Andrea Yates, a 37-year-old Texas mother of five, made national headlines when she admitted to drowning her children in June 2001. She was initially convicted of capital murder, but found not guilty by reason of insanity at a retrial five years later.
A new three-part documentary series explores what drove Yates to commit the horrifying act—and whether a mysterious preacher played a significant role.
All three episodes of The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story debut Tuesday, January 6, at 8 p.m. ET on Investigation Discovery and will stream on HBO Max. The docuseries includes new interviews with people connected to the case and details of Yates’ life today. As the title indicates, the project also explores a religious influence that may have clouded her judgment of right and wrong.
Here’s everything you need to know about Yates and her tumultuous case.
Who Is Andrea Yates, and What Was She Charged With?
Yates—born Andrea Kennedy on July 3, 1964—graduated with a degree from the University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston and formerly worked at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, according to Oprah.com. She married Russell “Rusty” Yates, a NASA engineer, in 1993, and the couple had five children: sons Noah, John, Luke, and Paul; and daughter Mary, all between the ages of 7 years and 6 months.
While their family appeared fine from the outside, Yates experienced severe postpartum depression and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Following the birth of Luke in 1999, she was hospitalized after a suicide attempt, according to Time. After the death of her father in March 2001, she began to act “withdrawn” and “robotic” and didn’t respond well to treatments.
This culminated in a deadly incident on June 20, 2001, when Yates drowned all of her children in a bathtub at the family’s home in Clear Lake, Texas. A police officer who responded to Yates’ 911 call testified that she answered the door breathing heavily and with soaked hair and clothing. “I killed my kids,” she told him, before repeating her confession. While the body of eldest child Noah was discovered in the tub, Yates had laid out the others under a sheet in her master bedroom.
Yates was taken into custody, and a grand jury indicted her of capital murder for the deaths of Noah, John, and Mary.
Who May Have Inspired Yates to Kill Her Kids?
Yates reportedly claimed to jail doctors the devil had possessed her and she wanted to shave her head to see the sign of Satan—the number “666”—on her scalp, according to ABC News.
Suzy Spencer, an author and journalist who investigated the case, found that Yates was heavily influenced by a conservative minister named Michael Woroniecki and his wife, Rachel Woroniecki. Spencer told Good Morning America the couple bombarded Yates with talk of the devil’s influence in their personal correspondence.
Yates later suggested she killed her children in an attempt to protect their innocence, preventing them from being sent to hell in the afterlife.
Two former followers of Michael Woroniecki speak in The Cult Behind the Killer and give details of his disturbing practices—alleging he sent cassette tape lectures in an attempt to indoctrinate his followers, made VHS recordings of himself pretending to be Satan, and shared pamphlets depicting people suffering in hell, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Michael Woroniecki has consistently denied any fault in the Yates drownings and downplayed his connection to the Yates family. He declined to participate in the docuseries.
“In our opinion, Woroniecki distorted the core teachings of Christianity to serve his own ends,” co-director Julian B. Hobbs told the Chronicle via email. “The film is not an attack on faith, but rather an examination of Woroniecki’s homegrown brand of apocalyptic teachings. Andrea Yates’ mental illness may have made her more susceptible to such teachings.”
Why Was Yates’ Conviction Overturned?
Yates pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at her 2002 trial and didn’t take the stand to testify. Instead, defense attorneys relied on testimony from psychiatrists to illustrate her history of mental illness.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, countered Yates could only be found not guilty under Texas law if her insanity prevented her from knowing the difference between right and wrong. Ultimately, the jury deliberated less than four hours and found Yates guilty of capital murder. She was sentenced to life in prison with an opportunity for parole after 40 years.
“None of us wanted her to be found guilty. All of us ... in fact most of us were offended that she was even prosecuted,” Rusty Yates said. “Obviously we’re, you know, it could be worse. I mean if she had been given the death penalty, but it wouldn’t have been that much worse.”
However, in January 2005, Yates had her conviction overturned in appeals court and became eligible for a new trial. The decision was made because a psychiatrist’s testimony during the original trial included details of an episode of the TV crime drama Law and Order, in which a woman with postpartum depression drowned her children and was found innocent. The prosecution attempted to connect the fictional plot, which allegedly aired shortly before the killings, to the case, but the episode in question didn’t actually exist.
In July 2006, Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity at her second trial—with jurors determining her mental illness prevented her from knowing her crime was wrong.
Where Is Andrea Yates Now?
Following her retrial, Yates was remanded to Kerrville State Hospital in January 2007.
Yates, now 61, has the option to undergo a review each year to determine if she can leave the facility, according to People. However, she has repeatedly passed up the assessment in order to continue treatment and remains there today.
Defense attorney George Parnham keeps in regular contact with Yates and previously said she’s doing “remarkably well” during her treatment. She makes crafts, including aprons and cards, and sells them anonymously.
“There’s not a day that goes by where she doesn’t care for, talk about, is happy about her children’s lives before June 20—and grieves for her children,” Parnham told NBC News in 2016.
Rusty and Andrea finalized their divorce in 2005. He has forgiven his ex-wife for the drownings, speaks to her once a month, and even visited her at the hospital, according to the New York Post. Rusty will speak publicly for the first time in decades about his wife’s actions and condition in the docuseries, Investigation Discovery has confirmed.
How to Watch The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story on Investigation Discovery and HBO Max
All three episodes of The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story premiere Tuesday, January 6, at on Investigation Discovery at 8 p.m. ET and will also stream on HBO Max.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
