True Crime Collection

Andrea Yates

Andrea was born in Hallsville, Texas, she was the youngest of the 5 children of Jutta Karin Koehler, a German immigrant, and Andrew Emmett Kennedy, whose parents were Irish immigrants. She suffered from bulimia during her teenage years. She also suffered from depression, and at 17 she spoke to a friend about suicide.
She graduated from Milby High School in 1982. She was the class valedictorian, captain of the swim team, and an officer in the National Honour Society. Andrea completed a 2 year pre-nursing program at the University of Houston and graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Centre at Houston. From 1986 until 1994 she worked as a registered nurse at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre. In Summer 1989 she met Russell "Rusty" Yates at the Sunscape Apartments in Houston. They soon moved in together and were married on 17th April, 1993.

They announced that they "would seek to have as many babies as nature allowed", and bought a 4 bedroom house in Friendswood, Texas. Their first child, Noah, was born in February 1994, just before Russell accepted a job offer in Florida, so they relocated to a small trailer in Seminole. By the time of the birth of their third child, Paul, they moved back to Houston and purchased a GMC motor home.

Following the birth of her fourth child, Luke, Andrea became depressed. On 16th June, 1999, Russell found her shaking and chewing her fingers. The next day, she attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on pills. She was admitted to the hospital and prescribed antidepressants. Soon after her release, she begged Russell to let her die as she held a knife up to her neck. Once again hospitalised, she was given a cocktail of medications including Haldol, an anti-psychotic drug. Her condition improved immediately and she was prescribed it on her release. After that, Russell moved the family into a small house for the sake of her health. She appeared temporarily stabilised.

In July 1999, Andrea suffered a nervous breakdown, which culminated in 2 Suicide attempts and 2 psychiatric hospitalisations that summer. She was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis.

Andrea's first psychiatrist, Dr. Eileen Starbranch, testified that she urged her and Russell not to have anymore children, as it would "guarantee future psychotic depression". They conceived their fifth and final child approximately 7 weeks after her discharge. She stopped taking Haldol in March 2000 and gave birth to her daughter, Mary, on 30th November, 2000. She seemed to be coping well until the death of her father on 12th March 2001.

Andrea stopped taking medication, mutilated herself, and read the bible feverishly. She stopped feeding Mary. She became so incapacitated that she required immediate hospitalisation. On 1st April, 2001, she came under the care of Dr. Mohammed Saeed. She was treated and released. On 3rd May, 2001, she degenerated back into a "near catatonic" state and filled the bathtub in the middle of the day; she would later confess to police that she had planned to drown the children that day, but had decided against doing it then. She was hospitalised the next day after a scheduled doctor visit; her psychiatrist determined she was probably suicidal and had filled the tub to drown herself.

At the time of the murders, the Yates family was living in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake City. She continued under Dr. Saeed's care until 20th June, 2001, when Russell left for work, leaving her alone to watch the children against Dr. Saeed's instructions to supervise her around the clock. His mother, Dora Yates, had been scheduled by him to arrive an hour later to take over for her. In the space of that hour, she drowned all 5 children.

She started with John, Paul, and Luke, and then laid them in her bed. She then drowned Mary, whom she left floating in the tub. Noah came in and asked what was wrong with Mary. He then ran, but she soon caught and drowned him. She left him floating in the tub and laid Mary in John's arms in the bed. She then called police repeatedly saying she needed an officer but would not say why. Then she called Russell, telling him to come home right away.