McGrath, please tell me what facts I was ignoring in my previous post (mostly, I raised questions and spoke about my own impressions). I absolutely agree that we would need a hell of a lot more information about the father before absolutely blaming him. I'm not about to "lynch" him. On the other hand, I'm not ready to call him a saint, either, without knowing a hell of a lot more about the situation. And every tidbit I read and hear about the man, such as Burke's posting above, cause me to doubt him a little more.

At best, the guy turned a blind eye to a dangerous situation. The wife had a history of attempted suicide AND it was stated that she was too depressed to attend a party with her children the previous weekend (NOT stressed out & needing a break, DEPRESSED). According to the link that katlaughing provided on June 23 @ 11:30 am, Andrea Yates had just been taken off Haldol two weeks previously, and on the Monday prior to the murders had just started a new dosage of several anti-depressants and had discussed starting therapy with her doctor, so apparently she wasn't even in therapy at the time. At the very least, her husband should not have left her alone with the kids for fear that she might kill HERSELF and leave the young ones in the house without supervision. Was he in denial? Is he just not too bright? Or what???

The link also says that the wife's brother stated that the Yates couple "didn't like to ask for help... didn't want to talk." Sorry, but such behavior CAN be a sign that there's spousal abuse in a home. OR it could simply indicate embarrassment about or fear of discussing mental illness, even with close family, which again points toward denial, pride and an unwillingness to accept emotional support. Either way, not good.

Does anyone know if autopsies have been performed on the kids to determine whether, in fact, the cause of death was drowning, and to determine the time of death? The wife's confession wouldn't amount to much if the kids had been killed the previous night, and the bodies dipped in water in the morning. BTW, how much credence DOES the law give to the confession of a person deemed to be psychotic?

Yes, we do need more info before we draw ANY conclusions about this case.