Rusty Yates: Lindsay Clancy case 'not quite as clear'
Rusty Yates, ex-husband of Andrea Yates, says the Lindsay Clancy murder case is "not quite as clear" as Yates' case. Speaking to NewsNation as jurors deliberated, he cited Andrea's extensive medical records documenting postpartum psychosis, contrasting them with what he described as a murkier picture in Clancy's Massachusetts trial.
Key Takeaways
- Rusty Yates told NewsNation the Lindsay Clancy case is "a little murkier" and "not quite as clear" as Andrea Yates' case.
- He pointed to Andrea's hundreds of pages of medical records and a well-documented history of mental illness.
- Both women were nurses who killed their children and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, citing postpartum psychosis.
- Andrea Yates drowned five children in Texas in 2001; Lindsay Clancy strangled three children in Massachusetts in 2023.
- As jurors deliberated Clancy's fate, Yates has lived in a Texas state hospital since her 2006 insanity acquittal.
Why does Rusty Yates say the Clancy case is murkier?
In a NewsNation interview, Rusty Yates urged against treating the cases as identical. "I think this case is a little murkier, you know?" he said. "It's not quite as clear as Andrea's was."
He emphasized Andrea's documented history in comments reported by Oxygen, citing "hundreds of pages of medical records" and "a pretty well-documented history." People reported those records showed recurring postpartum depression and psychosis, while Clancy's records were described as sparse.
Rusty also said prosecutors "went far and wide to find anyone who would say anything negative about Andrea and they couldn't," calling her "just such a sweet person."
How do the Andrea Yates and Lindsay Clancy cases compare?
Both women worked as nurses. Defense teams argued the killings occurred during postpartum psychosis and related diagnoses. Both entered not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity pleas, and both trials have renewed debate over when mental illness can excuse criminal responsibility.
The alleged crimes differed in method and scale. Andrea Yates drowned her five children—Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and Mary, 6 months—in a Texas bathtub in June 2001. Lindsay Clancy, 36, is accused of strangling Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, at her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023 before jumping from a second-story window.
Clancy has not denied the killings but pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility. Her attorney argued postpartum psychosis; prosecutors said she acted deliberately. For more coverage in this beat, see BlasterPost's True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub.
What happened after Andrea Yates was tried?
Andrea Yates was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to life. That verdict was later overturned. At a 2006 retrial, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She has lived at Kerrville State Hospital since then; Rusty has said he visits about once a year. The couple divorced in 2005.
While Clancy's jury deliberated—Oxygen reported day six of deliberations amid deadlock reports—Andrea remained in state hospital care. Possible Clancy outcomes include prison, a secure psychiatric facility if found not criminally responsible, or a mistrial if jurors stay deadlocked.
Why are the husbands under public scrutiny?
Both husbands have faced questions about whether they could have prevented the tragedies. In an Aug. 21 interview on Cuomo Crime Time, Rusty said people "want to be able to explain things in terms they understand," recalling a false email claim that he beat Andrea.
He said he sees Patrick Clancy "going through the same thing," describing a pattern of blaming the husband when mental illness is cited—and even asking how far blame goes "to get to the drug companies." Years before her own case, a coworker testified Clancy cried hearing about Andrea Yates and asked how a mother could hurt her children.