Yates methodically drowned them in a bathtub on June 20, 2001. She was suffering postpartum psychosis, after having her last baby. She then called the police and got arrested on the same day.
Yates admitted to the crime, but used postpartum disorder as a motion to get into a psychiatric facility. She was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison with parole in 35 years instead.
Some believe or believed that Russel Yates, who works at the Johnson Space Center was also responsible for creating the conditions that led up to the murder of the children. Others say that her psychiatrists urged her not to get pregnant again but her fundamentalist church insisted she should have more children.