More on Rusty Yates
Patty
By NOBLE SPRAYBERRY
The Tennesean (Nashville TN)
6/23/01
Nashville residents who knew Russell ''Rusty'' Yates, whose wife is accused of killing the
couple's five children in Houston, remember a well-liked, though quiet, young man.
He graduated in 1982 from Dupont High School. His mother, Dora Yates, is a retired teacher
from McGavock High School.
Their lives changed irrevocably this week. Yates' wife, Andrea Yates, has told police that
she is responsible for drowning their five children, who ranged in age from 6 months to 7
years.
It's a loss that sparked memories of Yates by his one-time schoolmates.
Traci Johnson, chairwoman for Dupont High School's 1982 class, said Yates was well-known
and always friendly.
''He was always very, very nice,'' she said. ''Everybody liked him, but he was a quieter
type of person.''
Johnson reviewed her yearbook from the now-closed high school and said Yates was a member
of the school's football team, wearing number 76.
After graduating, Yates didn't wait long to begin his career.
He joined NASA in 1985, three years after high school, authorities with the Johnson Space
Center said.
Yates, who married his wife eight years ago, is a computer engineer with the space shuttle
program.
His mother was also very much a part of the Davidson County school system. Dora Yates
taught English at McGavock High School but retired to her home in Hermitage about two
years ago.
Her friends said she often talked about her grandchildren, and she spent recent weeks in
Texas helping care for them.
Rob McGee, a teacher who met Dora Yates at McGavock High, said she recently spoke to the
grandmother.
''She said she wanted to come back here and sell her house so she could go out there and
see her grandchildren grow up,'' McGee said. ''This is just terrible.''
McGee said Yates often spoke of her son's family, who frequently visited Nashville.
''He and his wife would come, and they would bring the children,'' she said. ''I never
would see them, but I would see the pictures.''
''She'd always tell me how smart they were,'' said McGee, who has not spoken to her friend
this week.
Russell Yates did not respond yesterday to an interview request made to his home in Clear
Lake, Texas.
Patty
Reporter: Jay Korff
WKRN Channel 2 Nashville
Thursday, Russell Yates, husband of the woman accused of drowning their five children,
stood in his front yard, clutched a family photo and said he loves and supports his wife.
What you may not know is that Russell Yates graduated from high school right here in
Nashville. News 2 talks with an old classmate of Yates about this tragedy and about a
person everyone called Rusty.
"This is my senior yearbook from Dupont High School, home of the bulldogs."
19 years ago Jim Jackson graduated from Old Dupont High School in Hermitage. But the
passage of time has not clouded his fond memories of one classmate.
"This was where Rusty was Mr. Dupont."
Rusty Yates was not only popular, he was athletic and intelligent.
"It says here Rusty was the president of the National Honor Society."
But more than anything else, Jim says Rusty was respected for his compassion and
integrity.
"I guess if you ever wanted to put a face on your high school class who would you pick.
That was Rusty."
Back in 1982 he was Rusty Yates of Nashville, Tennessee. Today he's known as Russell Yates
of Houston, Texas.
"What happened was just incomprehensible."
The same Russell Yates that's married to Andrea Yates, he woman accused of killing her
five young children by drowning them to death, one at a time in a bathtub.
"On the one hand she killed our children, killed my children," says devastated father and
husband, Russell Yates.
It's a story that has touched and troubled a nation.
"As the day went on and more news came out, pictures, photos and such, we learned that it
was him and it broke my heart," says high school classmate, Jim Jackson.
With two children of his own, Jim Jackson can't imagine the anguish his old friend is now
enduring. Jim wants Rusty to know despite the miles, he and others are praying for the
Yates family, like any old friend would.
Rusty's mother, Dora Yates still lives in Nashville. News 2 talked with a friend of hers
Thursday night. She says Dora has been down in Houston for the past couple months helping
her family and will probably be there for a bit longer, now that they need her more than
ever.
Patty
WTVF Channel 5 Nashville
It's a story that shocked the nation. A mother in Texas admits drowning all five of her
children. NewsChannel 5 has learned the father is from Nashville.
Nashvillian Peggy Hentz couldn't believe it when she heard the news. "I didn't connect it
until I heard the name, you know, Russell Yates," said Hentz.
He was known as Rusty when he grew up in Nashville. His wife, Andrea, has admitted to
drowning their five children. Moments later, she called Yates at work.
Folks who live along Baltic Drive in Hermitage are stunned. "It's really, really sad to
even imagine, the people we known all these years," said Gina Swindle, a family friend.
Russell Yates' mother, Dora, still lives in Hermitage. She was out of town, though. She'd
been in Texas the last few weeks helping her daughter-in-law take care of the kids.
Dora Yates taught English at McGavock High School for more than twelve years. She retired
two years ago.
She told people she wanted to spend more time with her grandchildren. They say she talked
about them all the time.
Neighbors say Yates brought his wife and kids here just last Christmas.
Dora Yates had been in Texas for the last several weeks. She was not staying in her son's
home but would come over each day to help care for the children. She had not gotten there
yet when the kids were killed.
Russell Yates graduated from the old Dupont High and went away to college. He's been
living in Texas and working at the Johnson Space Center for a number of years. Friends say
he came back to visit his mom in Nashville often.
NEON NAPPI
From: "Patty" <la...@bug.com>
Father of Drowned Children From Nashville
WTVF Channel 5 Nashville
Thanks for all the updates Patty. I guess I just havent been focussing. Where
was Dora Yates staying while she was in Texas?
Also, can you tell me how you manage to find stories about issues in the news
without scouring each and every paper every day? Is there a news service that
you plug "Andrea Yates" into which highlights which papers have which stories?
Barbara
Patty
:
: Father of Drowned Children From Nashville
: WTVF Channel 5 Nashville
:
: Thanks for all the updates Patty. I guess I just havent been focussing. Where
: was Dora Yates staying while she was in Texas?
:
: Also, can you tell me how you manage to find stories about issues in the news
: without scouring each and every paper every day? Is there a news service that
: you plug "Andrea Yates" into which highlights which papers have which stories?
:
: Barbara
I don't think it was mentioned before that Dora Yates didn't live in Houston.
I'm sure one of the articles would have mentioned if she was staying with
another son or daughter, one said he had a brother in Florida.
I found these articles after Desi posted the story on Rusty from the Houston
Chronicle and when it mentioned he originally was from Nashville, I figured
it was such a big story the Nashville media would have something on it
as well, besides the usual AP articles.
Patty
Patty
: On 01 Jul 2001 15:58:13 GMT, neon...@aol.com (NEON NAPPI) wrote:
:
: >
: >Also, can you tell me how you manage to find stories about issues in the news
: >without scouring each and every paper every day? Is there a news service that
: >you plug "Andrea Yates" into which highlights which papers have which stories?
: >
: >Barbara
: snip
:
: I don't want to post any stories Patty but I wondered if you had a
: special place you used also. I have been out of town all week and I
: was trying to find Poundstone info and when I search..all I get are
: her fan pages .I don't know where to look for things...
:
: nicki
Here's one easy place to go for crime stories, they even have discussion
boards there.
Patty
Alan Hope
programme, like this one from =^.^=, calling from alt.true-crime:
>On 01 Jul 2001 15:58:13 GMT, neon...@aol.com (NEON NAPPI) wrote:
>>Also, can you tell me how you manage to find stories about issues in the news
>>without scouring each and every paper every day? Is there a news service that
>>you plug "Andrea Yates" into which highlights which papers have which stories?
>snip
>I don't want to post any stories Patty but I wondered if you had a
>special place you used also. I have been out of town all week and I
>was trying to find Poundstone info and when I search..all I get are
>her fan pages .I don't know where to look for things...
If Patty felt like it one day, she could write an article herself on
how she does this true-crime search business everyone's so rightly
impressed by, and sell it for money. Search engine know-how is a very
saleable commodity these days. I know someone who uses that as the
basis for a great many articles.
Then again, she may not want to give away her secrets.
--
AH
Cliff or Linda Griffith
> Russell Yates' mother, Dora, still lives in Hermitage. She was out of town, though. She'd
> been in Texas the last few weeks helping her daughter-in-law take care of the kids.
From the other story:
> Rusty's mother, Dora Yates still lives in Nashville. News 2 talked with
> a friend of hers
> Thursday night. She says Dora has been down in Houston for the past
> couple months helping
> her family and will probably be there for a bit longer, now that they
> need her more than
> ever.
I'd hope it was "months", but whatever, it didn't work.
> Neighbors say Yates brought his wife and kids here just last Christmas.
Friends say
> he came back to visit his mom in Nashville often.
Did Andrea usually stay in Texas with the kids?
(Just feeling bitter tonight, I guess.)
Linda
NEON NAPPI
From: Cliff or Linda Griffith <grif...@home.com>
From the other story:
***********
I havent seen anything at all about that.
Maybe I missed it but I still dont know where she was staying while she was in
Houston. Do you?
Barbara
Patty
"Cliff or Linda Griffith" <grif...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3B413188...@home.com...
I'm wondering who took care of Andrea when she had the baby. Did
her m-i-l come and stay a few weeks then? My mom took care of
my sisters for a week after they came home from the hospital with
each child. Our neighbor, who was the same age as my oldest sister
later told me how lucky my sisters and I were to have such great
parents. It was the first time I had even given it a thought. The neighbor
said that her mother wouldn't even give it a thought to come and help
her after delivery. With 4 other children, one probably still being potty-
trained, Andrea would definitely need an additional hand during that time.
Patty
Patty
I bet she either stayed at a motel or had leased an apt for a certain time.
I imagine the house with five kids was crowded and there wasn't any
room for m-i-l. She may also have wanted to have some space and
get away at night.
Patty
NEON NAPPI
From: Alan Hope <ah...@skynet.be>
>snip
--
AH
**********
AOL used to have a service, I"m not sure if they still do ( we are not on
speaking terms), where you plugged in the names of about 5 news stories that
you were interested in following and tney sent you emails with the relevant
articles.
Also there are some crime web sites with not only similar services but sites
which also have a collection of news stories archived regarding current
stories, ABP news comes to mind.
I think although I cant find it, that there was also a site for news coverage
in general (perhaps with the old DJN) in which you could plug the name into a
search engine) and it would spit out a list of the coverge.
Barbara
NEON NAPPI
From: "Patty" <la...@bug.com>
Patty
**********
I'm sure you're right. It's just with the plethora of information that's
available all over the place I wonder why it's not mentioned at least in terms
of how far away it was etc.
Barbara
mothra...@my-deja.com
Something else I'm wondering about: why his mother and not hers, to
come and help when she was clearly too sick to be on her own? If there
was an estrangement, I think it was due to the religion she had
embraced, and the fact that Andrea spent time with her mother when her
father was dying indicates that there was an abiding closeness. I know
I would prefer to have my own mother present if I were ever to find
myself in such a predicament. I wonder if the mother-in-law was there
because Mr. Yates didn't want his wife and children "contaminated" with
a practicing Roman Catholic? And maybe that's exactly what his wife did
need.
I think the fact that the two suicide attempts (that we know of) were
performed in the mother's home isn't necessarily an indication that
Andrea's wrath was directed to her mother. It seems to me it could as
easily mean that this was a place where she felt safe enough to make
such a serious gesture, a place where she knew she would be taken
seriously. After all, she *told* her mother she had taken the pills,
and it was her mother who got her help then. Further, I would imagine
that a woman with small children and a husband who loved her would not
want to subject them to the trauma of discovering her body.
Martha