The depth of the story of Andrea Yates, who is obviously mentally ill, and her children, who were horribly murdered by their mother, is truly chilling.
So how could a person come to this level of psychological disorder? What are the terrifying details of the blood-curdling story of Andrea and her children?
First of all, let’s take a look at what “postpartum depression” means, one of Andrea’s diagnoses.
In the postpartum period, temporary and self-limiting mental status changes may occur in the mother. This may begin in the first week after birth and continue for up to 2 years.
Some of the symptoms of postpartum depression are:
- Anxiety and panic attacks
- Uncontrollable crying spells
- confusion of thoughts
- Forgetfulness
- emotional instability
- Anger
- Despair
- Thoughts of death and suicide
- Decreased decision-making ability
- Hostility
- Sorrow
- intense despair
- loss of control
- fear of going crazy
- Finding life meaningless
- Excessive disinterest or excessive interest in the baby
- Do not harm the baby
Andrea Yates’ past is already slowly starting to prepare her for this kind of event.
Struggling with suicidal thoughts at the age of 17, Andrea had the eating disorder bulimia nervosa and depression, which can be defined as making herself vomit after eating, since her youth.
Andrea and his wife had 5 children in the first 7 months of their marriage, with the idea that “we will have as many children as nature allows”. Andrea’s mental health started to deteriorate after the birth of their 4th child and she tried to commit suicide again. After these attempts continued for a few more times, the woman was diagnosed with postpartum depression.
Andrea took a day off to see her children after a long hospital stay.
The mother, who struggled with schizophrenia and postpatum depression, was under the constant supervision of a doctor in the mental hospital. According to Andrea, who has symptoms of schizophrenia, she sees things like teddy bears, ducks, and soldiers walking on the walls.
On June 20, 2001, she wanted to see her children and was unfortunately released to go home. Everything was going to explode that day.
This is how the tragic event happened:
Andrea and his wife Russell, who live in their suburban home in Texas, had breakfast as a family in the morning, and NASA engineer Russell Johnson set off for his job at the Space Center.
Shortly after the father left the house, Andrea methodically drowned his children aged 7, 5, 3, 2 and his 6-month-old baby by filling the tub with water. After the horrific atrocity, she first called the police and reported herself, then called her husband and told him to come home immediately.
“I thought about killing my children for 2 years.”
When the police officer who arrived at the house asked Andrea what had happened, “I killed my children.” He got his answer and Andrea admitted that he had been planning to do this for 2 years.
Police found the body of the oldest child, 7 years old, floating in the bathtub. According to Andrea, she was the child who “had the least amount of trouble” at the time of the incident. The bodies of their other siblings were also lying on Andrea and Russell’s bed, wrapped in blankets.
“The devil was talking to us on TV as a cartoon character.”
Andrea Yates, a devout Christian, also said:
“My children were marked by the devil and the only way to save them was to kill them. So they could go to heaven and be with God. Thus, the devil would be destroyed. The devil often appeared to us as a cartoon character on TV and was talking to us.”
“I immersed Noah in the water until he stopped breathing. I don’t know how many minutes it took. “Sorry.” He said something like, I don’t know exactly what he said…”
The arrested Andrea did not receive a prison sentence.
Against the objections of the defense team, Andrea voluntarily confessed to all the crimes and begged for punishment. In 2002, the jury found Andrea sufficient to prosecute him and sentenced him to life in prison.
However, he was later found not guilty due to a diagnosis of psychological disorder and was admitted to a mental hospital in Texas. Andrea Yates, now 58 years old, still lives in a mental institution.
The Andrea Yates file caused significant debates in the scientific world. She even appeared in articles in many scientific journals.
Andrea Yates in popular culture:
It is said that the screenwriter of the TV series Desprate Housewives, which started airing in 2004, started to write the series after this incident.
It is also thought that the movie Dungeon Island, released in 2010, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was inspired by this event.
- Sources: The Lancet, People, Konuralp Medical Journal
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