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CNN Live At Daybreak
Five Children Killed: Andrea Yates Charged With Capital Murder
Aired June 21, 2001 - 07:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: First, why? That is what police and those who know Andrea Yates want to know. The 36-year-old Houston mother is charged with capital murder in the deaths of her five children.
And CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Houston. He joins us now with the very latest.
Good morning, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Colleen.
The home of the Yates family is empty this morning. Now Houston prosecutors are starting to build their case against the 36-year-old mother who is accused of killing her five children almost 24 hours ago. That process started early this morning. Thirty-six-year-old Andrea Yates appeared briefly before a judge at 1:30 in the morning Central time. She is in jail this morning and being held without bail.
This has been a disturbing case, to say the least, especially for the police officers who first arrived at the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): In a tranquil suburban neighborhood south of Houston, police started the day responding to a 911 phone call from a woman asking for help.
JOHN CANNON, HOUSTON POLICE: A responding patrol officer came to the door and the woman, who was still breathing rather heavily at that time, said that, "I just killed my children."
LAVANDERA: When the officer walked into the house, he found a 6- month-old girl and three boys between the ages of 2 and 5 dead in a bedroom. A second officer found a 7-year-old boy dead in the bathtub. Police say their 36-year-old mother, Andrea Yates, drowned all five children.
CANNON: You could tell that she was in some type of a panic after she said that she had killed her kids. And our responding officer who went in the house himself has children. And he was just basically in shock at that point.
LAVANDERA: Wednesday night, Houston Police filed formal charges against Yates. She could now face the death penalty if convicted.
ROBERT HURST, HOUSTON POLICE SPOKESMAN: Multiple charges of capital murder had been filed on Andrea Pia Yates, 36 years of age, in connection with the deaths of her five children.
LAVANDERA: The news stunned neighborhood friends, who had just enjoyed a weekend party with three of the Yates' children. But one family friend quickly found out there were problems when she asked Andrea Yates' husband why the rest of the family didn't make it to the party.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He asked her -- asked him, "How come she didn't come?" And she had said that she stayed back with one of the kids and the baby because she was going through a depression from having babies. That's what he said.
LAVANDERA: There are reports that the first signs of postpartum depression emerged in 1999 when Andrea Yates attempted to commit suicide.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: We've also learned that Andrea Yates had been undergoing depression treatment for the last two years. As for her husband, Russell Yates, he is a NASA engineer and left -- was last seen leaving the family home you see behind me late yesterday afternoon. Mr. Yates is an engineer at NASA at the Johnson Space Center, which is just a short distance from this house. And that's where he learned of the murders of his children.
One other note: Andrea Yates will appear in court Friday at an arraignment hearing. And at that time, we're expected to hear from her as to whether or not she will plead innocent or guilty. If convicted, of course, in Texas, capital murder charges carry with it the possibility of the death penalty.
I'm Ed Lavandera, reporting live in Houston -- Colleen, back to you.
MCEDWARDS: Ed, is it clear whether the police have spoken to her husband yet or whether they've learned anything from him?
LAVANDERA: Well, actually when -- right before Andrea Yates called police, she reportedly called her husband at work and told him to get home immediately. By the time he arrived here, police were already at the scene and they did not let him into the house. But Mr. Yates had been talking to police all afternoon. Apparently that is when police first learned of the issue of postpartum depression with his wife.
MCEDWARDS: OK, CNN's Ed Lavandera, thanks very much.
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