed for divorce from Andrea. which obviously wasn't easy for her, but she had accepted her fate.
She even started attending Bible studies with other women prisoners, and slowly her responsibilities at the prison increased. She started mopping the floors, tending the flower beds outside, and doing laundry. All these tasks gave Andrea comfort. But throughout the years, her defense attorneys worked hard to clear her name.
Of course, they knew Andrea murdered her children, but she wasn't some evil woman who was motivated to kill after watching a Law & Order episode, like Dr. Dietz had claimed. Andrea had been truly insane, and her defense worked hard with their appeals, which would finally pay off on January 6, 2005.
That day, the Texas First Court of Appeals reversed Andrea's capital murder conviction, and she was granted a second trial.
Andrea Yates would again plead not guilty by reason of insanity. She was even granted a $200,000 bail under the condition that she be admitted to an inpatient mental health facility at Rusk State Hospital, which is what she would end up doing. Now as she awaited this trial, Rusty Yates would actually marry another woman named Laura Arnold.
at the Clear Lake Church of Christ, the very same church where his children's funeral was held. Laura was also an engineer at NASA and a member of Rusty's church. Together in 2008, the two would have a son. But throughout everything, Rusty still supported Andrea. Here is what he would say to the Associated Press.
I don't forget my children and I don't forget Andrea, but I don't dwell on it either. I try to remember my children fondly and just support Andrea, but it's not consuming my life. I'm building a new life. I'm busy at work and remarried and have a new family. I'm more focused on that now. In the first trial, they said Andrea did this to try to get out, whatever that means.
which sounded like she wasn't happy at home and was in a bad situation at home and wanted to get out. And this time they said she wanted to run off with me into the sunset. Which is it? The fact is they spent five years and still don't have a reason why she did it because they're unwilling to look at the fact that she was psychotic. That's the only reasonable explanation for her behavior.
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