Yates’ grandmother may have been a murderer
Repo...@home.net
The following appears courtesy of the 7/25/00 online edition of The
KHQ-TV,
local Spokane, Washington NBC-TV affiliate station web site:
Yates’ grandmother may have been a murderer
July 25 - The grandmother of serial killer suspect Robert Yates was once
accused of killing her husband with an axe. That story was printed in
the
Southern Standard newspaper of McMinnville, Tennessee on Sunday.
It details how Robert Yates grandmother, Novella Yates, smashed
her
husband in the head four times with an axe. The newspaper story goes on
to say
only that Novella Yates was charged with murder, and there’s no record
of a
trial.
The killing happened in 1945 in a small town in Tennessee. The story
talks
about how Yates’ father, Robert Yates Sr., eventually moved to Oak
Harbor,
Washington from Tennessee. If you’d like to read the article, you can
click
the link on this page.
Robert Yates Jr. faces eight murder counts in the Spokane serial
killer
case, and two more murder charges in Pierce County. Yates will be back
in court
in Spokane this Friday. His lawyers want more time to come up with
information
to try to convince the prosecutor to not file for the death penalty.
-------------------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/25/00 online edition of The
Spokane
Spokesman-Review newspaper:
Yates' grandmother killed spouse with ax
Kin of accused serial killer spent time in mental institution
Bill Morlin - Staff writer
Spokane _ The paternal grandmother of accused Spokane serial killer
Robert
Lee Yates Jr. killed her husband with an ax 55 years ago, a Tennessee
newspaper reports.
Novella Johnson Yates spent time in a Tennessee mental institution after
the
Oct. 19, 1945, bludgeoning death of John Taylor Yates, who was a farmer.
His wife was charged with felonious assault, but records can't be found
to
show whether she was ever convicted of the crime, The Southern Standard
reported in its Sunday editions.
The newspaper is published in McMinnville, Tenn., near Nashville.
The newspaper account doesn't say whether Robert Yates, arrested in
April in
Spokane and charged with killing eight women, ever met his late
grandmother.
He is 48.
Yates was charged last week with two additional murders in Tacoma.
All his victims, investigators say, were women who led "high-risk
lifestyles" tied to prostitution or drugs or both.
His attorneys are expected to ask a judge this week for additional time
to
put together a "mitigation package" in their attempt to convince Spokane
prosecutors not to seek the death penalty.
His family's involvement in another brutal crime shortly after the end
of
World War II may be raised in the mitigation package, now being prepared
by
assistant public defender Richard Fasy.
Only sketchy information is available about the ax murder, the newspaper
reported. The account is based on two 1945 newspaper articles. The
newspaper
doesn't quote any surviving relatives, some of whom still live in
Tennessee.
Those relatives, including Yates' father, aren't talking about the ax
murder
or the serial killing case.
The suspect's sister, who lives in Deer Park, couldn't be reached Monday
evening to be asked about the crime involving her late grandmother.
Novella Yates eventually was released from the mental institution, but
the
Southern Standard doesn't say when that occurred.
She never remarried and died Jan. 9, 1972, at the age of 79 in rural
Tennessee near McMinnville, the Southern Standard reported.
She is buried in the Laurel Creek Cemetery, about five miles from the
McElroy Cemetery in Van Buren County, Tenn., where her husband is
buried.
No motive has been suggested for the killing.
"On the morning of Oct. 13, 1945, according to police reports, Novella
Johnson Yates, 54, awoke early and went outside to the woodshed and got
an
ax," the Southern Standard reported.
"She was in her bare feet," the account said. "There had been light
frost
and the trees were beginning to turn a patchy gold."
"Cradling the ax squarely in her arms, police say, she returned to the
house, closed the door quietly behind her and went into the bedroom
where
her husband, John Taylor Yates, 55, slept."
"In seconds, she brought the ax down on her husband's head, striking him
a
total of four times," the newspaper reported.
"Miraculously, three of the wounds were not serious, (but) a fourth
slashed
the entire right side of his head, penetrating the brain," the account
said.
Yates was brought to the McMinnville Medical Clinic and Hospital where
he
died six days later.
The Yates lived in rural Van Buren County, Tenn., and had 10 children,
including the accused serial killer's father, Robert Lee Yates Sr.
He eventually moved from Tennessee to Oak Harbor, Wash., where his son
was
raised.
Robert Yates Sr. now lives in Arizona.
----------------------------------------
The following appears courtesy of the 7/23/00 online edition of The
McMinnville Southern Standard newspaper:
Grandson a serial killer?
Jul 23 2000
By Jackie Srouji / News Editor
Hornets swarm at the base of a hollowed tree, seeping with sap, while
nearby,
an old stone angel watches over the McElroy Cemetery in Van Buren
County,
standing not far from where the tombstone of John Taylor Yates rests
alone in
the family plot.
Not surprisingly, the grave of his wife, Novella Johnson Yates, stands
about
five miles away in the shadow of a mountain at Laurel Creek Cemetery.
Near her
tombstone is the name of yet another family member, Audrey Yates
Measles, and
the date, March 23, 1921.
It was a crime which shook Van Buren County.
The Yates were parents of 10 children - seven sons and three daughters -
and
they lived quietly on their green patch of earth in the McElroy
community, not
far from the Warren County line.
On the morning of Oct. 13, 1945, according to police reports, Novella
Johnson
Yates, 54, awoke early and went outside to the woodshed and got an ax.
She was
in her bare feet. There had been light frost and the trees were
beginning to
turn a patchy gold.
Cradling the ax squarely in her arms, police say, she returned to the
house,
closed the back door quietly behind her, and went into the bedroom where
her
husband, John Taylor Yates, 55, slept.
In seconds, she brought the ax down on her husband's head, striking him
a total
of four times. Miraculously, three of the wounds were not serious,
however, a
fourth, slashed the entire right side of his head, penetrating the
brain.
Yates, a Van Buren County farmer was brought to McMinnville's Medical
Clinic
and Hospital where he would die six days later.
By that time, police had arrested his wife, charging her with felonious
assault. She was brought to the Warren County Jail and later released
under a
bond of $3,000.
There are no records to indicate she was ever brought to trial, although
a Nov.
19 date was set after she was indicted on a charge of first degree
murder by
the Van Buren County grand jury.
After a period of time she returned to the McElroy community, living
quietly
there, as well as Laurel Creek, with family members. She never remarried
and
died Jan. 9, 1972 at the age of 79.
This single tragedy of the Yates' family would have gone down simply as
a
darkened page in community history. It is a history most, over time,
have
simply forgotten.
Forgotten, except for the recent arrest of a man thousands of miles away
in
Spokane, Washington, who has been described by police as "America's most
notorious serial killer."
He is Robert L. Yates, Jr., grandson of John Taylor and Novella Johnson
Yates.
His father, Robert L. Yates, was their son and spent his young years in
Van
Buren County before moving to Oak Harbor, Washington.
During the early morning hours of April 19, 2000, Yates Jr., 48, was
arrested
by Spokane police for the murder of Jennifer Joseph, a 16 year-old girl
from
Spanaway, Washington.
However, by the end of May, the case was upgraded to an indictment on
charges
of murdering a total of eight women, all allegedly engaged in
prostitution and
drug use. He was also charged with robbing and attempting to kill
Christine
Smith.
Spokane detectives say they now have DNA and ballistics evidence linking
Yates
to at least nine of the victims of what has become known as the "Spokane
Serial
Killer."
Yates, however, has pleaded innocent to eight counts of aggravated
first-degree
murder in the slayings which occurred in 1997 and 1998. He has also
pleaded
innocent to charges of attempted murder and robbery in one case in which
the
woman survived an attack.
Spokane County prosecutors have until July 31 to decide whether to seek
the
death penalty or life in prison without parole. These are the only two
sentencing options in Washington state for a person convicted of
aggravated
first-degree murder.
Yates Jr. grew up in Oak Harbor, a small town on picturesque Puget
Sound, where
his father, Robert Yates Sr., was an inventory specialist at Whidbey
Naval Air
Station.
They were Seventh Day Adventists, strict Seventh Day Adventists. The
family
kept Saturday as the sabbath, avoided alcohol and pork and never used
four-letter words. Classmates remember Yates Jr. as a "solid guy" and
"Joe
Average."
Young Yates studied pre-med at Walla Walla College where he married
Linda
Brewer, the daughter of a prison guard. At the age of 25, he enlisted in
the
Army and ended his 18-year career as a distinguished master aviator.
Military records describe him as quiet, methodical and a soldier with
extraordinary patience. In 1996, he retired from distinguished active
duty
military and moved back to Washington where he enlisted in the National
Guard.
The Yates have five children - four of whom are still at home - and they
live
in a quiet, upscale Spokane area neighborhood. He was employed as a
$13.75
an-hour crane operator, initially being hired as a strike-replacement
worker
for Kaiser Mead.
In the only statement released to date, family members told the press:
"Bobby
is a loving, caring, sensitive son; a fun-loving and giving brother; an
understanding, generous and dedicated father who enjoys playing ball,
and
fishing with his kids. He is the type of person you would want to have
as your
best friend."
Spokane investigators say DNA test results are their key evidence in the
crimes. Their other evidence is a physical identifier which "links" all
the
serial killings:
* All victims were shot in the head.
* Most were dumped at out-of-the-way areas on the edge of town.
* All victims were female and had lifestyles involved in drugs,
prostitution or
both.
* In several cases, authorities say they have conclusive DNA evidence -
semen -
matching the killer.
According to "Time" magazine, the mother of one of the victims looked in
disbelief at the accused killer, this balding father of five, in a navy
blue
suit with wire-rimmed spectacles, and said: "He looks more like a little
mouse."
Elderly Van Buren residents, one of whom went to school with Robert
Yates Sr.,
also shook their heads in disbelief. "Are you sure they have the right
man?"
asked one.