489: Andrea Yates: The Cult Behind the Killer Part 2
From True Crime Obsessed by True Crime Obsessed
March 17, 2026 · 1h 8m · Episode 489
About this episode
The episode explores Andrea Yates' untreated postpartum depression and the influence of her religious beliefs on her actions.
In part 2, we start to understand the severity of Andrea's postpartum depression - an illness that went untreated so long that it developed into a psychosis. And even after she recovered from it the first time and she and her husband Rusty were warned that it would be worse if they had any more kids, they went ahead and had their fifth. Many questions swirl around Rusty and his insistence that they continue to reproduce. And only when Andrea's attorney is finally able to make the connection between her mental illness and her religious indoctrination is a jury able to see her crime for what it was, a perfect storm of coercion, depression, and a desperate attempt - as backwards as it sounds - to save the souls of her children. YEAH IT'S A LOT FAM. PLEASE COME HOLD OUR HANDS AND SCREAM WITH US. Find and watch "The Cult Behind the Killer" on HBO Max LOOKING FOR MORE TCO? On our Patreon feed , you'll find over 400 FULL AD-FREE BONUS episodes to BINGE RIGHT NOW , including our episode-by-episode coverage of popular documentary series like Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God , LulaRich , and The Curious Case of Natalia Grace ; classics like The Jinx , Making A Murderer , and The…
People in this episode
Host: True Crime Obsessed
Topics covered
- postpartum depression
- mental illness
- religious indoctrination
- coercion
- family dynamics
Keywords
- Andrea Yates
- postpartum depression
- psychosis
- religious indoctrination
- mental illness
- true crime
Sponsors
Rocket Money
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: HBO Max
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