Andrea Yates is being held at Kerrville State Hospital in Kerrville, Texas, where she has lived since January 2007. She was committed there after a Texas jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity in July 2006 for drowning her five children in the family bathtub on June 20, 2001. If you are asking where Andrea Yates is today, the short answer is that she remains in that state psychiatric hospital and has repeatedly chosen to stay, waiving her right to the annual hearings that could lead to her release.1KESQ. Andrea Yates Fast Facts2People. Where Is Andrea Yates Now
Life at Kerrville State Hospital
Kerrville is a low-security state facility. Her longtime attorney George Parnham has described the grounds as having no razor wire, no bars, no armed guards, and no fences.2People. Where Is Andrea Yates Now Yates was first sent to the maximum-security North Texas State Hospital in Vernon after her acquittal, then transferred to Kerrville in January 2007.3ABC News. Decade After Drowning Children, Lawyer Claims Andrea Yates Ready
Parnham has said Yates is doing “remarkably well” in treatment and spends time making crafts.4Biography. Where Is Andrea Yates Now Defense attorney Wendell Odom, who stood beside her when the 2006 verdict was read, said in a June 2026 interview that he still receives Christmas cards from her.5Houston Public Media. Andrea Yates Children Drowning Anniversary
Why She Is Still Held, and Why She Stays
Under Texas law, a person found not guilty by reason of insanity is entitled to annual reviews that can lead to release. A court’s jurisdiction over that person cannot exceed the maximum sentence for the underlying offense. Because Yates was tried for capital murder, which carries a potential life sentence in Texas, the court can maintain jurisdiction over her indefinitely.6Texas Behavioral Health Justice Center. NGRI Best Practices for Outpatient Coordination
She has consistently waived those annual hearings, choosing to remain at Kerrville for continued treatment.7Today. Andrea Yates Mental Hospital Review The jury foreman from her 2006 retrial had commented that he believed she would probably need treatment for the rest of her life.8CNN. Andrea Yates Case Archive
Limited Requests for More Freedom
There have been only a few efforts to expand what Yates can do outside the hospital. In May 2012, a judge denied a request that she be allowed to attend church services off the grounds. In February 2014, Yates and her doctors sought permission for supervised group outings such as picnics, but withdrew the request after the public attention caused her significant stress.9Beaumont Enterprise. Andrea Yates Withdraws Request for Day Pass
How She Ended Up at Kerrville
On the morning of June 20, 2001, shortly after her husband Rusty Yates left for work around 9:00 a.m., Andrea Yates drowned her five children one by one in the bathtub of their Houston-area home. The children were Noah (7), John (5), Paul (3), Luke (2), and six-month-old Mary. Noah, the eldest, tried to run; she chased him down and brought him back to the bathroom. He was the last to die. Afterward, Yates called the police and then called Rusty.10CNN. Andrea Yates Case Archive
Yates had a documented history of severe mental illness before the killings, including prior hospitalizations and a suicide attempt. Doctors diagnosed her with postpartum depression that deteriorated into postpartum psychosis.11Texas Tribune. Andrea Yates Legacy Mandatory Postpartum Screening She later told doctors she believed she had to kill her children to save them from Satan, and that she feared they would grow up to be criminals because she had “ruined them.”12Death Penalty Information Center. Andrea Yates Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
Conviction, Reversal, Retrial
Prosecutors charged Yates with two counts of capital murder and sought the death penalty. In March 2002, a jury convicted her but rejected the death sentence, giving her life in prison.12Death Penalty Information Center. Andrea Yates Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity The conviction was overturned on January 6, 2005, by the First Court of Appeals in Houston, which ruled that false testimony from prosecution expert Dr. Park Dietz about a nonexistent Law & Order episode created a reasonable likelihood of affecting the jury’s judgment.13Psychiatric News. Psychiatric News Article on Dietz Testimony
At the June 2006 retrial, prosecutors did not seek the death penalty. After roughly 13 hours of deliberation over three days, the jury on July 26, 2006, found Yates not guilty by reason of insanity, concluding she had suffered from psychosis “before, during and after” the drownings and did not know her actions were wrong.8CNN. Andrea Yates Case Archive She was committed to state psychiatric care, and within months was moved to Kerrville, where she has remained.
Rusty Yates Today
Rusty Yates divorced Andrea in March 2005 and remarried Laura Arnold in March 2006, just days before the retrial began.14NBC News. Yates Knows Husband Remarried He and Arnold had a child together and later divorced; Rusty confirmed the split in 2023. He has continued working as an engineer for NASA and has said publicly that he holds no malice toward Andrea, attributing the deaths to her illness.15Biography. Where Is Rusty Yates Now He appeared in a docuseries titled The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story, which debuted in January 2026, in which he described a 1999 incident when he found Andrea holding a knife to her own neck.
The Case’s Lasting Impact
The Yates case reshaped how the legal system and the public in Texas treat postpartum mental illness. In 2003, the Texas Legislature passed HB 341, known as the “Andrea Yates Law,” requiring hospitals and medical professionals to give new mothers information about postpartum depression and available resources. A brochure titled “Your Emotions After Delivery” was developed in English and Spanish and distributed statewide beginning in 2005.16Texas Legislature. HB 341 Handout
George Parnham and his wife Mary founded the Yates Children Memorial Fund after the first trial. In partnership with Mental Health America of Greater Houston, it trained more than 2,500 medical professionals and distributed over 575,000 educational brochures.11Texas Tribune. Andrea Yates Legacy Mandatory Postpartum Screening After Hurricane Harvey disrupted its funding, Postpartum Support International absorbed the initiative, and it now operates as the PSI Yates Children Memorial Fund Legal Justice Program, providing resources and training for law enforcement, attorneys, and expert witnesses in cases involving perinatal mental illness.17Postpartum Support International. Legal Justice Program
Even the lead prosecutor’s view shifted. Harris County Assistant District Attorney Joe Owmby said in a 2003 address that the killings were likely preventable had Yates received more hospital treatment, calling the case a “frightening example of how postpartum depression and psychosis can lead to severe child abuse.”18Death Penalty Information Center. Prosecutor Now Says Killings by Andrea Yates Were Preventable
In the same June 2026 interview marking the 25th anniversary of the drownings, Odom reflected: “It educated a lot of people, myself included, and today, a lot of these cases are dealt with between the district attorney and the defense attorneys. Those that aren’t, when they do go to trial, there’s a whole new perception on what this type of mental illness is.”5Houston Public Media. Andrea Yates Children Drowning Anniversary Yates herself remains at Kerrville, quiet, in treatment, and by her own repeated choice.