She told her husband she was hearing voices and had been hearing them since the birth of their first child. The birth of the Yates" fifth child in November of 2000 caused additional episodes of depression and psychosis. Andrea was put in a psychiatric hospital four different times between the months of March and May in 2001. She had become catatonic and scratched bald spots into her head ("Andrea"). All of these signs should be enough to tell Andrea's husband, Russell, that she is not healthy and should not be left alone with the children. He could have prevented this tragedy from happening if he hadn't been so selfish and inattentive.
Russell was very self-interested in his marriage with Andrea. They had decided that they were going to have "as many children as nature would allow" and Andrea would home school them all ("Andrea"). It became more than obvious that Andrea could not handle the five children they already had, let alone more. The Yates" psychiatrist warned them not to have more children, as seen in this statement:.
The doctor simply discouraged the Yates from having more children. The doctor told the couple if they were to have another child, there was a fifty percent chance Andrea Yates would again suffer from psychosis. If they did have any more children, the doctor would like to start Andrea on an antidepressant early. ("Yates" Husband).
Yet Russell decided that they would keep having babies because it was what he wanted. A loving husband would not have made this decision. Russell was not taking into consideration the unstable condition his wife was in mentally. He was putting too much stress on her to have all these children and take care of them twenty-four hours a day. .
Of all the people who should have noticed that something was wrong with Andrea, Russell should have been the first. He should have observed a difference in his wife when she stopped taking her medications.