Criminal Profile Paper: Andrea Yates

Criminal Profile Paper: Andrea Yates

Introduction

The tragic and shocking case of five children who were drowned in a suburb of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas by their mother Andrea Yates, has shocked millions of people around the world. This paper explores the criminal profile and criminal case analysis of Andrea Yates who killed her five children by drowning them in the bath tub. The paper will provide the details of crime, the history of the offender and the analysis of the criminal case.

Crime

June 20, 2001 was the most horrifying day for the Yates' family and for every other individual notified of one of the most gruesome murders a woman has committed. “She just repeated her statement and then added, “It's time. I did it” (Ramsland, 2001). This statement came from the chilling phone call Rusty Yates had received only an hour after leaving his house. Frantic over what she meant, she simply said it had to do with the children, all of the children. Racing to get home, he knew something traumatic must have happened simply because police and ambulances were already there. He witnessed his wife being led away in handcuffs and gained the knowledge that all five of his children had died. His wife, Andrea had drowned their children. Four children were found lying down with their eyes open in the bedroom with a sheet over them, soaking wet of water. The one remaining was found in the bathtub filled with feces and vomit, appearing to be dead as well. Her five children ranged in age from six months to seven years old named Noah, John, Luke, Paul and Mary, all figures from the Bible.

After being questioned by officers, Andrea simply confessed to the fact that she had killed her own children on behalf that she was a bad mother. She stated how she had woken that morning fed her children their breakfast and patiently waited for her husband to leave for work. At that moment, she went into the bathroom, turned on the water and watched the bathtub fill up three inches from the top. She drowned each child, even while they were struggling. The most horrible part was that when she was ready to drown her oldest son, he knew of what was going to happen. He ran from her but she managed to chase him and drag him to the bath tub and drown him as well. Her unbelievable confession led police to understand that she had been taking medication for depression and had tried attempting suicide before. “She believed she was not a good mother because the children were “not developing correctly” (Montaldo, 2008). In thoughts of being a bad mother, Andrea Yates drowned her four sons and one daughter she had given birth to.

Offenders

Andrea Yates was born as Andrea Kennedy in Houston, Texas, on July 2, 1964 and married the love of her life, Rusty Yates on April 17, 1993. The plans to have as many children ...