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STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES

Exhibits to the testimony of Park Dietz, MD, PhD. STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES. RETENTION. Relevant Expertise. Homicide Drowning Forensic psychiatry Evaluation of criminal responsibility. When?. Contacted July 6, 2001 (16 days after homicides)

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STATE OF TEXAS v. ANDREA YATES

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

  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)

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