Texas child deaths detailed

Mrs Yates' mental state is a crucial factor

A prosecution expert in the murder trial of Texas mother Andrea Yates has been describing how she drowned her five children.

Paediatric pathologist Harry Wilson used a life-size doll to demonstrate how Mrs Yates held the children under water in a bathtub in their home last June until they were unconscious.

Each of these children did not want to die, and they fought their deaths

Dr Harry Wilson

Lawyers have been arguing over the mental condition of Mrs Yates, a 37-year-old former nurse, who faces the death penalty if convicted.

The defence says she suffered from post-natal depression with psychotic features, while prosecutors suggest she was well aware of her actions.

The case has strongly divided American opinion, with many unnerved by the prospect of sending a woman to the execution chamber but outraged by the horrific nature of the crime.

Others, particularly women's rights groups, have argued that Mrs Yates had been denied treatment she desperately needed and should now be helped, not punished.

Bacteria

Dr Wilson said the children each took three minutes to lose consciousness and several more minutes to die.

Russell Yates says Andrea had attempted suicide

"Each of these children did not want to die, and they fought their deaths," he said.

He used a life-size doll to show how Mrs Yates gripped the childrens' head and legs and held them under nine inches of water.

He said autopsies had revealed bacteria in the children's lungs which showed they had inhaled their siblings' vomit and faeces from the water as they drowned.

Dr Wilson also said that the fact that the killings were carried out in the space of an hour showed they were not the work of a confused psychotic.

Another witness, Deputy Sheriff Mike Stephens, told the jury he had overheard Mrs Yates tell a psychiatrist while in custody that she had considered other ways to kill her children.

Frequent depression

Her husband, Russell Yates, has said he stands by his wife, saying she had twice attempted suicide and had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for treatment.

Yates' children had been drowned in a bathtub in the family's home

Mrs Yates' medical records reportedly give full details of her frequent bouts of depression and suicidal behaviour.

And a doctor also reportedly cautioned Mrs Yates and her husband not to have further children following the birth of their fourth child.

The children, aged between 6 months and 7 years old, were found dead in the family home in June last year after Mrs Yates called the police.

Four of the children were discovered under sheets on a bed while a fifth was found in a bathtub. All had been drowned.

She may face the death penalty under Texas law, which states that the murder of a child under six or the killing of two people at the same time warrants capital punishment.