Andrea Yates Story on Biography

[lilwriter85]

Didn't he have Andrea live in a converter bus with 4 children at one point? That makes me worry about Esther.

I remember the smile of one of the boys. It seemed so forced. I hope that he didn't follow Michael Pearl's beleifs on displiine.

I can't remember exactly but I do remember they lived in a bus or a RV for awhile. I remember that was brought up in the trial at least once.

[nokidsmom]

Same here!

There's gotta be some sort of "white knight syndrome" thing going on that causes people to get involved with infamous sorts, prisoners, criminals, etc. Like "I can save him/her" and "He/She's not so bad". In fact, it's an attraction, like the women who said they would want to get involved with Rusty whenever he was freed up. And in Rusty's case, there certainly would be those who would see him only as a grieving father, wronged by the mother of his kids, so there's no culpability in their view. To be honest, because of this, I wasn't surprised that he remarried.

[laura oz]

When The Tennessean covered this Rusty Yates, who was from Hermitage, TN was evidently a BMOC at his church. Former classmates and female members of his church cooed to a reporter about how handsome he was, that Andrea didn't deserve him, and they wouldn't mind hooking up once he was free of the whole situation. It should be noted that this was well into the trial that this story ran.

:disgust: :evil-eye: Couldn't find the vomit smilie.

[MrsYoungie]

I think whenever anyone is misguided enough to give me the old "God never gives you more than you can handle" my response will now be "Tell that to Andrea Yates."

[greek_chorus]

Didn't he have Andrea live in a converter bus with 4 children at one point? That makes me worry about Esther.

I remember the smile of one of the boys. It seemed so forced. I hope that he didn't follow Michael Pearl's beleifs on displiine.

Initially they lived in a house, then they downsized to a trailer, and then the crazy preacher moved out of the bus with his family and Rusty moved Andrea and the kids into that. Who in their right mind continues to downsize while having more children it's just bizarre? The show only spent about two minutes on that. It wasn't until she tried to kill herself that they moved back into an actual house.

They spent a lot of time talking about Andrea's mental issues, but very little examining how her environment effected it. I couldn't stop thinking about the Shraders. I wonder if it would have been better for Andrea if she had, had girls first before all those boys. I remember reading about Michelle Duggar having a breakdown at one point and I believe Razing Ruth has mentioned her mother struggling a bit early on.

I had a lot of sympathy for Andrea at the time. I'm only sorry that I had any sympathy for Rusty.

[Jana814]

[*]

I think whenever anyone is misguided enough to give me the old "God never gives you more than you can handle" my response will now be "Tell that to Andrea Yates."

Same here!

[Jana814]

If I remember correctly & please tell me if I'm wrong, the kids were not allowed to play outside. Because I seem to remember an interview w/ a neighbor who ask her son about the Yates kids & he said he never saw them outside.

[Alice_Fraggle]

Same here!

Ain't that the truth. I don't remember hearing about this initially, but I have looked into it a bit since Andrea was put in the mental facility, and after reading about what happened I too felt bad for her. She obviously couldn't handle what was going on in her life, and didn't know how to stand up to her husband (or wasn't allowed to stand up to him). I feel like she's living the worst punishment she could get - a clear head to see what her clouded head caused her to do. I don't think there is a worse punishment than that. And, knowing that her husband pretty much abandoned her and made it look like she was solely to blame.

[JenXer]

My heart continues to go out to Andrea. I didn't know about the Quiverfull movement at the time but even then I felt that her husband, presumably the sane one, was just as... if not more culpable than her.

If there is a hell, there is a special spot there for Rusty Yates.

There is and there is.

[laura oz]

Can someone explain why the media hasn't blown the Quiverfull movement up? I've seen lots of stories about Scientology, Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, etc... The closest I've seen to an expose was when there were abuses reported at IBLP headquarters. I just do not understand why this is handled so delicately. If a horribly over-stressed, mentally ill helpmeet can kill her children in an act of psychosis and it still isn't discussed or the circumstances at least touched on by interviewers/the media, what the hell is it going to take? A Jonestown?

[Mela99]

That woman begged for help, reached out so many times, and that "husband" of hers was only concerned with knocking her up again.

I honestly was waiting for a wrongful death suit to be filed against Rusty. I wish someone would.

[Mela99]

Can someone explain why the media hasn't blown the Quiverfull movement up? I've seen lots of stories about Scientology, Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, etc... The closest I've seen to an expose was when there were abuses reported at IBLP headquarters. I just do not understand why this is handled so delicately. If a horribly over-stressed, mentally ill helpmeet can kill her children in an act of psychosis and it still isn't discussed or the circumstances at least touched on by interviewers/the media, what the hell is it going to take? A Jonestown?

I sincerely believe people are being paid off. Just like Scientology, just like Warren Jeffs and his entire following.

[lilwriter85]

Can someone explain why the media hasn't blown the Quiverfull movement up? I've seen lots of stories about Scientology, Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, etc... The closest I've seen to an expose was when there were abuses reported at IBLP headquarters. I just do not understand why this is handled so delicately. If a horribly over-stressed, mentally ill helpmeet can kill her children in an act of psychosis and it still isn't discussed or the circumstances at least touched on by interviewers/the media, what the hell is it going to take? A Jonestown?

I think a huge reason that the media hasn't blown up QF, or ATI/Gothard because not a lot of escapees have gone very public with their stories. There are a couple of anti-ATI sites, I recall one is run by Josh McDonald who is married to Anna Duggar's sister Rebekah. Maybe if a group of escapees or former QFers got together and went to a media outlet, maybe the blow up would start there.

[LainieR]

I've seen a woman with postpartum psychosis through my job as a public health nurse. I shudder to think what could have happened if I hadn't had a visit planned with her.

Andrea Yates deserved better

Edited for riffle

[BoomerLynn]

This story both fascinates and repels me. It was such a preventable tragedy - all the warning signs were there. People really don't just "snap" most of the time. Thinking of those little children screaming "Mommy! Mommy! No!" (I read that she stated the older son heard a younger one being drowned, though he didn't realize what was happening) is unthinkable. That poor woman, living with what she's done. And her asshole husband, receiving martyr status while blithely starting a new family. Disgusting.

Ya'll are right ... it DOES sound like the post-credit scene in a horror movie that sets up the sequel.

I'm going to go barf now (well ... not LITERALLY). This case always makes me feel sick.

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[Mela99]

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

She had to chase the oldest one down. There were bruises on his hands and knees from fighting. Unreal, man. Unreal.

[ADoyle90815]

She had to chase the oldest one down. There were bruises on his hands and knees from fighting. Unreal, man. Unreal.

This case still makes me sick as it was completely preventable. I also think that if there's a hell, there's a spot waiting for Rusty Yates as not only did he force her to ignore doctor's orders to stop having children, he left her alone with the children. She's now left to realize what she's done, while this asshole has gone on to start a new family.

[snarkyjan]

She had to chase the oldest one down. There were bruises on his hands and knees from fighting. Unreal, man. Unreal.

This is the part that always haunts me, the psychic horror that these children, especially the two oldest, experienced. Knowing that their mother was going to kill them and that there was nothing they could do about it.

[Rainytown]

There isn't a lot of difference between Andrea Yates' situation (nutty husband who wanted a "portable family", refused to accept that his wife had significant mental illness and continued impregnating her despite doctors' warnings) and J-Chelle Duggar's (nutty husband who's so entranced by the fact his penis works that they have 19 living children and are now subsidized by a TV network). He's still yapping about "trying for number 20" when he and his wife have undoubtedly been told she and her uterus is in NO condition to carry another child.

Jim Boob insisted they keep having children after J-Chelle's alleged breakdown at 7. Before TLC arrived, they were living in a 3 bedroom house, IIRC. They are functionally unable to care for the kids they have had without 24 x 7 help, and continued breeding until (allegedly, of course,) perimenopause hit with a vengeance.

Things may have not gone as well as they have if Grandma Duggar wasn't willing to do 70 loads of laundry a week, and their four eldest daughters could not be forced to raise the younger children.

[BoomerLynn]

I still believe Rusty Yates should have been charged with some form of negligence. This is a man who impregnated his wife against doctor's orders (even if she had wanted to, as the mentally stable one it was his responsibility to say no), got his family involved with some crazy preacher, and left Andrea alone with the kids when he wasn't supposed to. She now has to live knowing what she did when she was mentally unstable while he gets to go off and start a new family all while playing the victim card. Does Andrea have any family? I wonder why they haven't filed a wrongful death suit against Rusty.

[Stephers831]

Unfortunately this case highlights the sad state of mental health care in the US. In other countries there would have been follow up visits, at home, with nurses to check on the state of Andrea, to see how she was holding up and if she was taking her medication. There is a special place in hell for the smug slimy bastard who convinced his wife that she could pray away the depression and mental illness and to stop her meds to have more children. I'm also worried about Esther Shrader snapping and doing the same thing, all those kids in that tiny space, nobody has that kind of patience.

[already hungover]

Does Andrea have any family? I wonder why they haven't filed a wrongful death suit against Rusty.

I think her mother is still alive, and she has several siblings. It's possible that Andrea herself doesn't want them to file a suit against Rusty, particularly if she's still anywhere near as devoutly Christian as she was before. If it is the case that she doesn't want to sue, I think it's high time that somebody respected her wishes.

[kitkat]

I don't know if things have changed for her recently, but a few years back I read that Andrea Yates is on almost constant suicide watch.

[FreeJosie]

I still believe Rusty Yates should have been charged with some form of negligence. This is a man who impregnated his wife against doctor's orders (even if she had wanted to, as the mentally stable one it was his responsibility to say no), got his family involved with some crazy preacher, and left Andrea alone with the kids when he wasn't supposed to. She now has to live knowing what she did when she was mentally unstable while he gets to go off and start a new family all while playing the victim card. Does Andrea have any family? I wonder why they haven't filed a wrongful death suit against Rusty.

I agree. Rusty failed Andrea and the children. This tragedy was preventable.

[PennySycamore]

I still believe Rusty Yates should have been charged with some form of negligence. This is a man who impregnated his wife against doctor's orders (even if she had wanted to, as the mentally stable one it was his responsibility to say no), got his family involved with some crazy preacher, and left Andrea alone with the kids when he wasn't supposed to. She now has to live knowing what she did when she was mentally unstable while he gets to go off and start a new family all while playing the victim card. Does Andrea have any family? I wonder why they haven't filed a wrongful death suit against Rusty.

That's a damn good question about Andrea's family filing a wrongful death suit. Maybe they think that a suit would not help them -and Andrea- heal.