Andrea Yates and Her Twisted Mind

Andrea Yates and her Twisted Mind

The name Andrea Yates brings about different reactions from different people. Some people are engulfed with feelings of rage and hatred while others are left to ponder thoughts of sadness and sympathy. Regardless of personal reflections, the crime is truly horrific. On June 20, 2001, Andrea Yates, a woman tangled in issues of depression, religious fanaticism and psychosis, murdered her five children by placing them one by one in the bathtub and drowning them. After she had finished she calmly called the police and then her husband asking him to come home stating “I did it” (Ramsland, 2008). This tragic story would deeply affect all those involved leaving them wondering why. The state of Texas would be forced to determine whether Andrea Yates was guilty of murder or not guilty by reason of insanity.

Life for Andrea Yates started like everyone else. She was born to loving parents on July 2, 1964 in Houston, Texas to her mother, Jutta Karin Koehler Kennedy and her father, Andrew Emmett Kennedy. Although Andrea was raised in a loving home, her family had a history of depression. Andrea was a good student; she attended Milby High School in Texas and represented her graduating class as their class valedictorian. In addition, she was the captain of her school’s swim team as well as an officer in the National Honor Society. After graduation from high school Andrea went on to complete a nursing program at the University of Houston. She furthered her education as she graduated in 1986 from the University of Texas School of Nursing. After graduation Andrea was employed from 1986 to 1994 as a nurse at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Montaldo, 2005).

Andrea did not date at all during high school; in fact she did not have her first date until she was twenty-three years old. It was shortly after that relationship ended that Andrea met Rusty Yates. Rusty and Andrea lived in the same apartment complex and the two shared devotional time. They eventually moved in together and after a short courtship they married on April 17, 1993. The couple revealed to the wedding guest that they planned on having as many children as God would allow (Montaldo, 2005). During their eight year marriage the Yates’ had five children; Noah on February 26, 1994, John on December 12, 1995, Paul on September 13, 1997, Luke on February 15, 1999 and lastly Mary on November 30, 2000. After the birth of her second child Andrea stopped her exercising and friends noticed that she seemed to be withdrawn. The family decision to home school fueled her isolation, as she seldom socialized or left the house (Montaldo, 2005).

Mrs. Yates did the unimaginable when she murdered her five young children. It was determined that she suffered from depression for many years before that tragic morning. Others felt that her religious beliefs guided her decisions and were