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| Mother who drowned five kids has 'Satanic' visions |
The US mum who drowned her five children in a bathtub wants to be executed because she thinks it will destroy Satan.
A jury in Houston is now considering whether Andrea Pia Yates is mentally competent to stand trial for murder.
She is pleading not guilty due to insanity, but she does admit to killing them.
The jury is being told by a defence psychologist that Yates believes if executed she will also destroy Satan.
Gerald Harris, who lectures at the University of Houston, says her satanic delusions have begun to subside, but Yates still doesn't meet the threshold for the legal definition of competency.
Jurors must decide if Yates, 37, has a rational understanding of the charges against her and can consult with her lawyers.
Should they decide she is competent, Yates would go to trial charged with murder. Prosecutors want the death penalty.
Yates drowned her five children, Noah, 7, John, 5, Paul, 3, Luke, 2, and Mary, 6 months in a bath last June.
Story filed: 13:57 Thursday 20th September 2001
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