Yates' Ex 'Very Happy' For Her

Rusty Yates, whose ex-wife, Andrea, drowned their five children in a bathtub in 2001, says he's "very happy" that she may get a new trial or be allowed to plead insanity.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused on Wednesday to reconsider a lower court ruling that overturned her capital murder convictions for the drownings.

That means the case will be tried again or a plea bargain will be agreed to.

In 2002, jurors rejected Yates' insanity defense and found her guilty of two murder charges in the deaths of three of the couple's children.

An appeals court in Houston overturned the convictions in January because testimony from forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz was later found to be erroneous. He suggested Yates got the idea for the murders from an episode of "Law & Order."

Yates was sentenced to life in prison and is jailed at a psychiatric prison in eastern Texas.

Yates, 41, pleaded insanity and, according to testimony at the trial, was overwhelmed by motherhood, considered herself a bad mother, suffered postpartum depression, had attempted suicide, and had been hospitalized for depression.

On Wednesday, Rusty Yates

"It's one step in the right direction, I guess, you know, for the case. I'm happy," he says. "My opinion from the beginning is I don't think this should have ever gone to trial in the first place. What I'm hoping is that the state will be more reasonable this time around and we can reach some kind of an agreement that is good for everybody.

"I would like to see a plea agreement, not guilty by reason of insanity, and have her go to a hospital. I don't know if the state's gonna agree to that or not, but certainly I hope the two sides can come together and reach some common ground so that we don't have to go back to trial and Andrea doesn't have to spend the rest of her life in prison."

Rusty says Andrea was "anxious" as she awaited the latest word from the court.

"There's a lot of uncertainty. She's been at (her current) facility now for several years, and she's in a pretty secure environment now. There's no danger of her fleeing or anything, but I mean secure from harm. And so she appreciates that aspect of it. I think she's been away from society for so long, and away from having freedom for so long, she's kinda forgotten what that's all about. So I think it's going to be an adjustment for her. And I think if she comes back to Houston or if she goes to a hospital, I think, either way, she's gonna, you know, adjust and it'll be good for her, maybe give her a little more hope."

Told by Syler that many people find it a bit odd that he's so forgiving, Rusty said: "From the time we met, we've had a good relationship, a mutually respectful, supportive relationship. I'm encouraged by the fact that we're able to continue our friendship, even through the divorce. So, you know, we really have been a good support to each other. We both enjoy reminiscing about the time we had together with each other."

Do they speak about their children?

"Every time (he visits her). Yes, we do," he says. "She has been pretty stable for the last year. There was a, probably a period of three years when I would visit her, I never knew who I was going to meet. One time she's down, one time up. One time she cries. One time she can't cry. It's largely a function of her chemical state, what medication she's on. … It's very difficult to see. For the last year, she's been pretty stable."