Why I FORGIVE the woman who drowned our five children: Andrea Yates's ex-husband reveals he still calls murderer mom in astonishing interview about their relationship

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It's been almost 25 years since Rusty Yates received the worst phone call of his life: His then-wife Andrea asked him to come home immediately.

When he arrived at the house in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, it was to find his children murdered – all five drowned in the bathtub by their mother.

The subsequent trial gripped America as Andrea Yates, then 35, was found guilty of quintuple murder. The verdict was then overturned in 2006 when she was acquitted on insanity grounds due to the severe postpartum psychosis she was suffering from at the time.

Now the horrifying events of June 20, 2001, have been revisited in a new documentary: The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story which premiered on HBO Max last week and advances a novel theory – that Yates was influenced to kill her children by apocalyptic preacher Michael Woroniecki.

Woroniecki, now 71, declined to take part in the documentary and has denied contributing in any way to the death of the Yates children. 

But in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Rusty – who also appears in the show – said he still believes the real driving force behind the killings was Yates' postpartum psychosis and, in a stunning act of compassion, revealed he has forgiven her for what happened to their children.

The NASA engineer, 61, also told how he still calls Yates once a month to reminisce about happier times together and visits her once a year at the Kerrville State Hospital – a secure mental health institution where she has lived since 2007.

'It's just that we shared a special time in life and we're the only ones remaining who can reminisce about those good times that we had,' Rusty told the Daily Mail.

'That's really all it is. I cherish that time, she cherishes that time. The tragedy obviously has been really hard on both of us.

Andrea Yates was found guilty of capital murder after drowning her five children in a case that shocked the world in 2001. Her conviction was later overturned in 2006 when she was found not guilty by reason of insanity 

Andrea and now ex-husband Rusty Yates appeared to be the picture perfect family before the devastating events of June 2001; they are pictured before their daughter Mary was born

'I think in most respects, it's been harder on her than me because we both dealt with a serious mental illness, but she was the one who was mentally ill.'

He added: 'You know, we both lost our children, but it was by her hands. We both dealt with a cruel state prosecuting her for this, but she was the one on trial.

'The only thing that helped her some was that she was pretty heavily medicated during that time and she hasn't had to interact with the public which has helped also.

'In those two respects, maybe it was a little harder for me, but on the whole, it's been harder for her.'

Yates, 61, was a registered nurse when she and Rusty met in the summer of 1989. They wed just over three years later in April 1993.

Both devout evangelical Christians, the couple wanted as many children as possible with their first son Noah arriving the following year.

Four more children followed in quick succession: Paul, John, Luke and Mary – a little girl to complete what appeared to be a picture-perfect family.

But behind the scenes, mental illness was lurking with Yates, who had suffered from an eating disorder and depression during her teens, plunged back into depression following the birth of fourth son Luke.

Rusty Yates, who later remarried and had a son with his second wife, appears in a new documentary that revisits the case, The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story which premiered on HBO Max last week

Rusty is seen holding a family portrait while speaking at a news conference in front of the family's home in the wake of the murders

The Yates' boys Luke, two, Paul, three, John, five, and Noah, seven, were drowned in the bathtub by their mother in June 2001 

In June 1999, Yates attempted suicide twice inside of a month and in July the same year, suffered a nervous breakdown.

Although diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and advised not to have any more children in January 2000, Yates became pregnant with Mary a few months later and stopped taking her medication while pregnant.

That would prove to be a tragic mistake. 'I didn't know she was psychotic,' Rusty told the Daily Mail.

'I thought she was depressed. There's a big difference. She was quiet. She wasn't like stripping her clothes off and running down the street, you know?

'She was just quiet. If someone's quiet, you assume they're thinking the same things they've always thought – but she wasn't.'

At the same time, preacher Woroniecki had come into the couple's life – regularly mailing them video cassettes laying out his doctrinaire version of Christianity.

Implicit in the new documentary is the theory that Woroniecki's teachings contributed to Yates' dire mental state and in some way led to the murders of her children.

Rusty isn't buying it. 

The couple's fifth child, daughter Mary, was born in 2000, after Andrea had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis following her previous pregnancy

Police , seenthe Yates family home in Clear Lake, Texas, in the aftermath of the killings

The new documentary explores the theory that Yates's unthinkable act was influenced by the teachings of apocalyptic preacher Michael Woroniecki, seen here in 1987

'I think she definitely would have become psychotic with or without him and she definitely would have had concerns about the wellbeing of our children and her abilities as a mother and her standing before God.

'All that would be present without his influence. She was raised Catholic. So, I don't think it's fair to say: "Hey, without the street preacher's influence, this wouldn't have happened".

'But I can definitely say that without the [mental] illness, it wouldn't have happened. I can definitely say that if she'd gotten better care, it wouldn't have happened.'

On the day his children died, Rusty went to work as usual but received a call from Andrea a few hours later telling him to come home immediately.

When he did, it was to a scene of pure horror. Yates had drowned all five children in the bathtub, laying out the body of baby Mary in her older brother John's arms.

Yates had also dialed 911 and confessed the murders – and was found guilty and sentenced to life with a chance of parole a year later.

In 2005, the conviction was quashed on mental health grounds and a 2006 retrial found her not guilty due to insanity.

Rusty, meanwhile, tried to move on with his life: filing for divorce from Yates in 2005 and remarrying in March 2006.

Rusty Yates went on to marry second wife Laura Arnoldin 2006, but the couple split in 2015

He and second wife Laura Arnold, also 61, split 10 years later in 2015 but not before having a son of their own: Mark, now 17.

Throughout it all, Rusty remained in touch with Yates and spoke to her before agreeing to take part in the documentary which he filmed in New York last autumn.

'I gave her heads up that it was coming,' Rusty told the Daily Mail. 

'She was not thrilled – she's a private person and she'd rather me not do any interviews at all.

'I told her I had to balance that with defending our family and really, to try to do what I can to prevent something like this from happening to any other families.'

Yates is now receiving proper care for her mental illness and could, in theory, apply for release but that's something Rusty believes will never happen.

'No judge would ever want to be the one to sign off on an order releasing the infamous Andrea Yates,' he said.

'But I don't think she would ever want to be released either.'