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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Five Children Who Were Drowned by Their Mother Remembered in Texas

Aired June 27, 2001 - 20:00   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.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight: A father's loss and a community's grief as five children are remembered in Texas. CNN's Ed Lavandera has a live report on the funeral. And we'll talk to the minister who led the service.

Andrea Yates stands accused of killing her children. We'll get insight on her and her husband from two people who know them.

The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, again. Does that mean more money in your pocket?

And a Chinese doctor tells of taking transplant organs from executed prisoners.

Good Evening. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting tonight from Washington.

The five Yates children were buried in Houston today. Mother Andrea Yates, accused of methodically drowning them in their home, did not attend. She's under suicide watch in prison. Their father, Russell Yates, delivered the eulogy and spoke lovingly of each one, Noah, John, Paul, Luke and Mary. Today they were laid to rest and that's our top story.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Houston and joins us with more on this sad day -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the natural order of life tells us children are supposed to bury their parents, not the other way around. Russell Yates's life didn't turn out that way. And perhaps that's one of the reasons that makes this story so touching for so many people.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Russell Yates arrived at his children's memorial service bearing an incomprehensible burden. A father forced to say good-bye to five children with the world watching.

Standing before five open caskets Mr. Yates spoke about each child: 7-year-old Noah was described as the independent first-born, 5- year-old John had the contagious family smile, 3-year-old Paul was the perfect child, 2-year-old Luke was fearless, earning him the nickname bulldozer. And about 6-month-old Mary, Yates said he was stunned that he'd finally been blessed with a girl.

Then after the tributes, Yates placed a baby blanket by each child. And as he closed the caskets, he told the children, "I love you, my friend. I'll miss you, my friend."

REV. BYRON FIKE, CLEAR LAKE CHURCH OF CHRIST: That was one of the most touching things I've ever seen in my life. As he held up these blankets that were very special to each one of his children and he placed them in the casket. And then he would speak some words to that particular child, something very personal to them, and said he said it very softly to where not many people could hear what he was saying.

LAVANDERA: The minister leading the services says only one in a million people could have delivered this eulogy. Byron Fike says Russell Yates was that one person.

FIKE: When he came to one of his children he leaned over and he simply said, "I will see you again." And I think it is that kind of hope that he has that there is going to be a resurrection, that he is going to see these children again, that is ultimately going to get him through this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Almost 500 people attended today's memorial service. Russell Yates only made brief mentions in passing of Andrea Yates. Her name was on the program that was handed out to family and visitors that came today, and she was also included in a collage of pictures that were dedicated to each of the children -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Ed, and I know you were inside that service in that church earlier today, but where do we go from here? What's next for everyone involved in the tragic story?

LAVANDERA: Well, now we move down the legal road. Andrea Yates is expected to appear in court again on July 24. That's the official formal arraignment in her case. Of course there's been a gag order that was put in place yesterday. So it will be much more difficult to get information as the case moves along.

BLITZER: Ed Lavandera in Houston. Thank you once again.

And as Ed just reported, the Reverend Byron Fike led the funeral for the Yates children. He says in this case, tragedy is an understatement. I spoke with Reverend Fike a short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Mr. Fike, thanks again for joining us. I want to get to the question at heart. How does one comfort a family during a horrible tragedy like this one?

FIKE: Well, it's hard to find a lot of comfort in a situation like this. I think that the answer is found in our hope, in Jesus Christ, and so I did a lot of listening to the family where they were hurting and my job was to point them to where true hope can be found.

BLITZER: You spent some time talking with Rusty Yates, the husband, the father, both before and after the service today. How is he coping?

FIKE: Well, this is going to be a very long difficult struggle that he's going to go through. He's completed perhaps the first step of it today. Getting through the funeral was a very important step to him. He had some things he wanted to communicate, some things that he wanted to do, and so he had a very resolute determination to get those things done and he did very well today with that. So, I think now he's ready to move on in to some other stages of grief.

BLITZER: How is he dealing, as far as you can, tell with his wife Andrea, who is now of course in prison, who did not attend the service today?

FIKE: Well, really we had not spoken much about his wife. He's been very focused on his children at this point and it was very important to him today in the service that the people that were there come to know his children a little bit.

And so he did some very personal things. So a lot of our conversations have been around the whole service today, and for that to communicate the things he wanted communicated.

BLITZER: Did he say anything today at the service that that surprised you?

FIKE: No. Really, we had spent considerable time working through exactly what we wanted to say as well as what we wanted to communicate. And we felt very, very pleased that -- I don't know how it could have possibly gone any better than the way it went today. And so, the one thing that was very touching as he shared something about each of his children, which was very touching, but at the end he wanted to give a testimony of some scriptures that had been meaningful to him.

And when he came to the very last one he choked with emotion. He had great difficulty getting it out. But it was so important to him to communicate the words of Job in the first chapter where he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the lord."

And that last part, "Bless'd be the name of the Lord," it was on his face, but he had trouble getting in out. But I knew it was in his heart and it was a very moving moment as he communicated his submission to the Lord at this time in his desire to hold the Lord's hand as he moves through this tragedy.

BLITZER: Minister Fike, I know that you have not been asked to minister Andrea Yates, but if you were, what would you say to her?

FIKE: Well, that would depend on how much I was able to communicate with her. I really have not talked much about her at all. But there's one thing I would very much like to be able to communicate with her if I had the opportunity. And that is the forgiveness that's available through the death of Jesus Christ.

BLITZER: Minister Fike thanks for joining us on this very, very sad day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Later in our program I'll speak with two people who know Andrea and Russell Yates and knew their children.

In other news tonight: The Federal Reserve cut short-term interest rates once again today. It's the sixth cut this year. The overnight bank lending rate is now 3.75 percent, the lowest it's been since April 1994. The initial reaction on Wall Street: Stock markets showed some fluctuation. The Dow and the S&P 500 dropped slightly, while the Nasdaq showed a slight jump. CNNFN's Tim O'Brien is joining me now to give us some more to give us some more insight into what this all means.

Specifically, Tim, what does it mean for the average consumer out there?

TIM O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Fed's greater concern was business, but the consumers do stand to benefit by this. Within an hour of the Fed's action, the nation's largest banks cut their prime lending rate also a quarter of a percent down to 6.75 percent. That's the lowest it's been since 1994. That's going to makes loans, auto loans, credit card balances, the interest on credit cards, home equity loans a little bit cheaper.

However, it's not automatic. If you want to take advantage of new rates and you have already a loan, you should check with your bank. You may have to make a new application, you may have to check with your credit card company.

BLITZER: And this drop in the interest rate, a quarter of a point today, what is it going to do as far as the economy is concerned? A lot of people want to know. Is this going to do the trick?

O'BRIEN: This quarter point certainly won't do the trick but remember, it followed five previous cuts of one-half of a percent. It also followed some rather encouraging economic news: New home sales were up, existing home sales were up, factory orders on durable goods were up. And consumer confidence is also at its highest level this year.

Why is that? Well, the Fed would like to take the credit for it, say it's the previous rate cuts now coming home to roost, now taking effect. So, they are going to have a quarter point cut here, they are going to sit back and watch. If it's not enough, their finger is not far from the trigger, they can order or announce a new rate cut. Incidentally, they may want to wait until the next meeting, but they don't have to.

Alan Greenspan can call up his fellow governors and have a conference call and a new rate cut could come like a bolt of lightning in the night.

BLITZER: Tim O'Brien, thank you for joining us.

The battle over a patients' bill of rights is heating up. The Republican leadership of the House met with President Bush at the White House today to plot strategy. CNN senior White House correspondent John King joins us now live. John, is there an evolving White House strategy?

JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There certainly is, Wolf, and it is based on the fact that more and more Republican amendments keep getting defeated in the now Democratic Senate. So this White House realizing that the bill that emerges from the Senate is unlikely to be one that President Bush feels comfortable signing. So more and more they're changing the emphasis to the House.

The president meeting today with leaders and sponsors of a new compromise proposal in the House that is to his liking and some other moderate Republicans who have supported a bill the president doesn't quite like. Mr. Bush's case to them is we Republicans in the House now must rally together to counter whatever comes out of the Senate.

Those Republican amendments in the Senate that are going down on the key issues for the president: Liability. Can you sue your employer if don't like a decision made by your HMO. If you sue your HMO should it be in state or federal court? How much can you sue for? The president thinks the bill before the Senate, sponsored by Senator Kennedy and Senator McCain and others, it has $5 million in punitive damages.

The president says that's too much. He wants the House to have a very different proposal so when this it goes to conference committee perhaps the White House will get it's way. Very reminiscent of the tax cut strategy, the president talking to conservatives but increasingly, also moderates in the House, asking them for help on this very difficult, very high stakes political issue.

BLITZER: John, switching gears, as you and I remember, the former President Bill Clinton was skewered for supposedly being the fund-raiser in chief for the Democratic Party. Tonight President Bush is attending a huge fund-raiser at the Washington Convention Center. They are expected to raise about 15 or some million dollars. Is there any concern at this White House that President Bush could be criticized for getting so deeply involved in political fund-raising?

KING: Certainly there is some concern and already there is a great deal of criticism from groups that condemn such fund-raising. Most of the money raised tonight, soft money, as was the case when the president raised more than $20 million at a Republican gala earlier this year. Those are the large unregulated contributions from the wealthy, from corporations.

Among the big sponsors on hand tonight, many with a stake in the HMO debate we were just talking about. Earlier this week the president intervened, blocking a planned strike by American Airlines flight attendants. Some criticized him for that saying hey, wait, you took money from that airline. It's Texas based, like you were the Texas Governor. So, criticism certainly comes with the territory.

Mr. Bush saying he will do all he can though to help the Republican party. And this White House draws one key distinction. They say there will be no coffees like President Clinton had here at the White House no Lincoln Bedroom sleepovers for big donors. They say they will do it in public, fund-raising. Yes, there's criticism soft money, the big decision will come down the road as the House now prepares to follow the Senate and act on campaign finance reform. The president is about to get involved in that debate as well -- Wolf.

BLITZER: John King at the White House, thank you very much.

So many of us have tried to understand what may have been going on inside the Yates family. Ahead, we'll talk to a neighbor and a local business owner about what they thought of Andrea Yates and the rest of her family.

And, 36 years ago, a case in Hawaii, with an eerie parallel to the Yates killings. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back. Since the death of the Yates children, there have been many questions about what problems Andrea Yates may have had. We're joined now by two people who know her. Fernando Guel is a neighbor of the Yates family in Houston and Terry Arnold owns a home schooling bookstore where Andrea Yates brought the children on many occasions.

Thanks to both of you for joining us. Fernando, first to you, looking back, were there any warning signs as far as you could tell what was going on?

FERNANDO GUEL, NEIGHBOR: Sir, in the profession that we are in being (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the church we see these signs, we see this problem. We've seen it through the last 20 years that we have worked with our church. And this, to myself and to my wife, because of our field, our profession, we knew that there was deep depression, we've dealt with it before. Yes, there was.

BLITZER: And what about Terry, did you sense that there were any problems in the Yates family?

TERRY ARNOLD, YATES ACQUAINTANCE: No, she was very pleasant and friendly and the children were well behaved and just a very admirable family.

BLITZER: When you look back on the relationship that she had with the children, when she used to bring the children in to your store, she did of course engage in home schooling. What was it like, give us a little flavor of the relationship that she appeared to have with them.

ARNOLD: Well, whenever she would come in she was always well dressed and the children were well-dressed and she was very pleasant and friendly and outgoing and the children were friendly and sweet with each other.

The littler ones were watched after often by the older ones. It was just a very pleasant picture. We used to call them our favorite customers. We looked forward to seeing them.

BLITZER: Fernando, tell us about Russell Yates. Many of us have been almost stunned by his incredible composure over these past few days having lost his five children. What is he like?

GRUEL: Sir, I lost a child three years ago, and it was hard for me those three days during the funeral. And today, when I was in the church and hearing him speak, I could not understand how -- the death of one is enough, but to see five -- I sat there today and I couldn't -- I couldn't -- it was so emotional to me. It was just difficult. I don't see how one person can hold together like that over five children. I'm speaking to you from my heart.

BLITZER: I'm sure you are. Terry, I don't know if you ever had a chance to meet Russell Yates, but presumably over these past few days I know you attended some of the service last night. What's your impression of this man?

ARNOLD: Well actually, I met Mr. Yates before I met Andrea. He came into the store, he'd herd about it and Andrea was telling him about it. And he came to see and he liked it and said she would be coming over in a few days with all the children. And wanted to know if we had a play area for them to be in, so he was very pleasant and very friendly. I did attend a memorial service last night.

BLITZER: Fernando, tell us about those five children. You got to know them over the years. What were they like?

GUEL: Just like my grandchildren, joyful and playful, just normal kids. Yes, they were.

BLITZER: Was there anything at all unusual in their behavior that you sensed that look being back now and some aspect of their lives that now seems a little different?

GUEL: You know we've gone through that question with my grandson because he (UNINTELLIGIBLE) over to the house and no, sir, I asked my grandson, did the kids ever say anything to you? No, they never called out to the community. No, sir.

BLITZER: Terry, I know you sell books to parents who engage in home schooling. Some of our viewers have written me saying the pressures on her all the time, those five kids in the house, all the time never going away to a school. It must have built up on her. Is there a home schooling aspect of this tragedy that you could sense may have contributed to it?

ARNOLD: I really don't see that, and I am a home schooler and I know lots of home schoolers and we do a lot of field trips and activities and group classes and a lot of times mothers with multiple children who are little, they will put some in mother's day out or they'll co-opt, share sitting with each other's children to have breaks, to do things together. So I really don't see that as an aspect. I really think it must be a mental health issue.

BLITZER: Terry Arnold and Fernando Guel, I want to thank both of you for joining us on this very difficult day. Thank you.

ARNOLD: Thanks.

BLITZER: A Hawaii man says what happen in Texas may hold a disturbing parallel to a 1965 case. Margaret Young drowned her five children in a bathtub, shortly after treatment for a nervous breakdown. News reports at the time said Young drowned her four daughters, then got her son out of school and drowned him too. The children ranged in age from 7 months to eight years. Ted Caracol was a friend of young's son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CARACOL: I flashback to this incident back in the '60s and all I could remember was, how could another thing like this happen the same way?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Young was charged with murder, but was committed to the state hospital. She committed suicide eight months later.

In Jacksonville, North Carolina, another chilling family tragedy. Last night, a man found his fiancee and her three daughters dead in their garage. Investigators say the car's engine was running and they died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The children ranged from 11 months to 10 years old.

Horror stories from China, we'll hear from a doctor who says he harvested organs from people who had no say in the matter. And the man who wrote this book says he lied about Anita Hill, his take on Hill and the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back.

Disturbing testimony today on Capitol Hill detailing the alleged practice by the Chinese government of removing organs from executed prisoners and then selling them. A Chinese doctor, now seeking political asylum in the U.S., testified he was even once forced to take the kidneys and the skin from a prisoner who wasn't even dead yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG GUOOI, FMR. CHINESE MILITARY DOC. (through translator): Prisoner had not yet died, but instead, lay convulsing in the ground. We were ordered to take him to the ambulance anywhere where urologist (UNINTELLIGIBLE) extracted his kidneys quickly and precisely. When they finished, the prisoner was still breathing and his heart continued to beat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: One Chinese human rights activist says Chinese government documents show Beijing is actively helping military hospitals make big profits selling human organs. China denies these allegations.

The man who launched a vigorous attack against Anita Hill now says he lied. Author David Brock wrote a stinging best selling 1993 book, challenging Hill's allegation of sexual harassment against then- Supreme-Court Nominee Clarence Thomas. Brock now says he got caught up in "the Republican sleaze machine."

Most of us have seen close calls on the road. Ahead on the "Leading Edge," can anything be done to make dangerous intersections safer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight on the "Leading Edge," identifying the danger lurking in the nation's roads. A new reports pinpoints dangerous intersections in the country. Pembroke Pines, Florida is rated as having the worst intersection. Also making the top ten list: intersections in Philadelphia and Phoenix. Also, intersections in Tulsa and Frisco, Texas.

An insurance company came up with the list. State Farm is offering $5 million to communities across the country to study intersection safety.

That's all the time we have tonight. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

"THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN" begins right now.

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