Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Psychosis not seen in mother who drowned children
The Sidney Morning Herald ^ | July 12, 2006 - 1:08PM | ukn

Posted on 07/12/2006 10:34:05 PM PDT by Pikachu_Dad

Psychosis not seen in mother who drowned children July 12, 2006 - 1:08PM

A psychiatrist who treated Andrea Yates about three months before she drowned her five children told a jury in Texas that she never appeared psychotic.

That was not even at an office appointment two days before the killings, a Houston court hearing her retrial was told.

Dr Mohammad Saeed, who treated Yates at a mental hospital for 24 days in April and May 2001, said today he nonetheless prescribed an anti-psychotic medication because Yates' husband said she had previously responded well to it.

(Excerpt) Read more at smh.com.au ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: disorders; mentalillness; nopsychosis; sane; yates
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last
The treating Dr. saw NO signs of psychosis in Yates.
1 posted on 07/12/2006 10:34:09 PM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad

But he prescribed! 10 years ago, my cousin was having mental problems and committed suicide just 1 week after being put on a new medication. Her psyciatrist said she had been thinking about it and the medication cleared her thinking to the point where she was able to carry it out. Wonder what the dr. gave Yates.

vaudine


2 posted on 07/12/2006 10:47:13 PM PDT by vaudine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad

Ridiculous. She had been so sick she required multiple hospitalizations (twice in the months before the murders)and heavy drugs, and the doctor-clown tries to cover his rear by saying she was fine when he last saw her.

No way should someone as sick as that woman was have been left to care for all those kids. That's an overwhelming job for a completely healthy parent.


3 posted on 07/12/2006 11:10:37 PM PDT by Jedidah
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Jedidah
Ridiculous. She had been so sick she required multiple hospitalizations (twice in the months before the murders)and heavy drugs, and the doctor-clown tries to cover his rear by saying she was fine when he last saw her.

He didn't say she was fine. He said she was not psychotic.

By the way, He WAS the treating physician for both of those hospitalizations !

The treatment was for post partum depression. Not for post partum psychosis.

4 posted on 07/12/2006 11:42:33 PM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Jedidah
I agree. The woman was very mentally ill, and from everything I've read she was clearly psychotic. This Doctor was most likely covering his hind end for not protecting Andrea and her family from herself. It would be unethical to prescribe an anti-psychotic without evidence of psychosis, as these meds have very significant possible side effects. I am a mental health professional, and this case points to me how far our culture has to go in understanding mental illness. This woman thought she was saving her children from evil by killing them. This case is in contrast to other women who have killed their children for some personal gain, such as being able to run off with a new boyfriend who didn't want children around. This would be an example of a sociopathic individual, which is a personality disorder, and very different from someone who is psychotic. I believe Anrea was let down by the medical community, her spouse, and all those who were aware of her fragile emotional state.
5 posted on 07/12/2006 11:51:44 PM PDT by allmyheroeshavebeencowboys
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad
he saw no signs yet didn't he prescribe Haldol?.....either he needs to fess up to his negligence or he needs to have his Medical practice closed.......

either AY was psychotic, even if only at certain times in her life, or she was evil......

I look at the faces of her smiling, happy children and I don't see them being raised unhappy, so I discount evil.....

I don't excuse her actions, but the signs for the doctor and infact her whole family were right there in plain sight......

6 posted on 07/12/2006 11:53:04 PM PDT by cherry (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cherry

I am not a doctor and am usually pretty hard line when a killer tries to use a mental illness defense but everything I've read and heard about Yates says that this was one very sick woman and probably still is.

If she doesn't fit the legal definition of insanity, probably no one does.


7 posted on 07/13/2006 12:10:51 AM PDT by Graybeard58 (Remember and pray for Sgt. Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: allmyheroeshavebeencowboys
This Doctor was most likely covering his hind end for not protecting Andrea and her family from herself. It would be unethical to prescribe an anti-psychotic without evidence of psychosis, as these meds have very significant possible side effects.

Those medical records from before the murders are posted on the net.

They match what the Dr. is currently saying. He did not diagnose her as psychotic.

8 posted on 07/13/2006 12:15:20 AM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Graybeard58
"If she doesn't fit the legal definition of insanity, probably no one does"

people think of insane people as unkept,slovenly, ranting, raving, drooling, etc........maybe the worse insanity is that which is hidden behind a smile.....

9 posted on 07/13/2006 12:15:37 AM PDT by cherry (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: cherry
Then read the testimony of the cop.

She is SANE and EVIL.

HOUSTON — The day after drowning her five children in a bathtub, Andrea Yates told a jail psychiatrist that she had decided to do it the night before and that she knew it was wrong, a sheriff's deputy who overheard their interview testified Wednesday.

"She said, 'I considered using a knife, but that would be too bloody. I considered using a gun, but that would be too noisy. I decided that drowning would be the safest way to take them into the next world,' " Deputy Michael Stephens told jurors in Yates' second capital murder trial...

10 posted on 07/13/2006 12:21:13 AM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Graybeard58
She certainly doesn't fit the legal definition in Texas. She called 911 and knew she would be punished for her actions. She knew her actions were wrong.

She certainly could have gotten help for her condition if she was having thoughts about killing her children. Her medical records show she did not tell them of that.

Instead, she waited until she was left alone for ONE hour and then she murdered all of her children in cold blood.

She knowingly started with the youngest and worked her way up to the eldest so that none of them would get away.

Remember that this woman is exceptionally bright - a valedictorian and a trained nurse.

She planned her activities in such a manner she thought she would get away with a horrific crime.

11 posted on 07/13/2006 12:27:07 AM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad
Then I would have to suggest the doctor possibly did a very poor job getting an accurate history on this woman who had episodes of suicide attempts, thought there were cameras in her ceiling, thought that television characters were talking to her, etc. When she was released from the hospital the last time, this very same Doctor told her to have positive thoughts. A nice sentiment, but totally hollow for someone as disturbed as Andrea was.
12 posted on 07/13/2006 12:33:27 AM PDT by allmyheroeshavebeencowboys
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad
She is SANE and EVIL.
Right. I don't see why people have a hard time accepting that humans can be this evil. Humans can be as evil as you can imagine, and then some.
13 posted on 07/13/2006 1:49:04 AM PDT by samtheman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad

"She certainly could have gotten help for her condition if she was having thoughts about killing her children. Her medical records show she did not tell them of that"


Can we really apply logical thinking to this equasion? In my opinion, this woman was not in a state of Logical thinking.....She was a very sick woman indeed. What Dr. would prescribe antipsychotic drugs to a woman who showed no signs of psychosis?
Covering his butt, IMO


14 posted on 07/13/2006 3:29:46 AM PDT by ZAKJAN2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Jedidah; Pikachu_Dad

I suspect thet Dr. Mohammed Sayeed has a different standard from you and me on what constitutes psychosis in a woman.

Call me biased, but he prescribed anti-psychotics and claims he did not think she was psychotic. My mental image is that of a doctor who was patching up a female to be sent back to her "womanly duties". I'd like to check on how his diagnoses of men vs women compares with other doctors wiht different ethnic backgrounds.


15 posted on 07/13/2006 4:43:23 AM PDT by From many - one.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: From many - one.

Sayeed = Saeed. Pre-cafffeine, sorry.


16 posted on 07/13/2006 4:45:56 AM PDT by From many - one.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: From many - one.

People can have psychotic "episodes" without being psychotic all the time.


17 posted on 07/13/2006 4:54:32 AM PDT by two23
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: two23

Agreed. But it would indeed be strange if he prescribed anti-psychotics when he thought she wasn't psychotic, or based only on the husband's say-so and not his own observations.

And if she was, at least sometimes, it certainly would be reasonable that she was when she murdered her children. There seem to have been none of the usual motivations.


18 posted on 07/13/2006 5:02:28 AM PDT by From many - one.
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Pikachu_Dad

She's mental yes, but not to the point of not knowing right from wrong; an important hinge when considering legal insanity I believe. Its not the Dr, its not the husband, its her fault. She killed those children, she planned to kill those children and she knew what she was doing. All the rest is just hindsight of others wishing they could have stopped it, as occurs in any tragedy.


19 posted on 07/13/2006 5:25:25 AM PDT by D1X1E (You don't have to be dim to be a dem but it makes it easier on your masters if you are.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: allmyheroeshavebeencowboys
episodes of suicide attempts

Suicide attempts? Please.

The Yates version of a suicide attempt was to take two much of a prescription that rarely ever causes a fatality by itself (she is a trained nurse)

and holding her knife to her throat a month later - but not actually cutting herself.

This woman loved herself too much to even consider trying to commit suicide.

20 posted on 07/13/2006 7:09:08 AM PDT by Pikachu_Dad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson