Andrea Yates: An Inconceivable Tragedy

As far as cases of Postpartum Psychosis go, the Andrea Yates case will always be seen as the most high-profile, and arguably tragic, case.

The case involved several lives being lost or ruined forever. While Yates remains alive, she remains in a mental hospital, over two decades following the case.

This case underlines the harm of Postpartum Psychosis – the rare mental health condition that can develop following the birth of a child.

Background

The case involved Postpartum Psychosis. This is a debilitating type of Psychosis, which is normally treated through a combination of talking therapy and medication.

The symptoms normally manifest suddenly within 2 weeks of the mother giving birth. In some cases, it can be within days, or even hours, of giving birth.

Symptoms include Hallucinations (where a person sees or hears something that doesn’t exist out of their mind) or Delusions (where a person has a belief that is inaccurate).

The person at the centre of the case was Andrea Yates (nee Kennedy), who was born in 1964 in Texas, United States. Andrea suffered from the Eating Disorder Bulimia Nervosa, and Depression, during her teenage years.

Despite this, Andrea was very successful academically-speaking. She was the class valedictorian, partook in sports, and eventually graduated from the University of Houston, which enabled her to become a nurse.

In 1989, she met her eventual husband, Russell Yates, who worked for NASA. The duo married in 1993.

Over the next few years, Andrea gave birth to five children. They were named, Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary – with Andrea and Russell being devout Christians – hence the names.

Deterioration in Andrea’s Mental health

While Andrea and Russell managed the birth of their first three children without a problem, when their fourth child – Luke – arrived, things changed.

In 16th June 1999, Russell found Andrea visibly shaking and chewing her fingers. Just a day later, Andrea tried taking her own life via overdose.

She was found in time, and was eventually taken to hospital. She was prescribed antidepressants, but this did little to help her.

Andrea was released and asked for her husband Russell to let her die. She returned to hospital, and was given a cocktail of medications to try and improve her mental state.

Fortunately, these medicines made a positive difference. Andrea was released, and continued to take one of the medicines – the antipsychotic drug Haloperidol.

However, within a month, Andrea suffered a mental breakdown. She made two further suicide attempts, resulting in further hospitalizations. As a result, she was diagnosed with Postpartum Psychosis.

Andrea was released in early 2000. A hospital psychiatrist urged Andrea to not have a further child, as it would be highly likely that her symptoms would return.

However, Andrea became pregnant within two months of being released from hospital. She gave birth to her fifth child – Mary – in December 2000.

Following the birth, initially things seemed to be going well. However, the death of her father in March 2001 changed things in a very negative way.

Andrea stopped taking the antipsychotic, stopped feeding Mary and engaged in self-harm. She was once again hospitalized. Following treatment, she was released in April 2001.

However, in May 2001, Andrea filled the family’s bath in the middle of the day. The following day, she was once again hospitalized, with a visiting doctor believing that she had filled the bath to drown herself.

Murders of the Yates children

Andrea was released again, but remained under care by a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist prescribed her antidepressants, with Russell later claiming that the psychiatrist refused to prescribe Haloperidol.

The psychiatrist had recommended that Russell shouldn’t leave Andrea alone with the children at any point.

However, on 20th June 2001, Russell left for work, which resulted in Andrea being left alone with the children. Russell had been leaving Andrea alone for a few weeks for short periods of time.

Andrea was only meant to be alone with them for an hour, with Russell’s mother due to look after the children later in the morning.

But a horrific event would occur before Russell’s mother arrived. Andrea murdered all five of her children – aged 6 months to 7 years old – by drowning them in the family’s bathtub.

Andrea first drowned Paul, Luke and John, before laying them to rest in her bed. She next drowned Mary. Finally, she drowned Noah. She put Mary in John’s arms in the bed.

Andrea called the Police to tell them she needed an officer, albeit refusing to say why. Following this, she called Russell – telling him to come back to the house.

The grisly discovery was made, leading to Andrea being arrested on suspicion of murder. Sadly, all five children were pronounced dead at the scene.

Legal proceedings

Over the next several years, Andrea was involved in legal cases. In the first trial, the prosecution were seeking the death penalty.

The defence used the not guilty by reason of insanity defence for Andrea – suggesting she was psychotic and not in control of her actions. She admitted to drowning the children.

In an interview with a psychiatrist, Andrea said that Satan had told her she was a bad mother and that she needed to kill her children to stop them from going to hell. She was believed to be suffering from hallucinations and delusions.

Under the law of Texas, for the insanity defence to be used successfully, the defence needed to prove that the accused was unable to discern between right and wrong at the time of the crime.

The trial ended in 2002, with Andrea being found guilty, and with the jury rejecting the insanity defence. They rejected using the death penalty as her sentence.

Instead, Yates was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the chance of parole after 40 years. Yates was sent to prison.

However, in 2005, the conviction was overturned by the Texas Court of Appeals. This was due to the finding that a prosecution witness had given false testimony during the trial – which the court believed could have swayed the jury.

A second trial was ordered, which started on 9th January 2006. Andrea entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. She was granted bail on 1st February 2006, albeit under the order that she was admitted to a mental hospital.

The second trial took place, which reached a decision on 26th July 2006. The jury decided that Andrea was not guilty by reason of insanity. She was moved to Texas State Hospital following the trial.

Aftermath

The case made national headlines and brought wider awareness to Postpartum Psychosis. It also led to debate on whether in such cases the person should be punished, or if they are a victim.

Further high-profile Postpartum Psychosis cases have followed since this case. Most cases have resulted in the insanity defence being used. Permanent hospitalisations have often been outcomes.

In 2007, Andrea was moved to Kerrville State Hospital in Texas, where she remains to this day. She has consistently declines annual reviews for a potential release from the psychiatric hospital.

Andrea’s attorney George Parnham says that Andrea is “happy” in the hospital, but that she grieves for her children every day.

Andrea’s husband Russell initially stood by his wife, but filed for divorce in 2004, which was granted in early 2005. Russell had a further child with a woman named Laura Arnold – who he married in 2006. However, they later divorced.

The decision to prescribe Andrea antidepressants rather than the antipsychotic Haloperidol – has been criticised. Andrea was reportedly prescribed 450mg per day of the antidepressant Venlafaxine, despite the maximum daily dose being 300mg per day.

Summary

This entire case is a true tragedy, with so many lives being lost or ruined. The case did at least bring more attention onto the importance of identifying and treating Postpartum Psychosis.

Almost three decades later, there is further awareness of the condition, but more work is needed. You can find out more about the condition on our dedicated Postpartum Psychosis article here.

The main focus in this case should always be to remember the loss of five innocent children. May Noah Yates, John Yates, Paul Yates, Luke Yates, and Mary Yates rest in peace.

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