Naman Shrestha
Investigation Discovery’s ‘The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story’ is a three-part true crime documentary series that chronicles the circumstances in Andrea Yates’ life that led her to commit the killings of her five young children in the summer of 2001. Besides the mental turmoil, it is alleged that she was also influenced by a street preacher named Michael Woroniecki, who allegedly manipulated her through his controversial spiritual teachings. The docuseries also explores Andrea’s trials and how her defense counsel tried their best to minimize her sentence.
Andrea Yates Was in a Dark Mental Space When She Drowned Her Five Children
Born on July 3, 1964, to Jutta Karin Koehler and Andrew Emmett Kennedy, Andrea Pia Kennedy grew up alongside her four siblings, but reportedly had a troubled childhood. During her teenage years, Andrea battled depression and suicidal tendencies. Despite all the mental challenges, she managed to graduate from Milby High School in 1982 as the class valedictorian. She was also the captain of the swimming team and an officer in the National Honor Society. With dreams of becoming a nurse, Andrea then entered a pre-nursing program at the University of Houston before attending the University of Texas Health Science Center. In 1986, she finally landed the job as a registered nurse at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
A few years later, she crossed paths with a NASA engineer named Russell “Rusty” Yates, with whom she developed a romantic connection. In 1989, Rusty introduced a preacher named Michael Woronieckis and his wife, Rachel, to Andrea. Several years of dating culminated in Rusty and Andrea’s marriage on April 17, 1993. Andrea Yates and her husband moved into a four-bedroom residence in Friendswood, Texas, where they entered parenthood with the birth of Noah in February 1994. Over the course of the next few years, the couple gave birth to four more children — John in December 1995, Paul in 1997, Luke in February 1999, and Mary in November 2000. The Yates were in regular contact via letter and telephone with the Woronieckis. In 1998, Rusty and Andrea purchased the preacher’s motor home, a 1978 GMC.
Unfortunately, by 1999, Andrea’s depression reportedly returned and led to multiple suicide attempts. Consequently, she was hospitalized on several occasions and on medications, such as anti-psychotic drugs. Although her health appeared stable for a while, she was eventually diagnosed with postpartum psychosis in July of the same year, following two suicide attempts and two psychiatric hospitalizations. Her condition worsened when her father tragically passed away on March 12, 2001, as she stopped taking medications. In the following couple of months, she was hospitalized a few times and was deemed suicidal as she had filled the bathtub in the middle of the day on May 3, 2001. On the fateful day of June 20, she filled the bathtub and drowned all her children one by one while Rusty was at work. She herself called the authorities and confessed to the crime.
Andrea Yates is Still Institutionalized at a Texas State Hospital
A few months later, on February 18, 2002, Andrea Yates’ trial for the murders of her five children got underway. After she pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, the defense suggested that Michael Woroniecki’s spiritual teachings, especially his newsletter ‘The Perilous Times,’ were not ideal for Andrea, who was already struggling mentally. They alleged that the preacher was influential in the deterioration of the defendant’s mental health, which ultimately led her to commit the crimes. However, it didn’t seem enough to convince the jury, as after a month-long trial, the jury deliberated for 35 minutes and convicted her of multiple counts of capital murder. Despite the prosecution’s request for the death penalty, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after forty years.
Three years later, Andrea and Rusty Yates got divorced on March 17, 2005, after which the latter moved on and began dating another woman named Laura Arnold. On January 6, 2005, Andrea’s conviction was overturned due to the false testimony provided by a prosecution witness during the trial. At the retrial, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity on July 26, 2006. However, she was institutionalized at the high-security North Texas State Hospital in Vernon. A few months later, in January 2007, she was transferred to a low-security mental hospital in Kerrville, Texas — Kerrville State Hospital. According to reports, Andrea has been repeatedly declining a hearing that could determine if she was mentally competent to be released from the hospital.
Read More: Where is Rusty Yates Now? Update on Andrea Yates’ Ex-Husband
