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HOUSTON (AP) � Prosecutors said Wednesday they would seek the death penalty against a mother accused of drowning her five children in a bathtub.
The decision came hours after Andrea Pia Yates, 37, pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to two counts of capital murder. She said nothing in a brief court session Wednesday and her attorney entered the plea for her.
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal told the judge he planned to pursue ``the full range of punishment in this case, including the death penalty.'' Yates' attorney declined comment on the decision.
Yates, of Houston, faces one count of capital murder for the June drowning deaths of her two oldest children, Noah, 7, and John, 5. A grand jury indicted her last week on a second charge of capital murder for the death of 6-month-old daughter Mary.
Yates also has admitted killing sons Paul, 3, and Luke, 2, police said. In Texas, prosecutors typically forgo multiple capital murder charges since only one conviction is generally needed for the maximum penalty.
Prosecutors said a court-ordered evaluation has determined Yates is competent to stand trial; her attorneys have asked to review evidence used by the doctor.
George Parnham, Yates' attorney, said her defense team has been unable to discuss the case with her, and mental health experts have told them she remains in a psychotic state.
Russell Yates has said his wife suffered from postpartum depression after the births of their two youngest children, and her condition worsened after her father died.
Andrea Yates called police to her home the morning of June 20. Officers found the four youngest children's bodies still wet under a sheet on a bed. Noah was dead in the bathtub.
The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that all five children drowned. Because of a gag order, coroners cannot comment on their findings.
Travis County medical examiner Roberto Bayardo reviewed the autopsies for The Associated Press and said fresh bruises on the four older children indicated that they struggled.
-Associated Press
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