Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates

Suzanne O'Malley

Feb 2004 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Suzanne O'Malley takes a close look at the Andrea Yates murder trial and discovers medical misjudgment, professional negligence, misapplied law, and a revelation that led to the overturning of Yates's conviction.

It took a jury less than four hours to find Houston housewife Andrea Yates guilty of the drowning deaths of three of her five children—and a mere half hour to sentence the troubled woman with a stunning history of severe mental problems to life in prison. But beyond the media coverage of her heinous crimes, there is a story that only investigative reporter Suzanne O'Malley has fully illuminated.

This updated edition of Are You There Alone? features a new chapter on the appeal of the Yates case, as well as personal updates on both Andrea and Rusty Yates. Having drawn upon hundreds of interviews—with expert witnesses, close friends, family advisers, and Andrea and Rusty themselves—O'Malley has produced a riveting true-crime account that shatters our notions about criminal law, mental illness, death-penalty politics, and religious fanaticism in America today.

Ratings and reviews

If only she got a proper treatment, those children might have been alive. We, what so called, sane peole would've never understand or tolerate her action, we could only wonder how could she did what she did and maybe hate her for wht she did. But I agree with Rusty's statement that to her all her delusions are her memories

About the author

Suzanne O'Malley's investigative reports on the Yates trial appeared in the New York Times Magazine; O, The Oprah Magazine; and on Dateline NBC. She has written for the New York Times Book Review, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, Salon.com, and Texas Monthly, and has been a producer and consultant for NBC and MSNBC. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. She lives in New York City and Houston. Visit www.suzanneomalley.com.