Exhibits used by Dr. Park Dietz in testimony re. Andrea Yates (2002)

1. STATE OF TEXAS
v.
ANDREA YATES
Exhibits to the testimony of
Park Dietz, MD, PhD

2. RETENTION

3. Relevant Expertise
 Homicide
 Drowning
 Forensic psychiatry
 Evaluation of criminal responsibility

4. When?
 Contacted July 6, 2001 (16 days after
homicides)
 Requested all records and examination
ASAP
 Notified September 26, 2001, that court
had signed order authorizing examination

5. SOURCES OF
INFORMATION

6. Interviews
 Mrs. Andrea Yates, 11/6/01 and 11/7/01
(videotaped and audiotaped)
 Melissa Ferguson, M.D., 11/6/01
 Debra M. Osterman, M.D., 11/7/01
 Mr. Russell Yates: requested but refused
 Mrs. Dora Yates: requested but refused
 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Holmes, 11/8/01

7. Videotaped Interviews by Others
 Videotape of interview of Russell Yates,
6/21/02, Channel 13
 Videotape of a portion of the examination
by Phillip Resnick, M.D., 7/14/01
 Videotape of a portion of the examination
by Lucy J. Puryear, M.D., 7/27/01
 Videotape of a portion of the examination
by Lucy J. Puryear, M.D., 8/10/01 Cont.

8. Videotaped Interviews by Others (cont.)
 Videotape of the examination by
Phillip Resnick, M.D., 11/3/01
 Videotape of excerpts of an interview
of Russell Yates, undated, broadcast
on 60 Minutes, 12/9/01
 Videotape of the examination by Lucy
J. Puryear, M.D., 2/4/02

9. Testimony Under Oath
 Grand Jury testimony of
Mohammad A. Saeed, M.D., 6/25/01
 Testimony of Phillip J. Resnick,
M.D., 3/1/02 (afternoon)
 Testimony of Lucy J. Puryear, M.D.,
3/6/02 (afternoon)

10. Educational Records re. Defendant
 Transcript from Houston Independent
School District
 Milby High School Yearbook, 1982
 University of Houston records
 University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston records

11. Employment Records re. Defendant
 Employment records, M.D. Anderson
Hospital and Tumor Institute

12. Social Service Records re. Defendant
 Harris County Child Protective Services
records re. Andrea Yates

13. Medical Records re. Defendant
 Ben Taub Hospital Emergency Room records,
6/17/99
 Methodist Hospital records, 6/18/99 – 6/24/99
 James P. Thompson, Ph.D., records
 Starbranch Psychiatry Associates records,
7/1/99 – 4/3/01
 Spring Shadows Glen Hospital records, 7/21/99-
8/10/99
Cont.

14. Medical Records re. Defendant (cont.)
 Samaritan Center for Counseling and
Education records, 8/26/99-2/24/00
 Earline Willcott, LMSW, records, 5/16/00
– 03/06/00
 Devereux Texas Treatment Network
records, 3/31/01–4/12/01
 Devereux Texas Treatment Network
records, 5/04/01–5/22/01 Cont.

15. Medical Records re. Defendant (cont.)
 Mohammad A. Saeed, M.D., records,
4/19/01 – 6/21/01
 Harris County Jail medical records,
6/20/01 – 12/19/01

16. Investigative Reports
 Complete Houston Police Department
investigative file
 Tape of 911 call by Andrea Yates
 Police crime scene photos
 Crime scene videotape

17. Medical Examiner’s Office Investigation
 Medical Examiner’s Office crime scene photos
 Autopsy report re. Mary Deborah Yates, age 6
months, by Patricia J. Moore, D.O.
 Autopsy photographs of Mary Deborah Yates
 Autopsy report re. Luke David Yates, age 2, by
Harminder S. Narula, M.D.
 Autopsy photographs of Luke David Yates
Cont.

18. Medical Examiner’s Office Investigation (cont.)
 Autopsy report re. Paul Abraham Yates, age 3,
by Harminder S. Narula, M.D.
 Autopsy photographs of Paul Abraham Yates
 Autopsy report re. John Samuel Yates, age 5, by
Patricia J. Moore, D.O.
 Autopsy photographs of John Samuel Yates
 Autopsy report re. Noah Jack Yates, age 7, by
Harminder S. Narula, M.D.
 Autopsy photographs of Noah Jack Yates

19. Statements
 Statement of Andrea Yates, 6/20/01 (tape
and transcript)
 Statement of Russell Edison Yates,
6/20/01 (tape and transcript)
 Statement of Dora Yates, 6/20/01 (tape
and transcript)

20. Forensic Evaluation Records re. Defendant
 Report by Steven Rosenblatt, M.D.,
6/25/01
 Report by George M. Ringholz, Ph.D.,
M.D., undated
 Unsigned report by Phillip J. Resnick,
M.D., 02/27/02

21. Legal Documents
 Texas Penal Code, Section 8.01 re.
Insanity
 Notice of Intent to Offer Evidence of the
Insanity Defense, 7/30/01
 Various Motions

22. Miscellaneous Documents
 March – June 2001 Chronology prepared
by Debbie Holmes
 The Perilous Times, Series: 2000-1J

23. FINDINGS

24. Differential Diagnosis
 Major Depression with Psychotic
Features
 Schizophrenia
 Schizoaffective Disorder
Any of these is a severe mental disease

25. Contextual Factors: 1999
 Living in a bus with her husband, a
newborn, and three other children
 Began home schooling
 Feeling depressed and overwhelmed,
she asked her husband for help, but got
medical attention only upon taking an
overdose (June)
 Treated at Ben Taub, admitted to
Methodist Hospital (June) Cont.

26. Contextual Factors: 1999 (cont.)
 Flushed Zyprexa (July)
 Threatened to cut herself with a knife (July)
 Admitted to Spring Shadows Glen Hospital
(July-August)
 ECT recommended by Drs. Thompson and
Rios; Mr. and Mrs. Yates refused (August)
 Moved into a house (August)
Cont.

27. Contextual Factors: 1999 (cont.)
 Against medical advice, secretly went off
all medication (November)

28. Contextual Factors: 2000
 Against medical advice, became pregnant
(February)
 Against medical advice, failed to take
medication during pregnancy
 Had 5th child, Mary (November)
 Against medical advice, failed to take
medication postpartum
 Continued to home school

29. Contextual Factors: 2001
 Her father fell (January) and declined
until his death (March)
 Admitted to Devereux (March)
 Filled bathtub with water (May)
 Admitted to Devereux (May)
 Dr. Saeed recommended ECT; Mr. and
Mrs. Yates refused (May) Cont.

30. Contextual Factors: 2001 (cont.)
 Dr. Saeed told Mr. Yates that someone
must be with his wife (April)
 Denied delusions or hallucinations
countless times when asked by MDs
 Two delusions (cameras and television)
known only to Mr. and Mrs. Yates, were
kept secret from all doctors (August
1999-June 2001)

31. Contextual Factors: 2001 (cont.)
 Mrs. Yates was left alone with the
children

32. Knowledge of
Wrongfulness

33. Pre-Homicide Phase
 Believed Satan put the thought in her mind
to drown the children and encouraged her
to do so
 Concealed from everyone her thoughts of
harming the children and her plan to drown
the children
 Waited for an opportunity when no one was
home so that she would not be stopped
from drowning the children
Cont.

34. Pre-Homicide Phase (cont.)
 Believed that killing the children would
be sinful and would be the last of the
Seven Deadly Sins for her to commit
 Believed she was not raising the children
properly, did not pay enough attention to
them, and that they might get in trouble

35. Pre-Homicide Phase (cont.)
 ? May have believed the children were
being tormented by Satan or going to
hell, but didn’t try nonlethal ways of
protecting them and never mentioned
this until the day after the homicides
 ? May have believed Satan was in her,
but did not seek help for this problem

36. Homicide Phase
 Knew she would be arrested and put in jail
 Knew what she was doing was illegal
 Knew society would judge her actions as
“bad”
 Knew God would judge her actions as “bad”
 Knew it was wrong to kill the children
(Michael Stephens, Dr. Rosenblatt)
Cont.

37. Homicide Phase (cont.)
 ? May have covered each body between
homicides to conceal the previous
homicides from the surviving children
 ? May have believed she was saving the
children from torment or hell, but did not
try to comfort them during the homicides
 ? May have believed Satan was in her or
that she was Satan

38. Post-Homicide Phase
 Covered the faces of all the bodies in the
bed, indicating guilt and shame
 Called 911 and asked for the police because
“that’s who you call . . . when you’ve done
something wrong,” and she thought she
had done something wrong
 Told Sgt. Mehl she wanted to be punished
and was prepared to go to hell for what she
had done
Cont.

39. Post-Homicide Phase (cont.)
 Told Sgt. Mehl she wanted to be
punished by the criminal justice system
for what she had done and asked when
her trial would be
 At some point believed her execution
would kill Satan, but she first mentioned
this on 6/21/01

40. Opinions

41. At the Time of Drowning Each Child:
 Mrs. Yates knew that her actions
were wrong in the eyes of the law
 Mrs. Yates knew that her actions
were wrong in the eyes of society
 Mrs. Yates knew that her actions
were wrong in the eyes of God

42. At the Time of Drowning Each Child:
 ? Mrs. Yates may have believed that
the killings were in the best
interests of the children and that
the ends (saving the children)
justified the means (wrongly and
illegally killing them)