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CNN Live At Daybreak

Opening Statements Given in Andrea Yates Murder Trial

Aired February 19, 2002 - 05:05   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about Andrea Yates. You know, she's the Houston mother accused of drowning her five children.

Rollie Valverde reports on the opening of the Andrea Yates murder trial.

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ROLLIE VALVERDE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andrea Yates sat emotionless in a packed Houston courtroom as the prosecution's opening arguments described the chilling details of June 21, 2001.

JOSEPH OWMBY: She called Noah into the bathroom and put him in the water with Mary and drowned him, then carried Mary and put her on the bed with the other three children that she had already drowned.

VALVERDE: In the span of less than one hour, Yates had methodically drowned her five children. Prosecutors hope to prove that Andrea Yates, though she might have been depressed, knew full well what she was doing that day.

OWMBY: She told him that she wasn't mad at the children, that she killed them because they weren't developing correctly and she was a bad mother.

VALVERDE: The defense team will focus on Yates' mental state, claiming that she is not guilty by reason of insanity. In their opening argument, the defense said that since the birth of her fourth child, Yates' mental stability had deteriorated rapidly. She was in and out of mental health treatment centers, heavily medicated for depression and had attempted suicide twice. They plan to call up to the stand a large number of experts, including Dr. Ringholz of the Baylor College of Medicine.

GEORGE PARNHAM: He will tell this jury that, among other things, that in his opinion she not only did not know on June the 20th what she was doing was wrong, but believed it was right, it was the right thing to do.

VALVERDE (on camera): The case is expected to last about two to three weeks. Now for Andrea Yates three are three possible outcomes here. She could get life in prison, she could get death by lethal injection, and, if she's found not guilty by reason of insanity, she will be institutionalized. In Houston, I'm Rollie Valverde.

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