Jury to Hear Drowning Confession

A judge ruled Tuesday that a woman’s confession to police that she drowned her five children can be considered by a jury when her case goes to trial.

Andrea Yates’ attorneys had spent two days arguing that her confession should not be allowed as evidence. They said she “lacked the prerequisite mental capacity” to understand or waive her constitutional rights when she admitted drowning her four sons and infant daughter.

District Judge Belinda Hill also rejected a motion from defense attorney George Parnham asking that the death penalty not be considered if Yates is convicted. The judge also ruled that a 911 call Yates made after the killings could be used as evidence.

During the pretrial hearing, Yates’ husband, Russell, testified that he asked his wife’s psychiatrist to resume anti-psychotic medication two days before the June 20 drownings. He said the psychiatrist refused, saying it was a bad medication.

Andrea Yates, who has a history of postpartum depression, had been released from a mental health treatment center in May.

“She was really sick and she was declining,” said Russell Yates, a 37-year-old computer engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

He said he never saw any sign that she was a threat to their children, but June 20, he received a phone call from his wife sternly telling him to come home.

“I asked if the children were hurt and she said, ‘Yes,’ and I said, ‘Which one?’ She said, ‘All of them,’ ” Yates said.

Houston Police Officer Frank Stumpo testified that Yates had offered the confession at her home without hesitation.

“She looked me directly in my eyes and said, ‘I know what I’ve done,’ ” he said.

Her trial is scheduled to start Jan. 7.