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.

Good for him. He needs to get on with his life.

So that he can get this wife pregnant with as many children as possible, too? Sorry, but I lay a great deal of blame on this man. He knew that she had a history of postpartum depression, so he knocks her up as many times as possible within a certain amount of time, and then leaves his children in her care??? Sorry, although I feel terrible for anyone who has suffered such a loss, I feel that he has never shouldered any of the responsibility for these crimes.

I do agree that he could perhaps accept some responsibility for putting his wife into depression, but I don't feel like he should be blamed for her extreme actions.

While he may certainly be guilty of emotional neglegence and this new wife-to-be should have her head examined for wanting to spend the rest of her life with him...Rusty Yates is in no way directly responsible for the horrible crime committed by Andrea, who should've IMO fried in the chair.

Rusty Yates is a moron, which he proved over & over again every time he did an interview in the months following the crime. He always appeared to throw the blame for what happened at Andrea's doctors when any normal guy would at least be displaying some degree of self-blame which he never appeared to be feeling.

Oh, yeah...he's a moron allright.

But he didn't murder his children, didn't aide in the murder of his children, and I agree he's entitled to get on with his life. Nothing the rest of us can do about it.

Apple

Five children in eight years?!!! Holy cow...

Actually, just cow...

No, even a cow doesn't have to take care of a calf for too long. Anyone with that many kids over such a short time could go insane, and if she doesn't, kudos to her.