Next book in my Daily Book Excerpt:
I’ve been in the Madeleine L’Engle non-fiction section of my bookshelf … and now … jarringly – that’s over, and we move into my “true crime” area.
First book is Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates
EXCERPT FROM Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates
At 9:48 am on Wednesday, June 20, 2001, eight minutes before she called her husband, Andrea Yates had dialed 911. “I need a police officer,” she said, her breath heaving unsteadily into the phone.
“What’s the problem?” police telecommunicator Dorene Stubblefield asked with a whiff of attitude.
“I just need him to come,” Yates said.
“I need to know why they are coming,” Stubblefield persisted. “Is your husband there?”
“No.”
“What’s the problem?”
“I need him to come.”
“I need to know why they are coming,” Stubblefield repeated.
No answer. Nothing but Andrea Yates breathing irregularly, as if an intruder might be holding a gun to her head.
“Is he standing next to you?”
Yates fumbled the phone.
“Are you have a disturbance?” Stubblefield asked, thinking this might be a domestic problem. No answer. She had to determine whether she was sending officers into a dangerous situation. “Are you ill, or what?”
“Yes, I’m ill.”
“What kind of medical problems?”
Valuable seconds ticked by. Who could explain this to a stranger on the phone?
“You need an ambulance?” Stubblefield suggested.
“No, I need a police officer,” Yates said.
“Do you need an ambulance?” Stubblefield repeated.
“No … Yes, send an ambulance …” Yates’s breath became even more labored. Then nothing but static.
“Hello?” Stubblefield asked, urgency finally mounting in her voice.
Still no answer. “Is someone burglarizing your house?” she asked.
“No.”
“What is it?” asked Stubblefield, frustrated.
Silence.
“What kind of medical problems are you having?”
More time slipped away. At length, Yates once more asked Stubblefield for a police officer.
“Are you at 942 Beachcomber?”
“Yes.”
“Are you there alone?”
“Yes,” Yates said. Suddenly there was more static, then another long silence. Stubblefield wondered if she’d lost her. The sound of panicked breathing returned.
“Andrea Yates?”
“Yes.”
“Is your husband there?”
“No. I’m sick.”
“How are you sick?” Stubblefield asked. Yates’s answer was unintelligible.
“Andrea Yates, is your husband there?”
“No.”
“Why do you need a policeman, ma’am?”
“I just need him to be here.”
“For what?”
“I just need him to come.”
A long silence ensued, followed by static.
“You’re sure you’re alone?” By now Stubblefield knew something was wrong, but was Yates refusing to answer her questions or was someone stopping her from answering? After eight years on the job, Stubblefield thought she knew how to recognize a battered wife when she heard one.
“No,” Yates said finally, she was not alone. “My kids are here.” But here rasping breaths continued.
“How old are the children?”
“Seven, 5, 3, 2, and 6 months.”
“You have five children?”
“Yes.”
She might not know exactly what was wrong, but five children were enough to satisfy Stubblefield. “Okay. We’ll send an officer.”
“Thank you,” Yates said politely and hung up.
I’ve shared the same opinion concerning “the ignoramus she was married to” as well. Was it just me, or did he seem to be getting some kind of perverse enjoyment from all the attention after the fact? I don’t know, maybe I’m just too critical.
He was an absolute creep. Jesus, man…you’ve seen what the first few kids did to this woman’s brain chemistry, why do you keep making more with her?
Also: let’s home-school them! Great idea!!
I mean – having your wife kill your entire family is a huge price to pay for just being an idiot. I’m not saying he deserved it.
The whole story is just enraging – one failure after another.
sheila:
yes, it’s a very upsetting occurence. although andrea yates ultimately committed the act, she was not alone at fault. the creepy husband, the nimrod physicians, the “church” of two people. very very sad. there are a couple of books you may be interested in one novel, one non-fiction that really explains postpartum depression. the novel is called “a mouthful of air” and the non-fiction is called “womens moods” by jeanne watson-driscoll, which is actually refered to in the andrea yates book. it’s been such a taboo topic until recently. i work with pregnant women and am always trying to look for ways to help them be aware of the signs and what they can do about it. anyway, it should never have gotten to this point with the andrea yates situation. i’m glad you read the book and commented though. i don’t know anyone who’s read it, so it was nice to hear your comments.
susanna
p.s. have you ever read any of ann hood’s books? she’s a rhode islander. my favorite is: do not go gentle and ornithologists guide to life. check them out.
sbb: Yeah, that church of two people was freaky. Like I said – it seems to me like there was one failure after another here. It never ever should have gotten to that point.
The woman was seriously suicidal and psychotic – LONG before this tragedy. Her husband was there to witness it. But … uhm … what … if you pray hard enough mental illness will go away?
That’s what I mean by ignorant: these people had no idea what they were dealing with. The woman was openly catatonic – for months at a time. In what world is this normal, in what world does a husband say: “Okay, let’s keep home-schooling our 5 children”?
Not that Andrea Yates is not responsible for committing this crime. She is. But there was a massive failure here – this wasn’t a random act, an impulse – she had rehearsed for it, there was long documentation of serious psychosis – not just a little weepy post-partum stuff.
From the reports, it sounds like she sat in a chair, rocking back and forth, scratching away at the table, NOT SPEAKING, while the kids ran around wild – and this went on for a long LONG time before she snapped. I think people so much want everything to be okay that they put blinders on. Not to mention the fact that they hide behind Bible verses … where something like a psychotic suicidal mother doesn’t exist. Therefore, they don’t see what is right in front of their noses.
I have heard of Ann Hood … don’t think I’ve ever read any of her books, though. Are they fiction, or???
Well, I’m always afraid of getting my eyes scratched out (so to speak) when I say this, although I’m not afraid of you doing that, Sheila. (You’d have to have mighty long arms, ha ha.) I don’t think Andrea bears much responsibility at all. I truly think she has an uncontrollable mental illness and the people around her, who left the kids in her care, ought to be the ones in jail. She apparently thought that she was such a bad mother that she had screwed up those kids permanently and their only hope of escaping hell was if she killed them before they reached the age of accountability. She expected to be punished in this life and the next for subverting God’s will but she was willing to pay the price for her children. That’s worlds apart from, for example, Susan Smith, who just didn’t want to be saddled with the kids anymore. I think holding Yates responsible for killing her children would be like holding Christopher Reeves responsible for not being able to walk around (before he died).
ann hood’s books are mostly novels except for “do not go gentle.” anyway, many of her books take place in a fiction setting, but many references are made to RI spots.
try:somewhere off the coast of maine, or ruby.
ornithologists guide is short stories, and do not go gentle is about how she coped with her father’s death. she is a really great person. our husband’s are college friends.
Laura – I ain’t scratchin’ your eyes out. :)
After reading this book, I was definitely much more angry at everyone around her – who I think were reckless, irresponsible, in denial, and pretty much ignorant.