Overview

On June 20, 2001, a mother made a phone call that would shock the nation: ""I just killed my kids."" Five children. One bathtub. Twenty minutes that changed America forever. Andrea Yates was a valedictorian, a registered nurse, a devoted wife who seemed to embody the perfect Christian mother. But behind the facade of this seemingly ideal family lurked a deadly combination: untreated postpartum psychosis, a traveling street preacher's fire-and-brimstone teachings about maternal sin and eternal damnation, and a mental health system that failed at every turn. This is not just another true crime story. This is the disturbing account of how religious extremism poisoned a vulnerable mind, how five pregnancies in seven years destroyed a woman's mental health, and how every warning sign was ignored until it was too late. From living in a converted bus to homeschooling four young children while battling severe mental illness, Andrea's descent into madness was both preventable and tragically inevitable. Inside this gripping investigation, you'll discover: The shocking influence of Michael Woroniecki, the cult-like street preacher whose teachings about hell and maternal failure haunted Andrea's psychotic mind The critical medical decisions that left Andrea unprotected-including the devastating choice to stop her antipsychotic medication just weeks before the murders The two explosive trials that divided America, including the false expert testimony that sent an innocent verdict crashing down How one woman's unspeakable tragedy revolutionized postpartum mental health care across the United States The courtroom battle between justice and mercy that forced America to confront uncomfortable truths about mental illness, motherhood, and religious manipulation Based on extensive court documents, psychiatric evaluations, and investigative research, this documentary book takes you inside one of the most complex criminal cases in modern American history. You'll witness the systematic breakdown of a human mind, the failures of every institution meant to protect vulnerable mothers and children, and the landmark legal decisions that finally acknowledged what should have been obvious from the beginning: Andrea Yates was not evil-she was catastrophically, tragically sick. This unflinching examination challenges everything you think you know about maternal mental illness, religious extremism, and the American justice system. Five children died because the warning signs were ignored. Their story-and their mother's-demands to be understood, not just remembered.

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