Woman guilty of killing kids is hospitalized

HOUSTON (AP) -- Andrea Yates, who is serving a life sentence for drowning her children in a bathtub three years ago, has been hospitalized because she is refusing to eat, her attorney said Tuesday night.
Her condition was unclear, attorney George Parnham told The Associated Press late Tuesday. He said he tried but was unable to visit with his client Tuesday because she wasn't coherent.
"There is apparently a determination within her that wants to put an end to this," Parnham said. "I'm not sure what type of psychiatric medications can offset the reality of what occurred and make her feel better about that."
Prison spokesman Mike Viesca said Yates was transported from the Skyview Unit to a hospital in Galveston Monday night. He said he could give no other details.
Found guilty
Jurors rejected Yates' insanity defense in March 2002 and found her guilty of capital murder for the June 20, 2001, drownings of three of her five children. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years. Yates was not tried in the deaths of the other two children and would be eligible for parole in 2041.
The hospital did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press on Tuesday night.
Her husband, Russell Yates, did not immediately return a phone message late Tuesday.
Parnham said he visited with Yates in May about her appeal. She seemed fine at the time, but the next time he saw her, he said she had done a "180 turnaround."
"The closer she got to the anniversary, the more thoughts she got, figuratively and literally," Parnham said. "She started losing weight, going psychotic and it's just not a good time."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.