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CNN Saturday Morning News

Houston Holds Vigil for Slain Children

Aired June 23, 2001 - 07:03   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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now on to Houston, Texas, where there was a candlelight vigil last night for the five children of Andrea and John Yates. Andrea, their mother, is jailed on charges of drowning her children. Relatives say she was taking medication for postpartum depression.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russell Yates has spent the last two days desperately waiting for a chance to see his wife, the 36-year-old woman accused of murdering their five children. Friday Mr. Yates got his chance to see Andrea face to face.

RUSSELL YATES, FATHER OF FIVE SLAIN CHILDREN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) she's really hurting. She's really hurting.

LAVANDERA: Andrea Yates's mother and two brothers were also in the room. Her attorney says it was a personal moment under the most extreme circumstances.

GEORGE PARDHAM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The family, standing behind me, is very supportive of Andrea.

LAVANDERA: Earlier Friday, Andrea Yates was escorted into a Houston courtroom wearing a bright orange jail uniform for a hearing that lasted just three minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mrs. Yates, you understand what it is you're charged with, ma'am?

LAVANDERA: The charge is capital murder, which means if she's convicted, she could spend life in prison or face the death penalty. Prosecutors have not said whether they'll pursue the death penalty at trial.

One factor that could come into play is whether the father of the five dead children asks prosecutors to spare his wife's life. But some criminal defense attorneys say it could become a political issue when it comes time to make that decision.

RANDY SCHAFFER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The wild card that plays into all this is, you have five dead kids. And you have a prosecutor's office who could legitimately make the argument, if we don't seek the death penalty for someone who has killed five people, how can we rationally seek it for someone who's killed only one?

LAVANDERA: Meanwhile, prosecutors have now taken the lead in the criminal investigation.

KAYLYNN WILLIFORD, HARRIS COUNTY PROSECUTOR: The homicide officers have been investigating the case, and we're in the process of receiving information from them so we can go through all the evidence and determine exactly what we have.

LAVANDERA (on camera): Andrea Yates's attorney says she's doing as well as can be expected, but she is under the constant watch of medical personnel in a downtown Houston detention facility, where she sits in jail.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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