The Yates Children

Noah Jacob Yates

February 26, 1994 - June 20, 2001

Noah Jacob Yates was born on February 26, 1994. Noah found almost everything interesting. He found bugs very interesting and he loved drawing. Two of his favorite things to draw were butterflies and rainbows. He also liked to swim, and do summersaults. He could even do summersaults underwater. He also liked to build things.

John Samuel Yates
December 15, 1995 - June 20, 2001
John Samuel Yates was born on December 15, 1995. He loved playing with balls and he liked trucks. "Truck" even happened to be John's first word. John also liked going to the pool and jumping off the diving board over and over again. He also enjoyed playing T-Ball.

Paul Abraham Yates
September 13, 1997 - June 20, 2001
Paul was born on September 13, 1997. He was known for his love of cuddling. He also would dance when he heard music. Paul loved pretending like he was a fireman. He got to visit the fire station twice, and he enjoyed it both times. He had a fireman hat that he wore all the time. He also was fascinated by rockets.

Luke David Yates
February 15, 1999 - June 20, 2001
Luke was born on February 15, 1999. He liked to help his mother plant things. Luke was quite a brave little boy, but one thing that did scare him was thunder. He had a favorite blanket that he affectionately called "dim dim". He was a very good older brother to his only younger sibling, Mary. He would help feed her by bringing her bottle to her. He loved all of his siblings.

Mary Deborah Yates
November 30, 2000 - June 20, 2001
Mary was born on November 30, 2000. She was known to be a very good baby who rarely cried. She loved all the attention she got from her four older brothers, but seemed to especially like it when Paul or Luke held her.

They were all born to their parents Rusty and Andrea Yates. On June 20, 2001, Rusty Yates went to work, as usual. Andrea stayed at home with her five young children. Dora Yates, Rusty's mother, was going to come and care for the children in about an hour.

After Rusty left for work, Andrea began to fill up the bathtub with water. Andrea then called Luke into the bathroom. He was two years old. She held his head under the water until he had drowned. Then she called three year old Paul into the room and drowned him as well.

Next she called in five year old John and proceeded to drown him too. She placed her three dead sons on a bed and covered their lifeless bodies with a sheet. Andrea then retrieved her only daughter, six month old Mary and put her in the bathtub as well.

When Mary had died, Andrea called in her oldest son, Noah. When Noah came into the room, Mary was still dead in the bathtub. Noah came into the bathroom and asked "What happened to Mary?" Noah ran away when Andrea moved toward him.

Andrea chased her oldest son all around the house before she finally caught him and drug him into the bathroom and held his head under the water. Noah put up more fight than her other children, and even managed to resurface a few times for air. Noah's last words were "I'm sorry." Eventually, Noah died at the hands of his mother as well.

Andrea put Mary's body next to her brothers' and covered them all with a sheet. She did, however, leave Noah's body in the bathtub. Andrea then called her husband and told him that she needed him to come home. He asked if anyone was hurt, and she answered "Yes, the children."

He then asked who was hurt, and she answered "All of them.". Rusty returned home to discover all five of his beautiful children dead. When asked why she drowned her children, Andrea answered that it was because she was a bad mother, and by drowning her children, she was saving them from Hell.

Andrea was sentenced to life in prison, but then retried due to false allegations. She was then found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was sent to a hospital.