Husband of woman who drowned children to remarry
Andrea Yates' attorney: 'People have to get on with their lives'Wednesday, March 15, 2006; Posted: 1:16 a.m. EST (06:16 GMT)
HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Rusty Yates, whose former wife drowned their five children in a bathtub in 2001, said Tuesday that he is getting remarried.
Yates said his former wife, Andrea, is aware of the wedding, which is planned for Saturday -- two days before Andrea Yates' scheduled retrial on capital murder charges.
"Andrea has been aware of it for a couple of months, and she wishes me the best, just as I wish her the best," Rusty Yates told The Associated Press in an e-mail.
He identified his fiancee as Laura Arnold and said the two met at church.
Rusty and Andrea Yates, both 41, married in 1993 and divorced in March 2005.
Andrea Yates' attorney, George Parnham, said Tuesday that though the new marriage would be a moment of sadness to Andrea, "People have to get on with their lives."
Yates continues to stand by his ex-wife, who has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. A jury rejected that defense in 2002, and Andrea Yates was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Her conviction was overturned because a forensic psychiatrist gave false testimony when he said an episode of television's "Law & Order" broadcast shortly before the slayings portrayed a woman with postpartum depression drowning her children; no such episode was ever shown.
An appeals court also is considering new arguments and could decide this week to delay the trial.
I say good for him. This woman sickens me, and I feel endlessly sorry for Mr. Yates.