Yates Family in Shock Over Drownings
N E W Y O R K, July 2 -- Since learning that her daughter had been accused of drowning all five of her children in the bathtub, Andrea Yates' mother has felt anger, shock and despair, she said today.
"I couldn't believe it," Karin Kennedy told ABCNEWS' Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview. "I never thought it would come to this. Ever."
Although she sometimes worried that her daughter might hurt herself, Kennedy says she never thought that she would hurt the children, who ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years.
"Never, never … She thought the world of them," she said. "Herself, I figured she might try."
Two Suicide Attempts
Indeed, there were some signs of emotional distress prior to the June 20 incident, in which Andrea Yates called police and her husband and told them to come to their Clear Lake, Texas, home, where the five children lay dead.
Yates had reportedly tried to commit suicide twice. Both incidents happened at her parents' home in southeast Houston.
The first attempt was in June 1999, when she attempted to overdose on her late father's Alzheimer's medication. At the time, her mother was at the house along with the children — proof, Kennedy says that her daughter didn't want the children to be abandoned, even if she killed herself.
"She brought them over to me when she knew she was going to take the pills," Kennedy said.
After that incident, Yates was treated for depression.
A second suicide attempt occurred this past spring, while visiting her mother's house, when she put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill herself.
Her husband, Russell "Rusty" Yates, however, was able to "talk her out of it," Kennedy said.
Family Searches for Explanation
The 36-year-old mother has been unresponsive during short visits with her family since her arrest. Her mother said she was at a loss for words while visiting her daughter in jail.
"All I could tell her was that I loved her, and she does not respond," Kennedy said. Despite her quiet state, Andrea Yates agreed to see her brother and sister before they left, she said.
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