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The Cult Behind the Killer - The Andrea Yates Story (2026) Season 1 Episode 2
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FunTranscript
00:00When I watch cult documentaries, I get jealous of their episode two.
00:13They show people, oh, we were all coming together, we're all in this commune, and we're doing yoga together.
00:19We never had that. We never had the episode two.
00:23It's not like the Children of God cult. This is not wild, wild country.
00:30It's this isolating thing where there's no compound for the cult. There's no community to it.
00:38It's people so spread out. Everything revolves around Michael, and you can't get out.
00:46You will never be out.
00:48One of the most heartbreaking tragedies we have ever heard.
01:02Neighbors are understandably stunned.
01:05This mom's actions are a calculated act of evil.
01:08These events are beyond our ability to understand.
01:15Number one question. Why? Why? Why?
01:20I honestly don't know what precipitated Andrew's breakdown.
01:35She never said anything about what she was struggling with.
01:39But, of course, having kids is stressful.
01:45Living in a small space can be an extra stress.
01:48But I never really realized that, coupled with her exposure to the Warneckis, could be troubling.
01:54In 1999, a few months after Luke was born, Andrea had another incident.
02:05We were still at Andrea's mother's house, and Andrea had walked off.
02:14I'm like, where's Andrea?
02:15I opened the bathroom door, and there she is standing, looking at herself in the mirror, with the knife up to her neck.
02:28We have the sacrifice, but where is the offering?
02:32I said, hey, give me the knife.
02:34Faith takes you to that extent.
02:37She just stood there, catatine.
02:39Faith takes you to that point where you lift the knife.
02:44She didn't actually harm herself, but she was hospitalized at that point.
02:55The doctors told me Andrea had postpartum depression.
03:01They explained the seriousness of the illness, that women who have postpartum depression can develop postpartum psychoses.
03:10But I didn't know what psychosis looked like, what it meant.
03:16It would have helped a lot to know that, hey, just if you see a person, a loved one, during that postpartum period,
03:22they may not be thinking the way they always think.
03:25And, in fact, if they are believing things to be true that aren't, it may be very dangerous.
03:33The doctors gave her some combination of the medicines that brought her from off-road back to her normal way of thinking.
03:41And they said, well, you know, I wouldn't recommend having more children.
03:46One of your own seeds shall be your inheritance.
03:50You must give birth to life.
03:53We asked, hey, what's the risk?
03:56They're like, well, there's 50-50 chance that if she has another child, she'll relapse,
04:02and she'll exhibit the same symptoms and require the same treatment.
04:09It'd be fair to say, okay, well, there was a risk to her.
04:12If she did get sick again, she could try to harm herself again.
04:16But I didn't even think that at the time.
04:18I just thought, okay, she'll get sick.
04:20Worst case, it'll be like a flu.
04:22She'll get treated with the same medicines that worked for her before,
04:27and we'll be done.
04:28That's simple enough, right?
04:30Throughout my childhood, Michael had strongly encouraged us to live in a bus like his family.
04:41But this boy, my parents were barely paying the bills at a campground,
04:47which is $40 a week.
04:48That's almost no money.
04:50So my mom gets a job as an activities director,
04:54and that's the first time we were actually around human beings
04:58that were not Michael's kids.
05:02My oldest sister is about 12 years old,
05:06and she meets this girl, Megan.
05:09Heard Megan hit it off like two 12-year-olds would.
05:14We're back in the bus,
05:17and my sister says,
05:20you know what?
05:22Megan, I really like Megan.
05:25Megan, that was really fun.
05:28And the pH level in the room changes.
05:34My mom overhears this.
05:36My sister saying that she liked another girl.
05:41Having a friend outside,
05:42meaning you're letting Satan inside your heart.
05:45you have a connection with a girl that's not in Michael's teachings,
05:50that's not the chosen one.
05:53So then she was in probably the most amount of trouble I've ever seen.
05:59And the word trouble is tame.
06:01She was beaten for an entire day.
06:05That is something that Michael would approve of.
06:11Not only approve of,
06:12he would encourage.
06:14Spank them hard so it hurts.
06:17The Bible says,
06:18wounds scour away evil.
06:22All because
06:23she said that she liked another girl.
06:28She liked a friend.
06:29You know,
06:41I don't think there's much more of a more beautiful thing in creation
06:44that God has given
06:44as a beautiful reflection
06:48of what it means to be born again
06:50than the butterfly in the cocoon.
06:52So in this
06:56pamphlet,
06:58bringing the inside out,
07:00Michael talks about
07:01the butterfly in the cocoon.
07:05God put the metamorphosis
07:06of a worm and a butterfly
07:08into creation
07:10as a most glorious witness
07:12to the work of transformation.
07:16What that means in
07:18Michael's terms
07:20is that you need to become a butterfly.
07:22Butterfly is
07:23you being saved.
07:25These worms are crawling on each other
07:26trying to get to the top.
07:28And finally,
07:28this worm just splits on his own.
07:31And you know what?
07:32He starts to spin a cocoon.
07:34And to really get to know God,
07:36who's going to make you a butterfly,
07:38you have to go into a cocoon.
07:41So you enter this phase
07:43of isolation.
07:46A lot of time in that cocoon.
07:48Scary experience of changing.
07:51A lot of struggle.
07:52A lot of suffering.
07:53He has purposely designed this system
07:56where you were cut off
07:58from the rest of the world.
07:59All of your personal relationships,
08:02everything that human beings
08:03were meant to do here,
08:06connection, love, death,
08:09all of that
08:09is now revolving
08:11around Michael himself.
08:13It's going to be a life of solitude,
08:16rejection,
08:19persecution,
08:21isolation,
08:22loneliness,
08:23and struggle.
08:25No one ever became a butterfly.
08:27When I graduated college,
08:38I was offered a job
08:40with General Mills,
08:41and I was excited,
08:42you know,
08:42because General Mills
08:43is a Fortune 500 company.
08:47That was my first sale
08:48with General Mills.
08:50And they got monster after that,
08:53you know,
08:53because I was good at what I did.
08:55You know,
08:55I have a gregarious personality.
08:56People do like me,
08:58and so I did really well.
09:00On one hand,
09:01I had a company car
09:02and a salary
09:03and a bonus,
09:04but on the other side,
09:05I'm feeling guilt,
09:07you know,
09:07because I've absorbed enough
09:08of Michael's teachings
09:09that I know a job is wrong.
09:11I know a job is cooperating
09:13with saints,
09:14but I have to work,
09:16and I have to earn an income.
09:18When all your life
09:19is consumed with working,
09:22there's more to life
09:23than at work.
09:25I'm not there.
09:26I'm not getting Mike's approval.
09:27I'm conflicted.
09:28And so for the next two years,
09:31I embraced getting the tapes.
09:33I was in that learning phase,
09:35you know,
09:35and I was developing spiritually,
09:38understanding more of his teaching,
09:42understanding more of the path
09:43I need to go by.
09:44And then I received a handwritten note
09:53from his wife, Rachel.
09:55What I found peculiar, though,
10:02was the closing in her note.
10:04She ended with,
10:06in Jesus,
10:07Michael's servant,
10:09Rachel.
10:10I did not understand
10:11why she's labeling herself
10:13that way,
10:14a servant.
10:16But after reading the track,
10:19The Witch and the Wimp,
10:20Michael says that all women,
10:31as a result of Eve's
10:32disobedience to God,
10:34inherit a witchcraft nature.
10:36All you got to do
10:37is look at your mom,
10:38look at your sister,
10:38look at your neighbor,
10:39look around the women.
10:41This witchcraft nature
10:44seeks to control
10:46and dominate men.
10:47And if you are going
10:48to be a real man of God,
10:50you're not going to tolerate
10:51being ruled
10:52by a contentious woman,
10:54a witch.
10:55You don't need a cauldron,
10:56you don't need a broomstick,
10:57you know,
10:57all you need
10:58is that little contentious heart.
11:02In that track,
11:03Mike revealed
11:04the true nature of women.
11:06That explained
11:07the way Rachel
11:09closed her letter.
11:09She's Michael's servant,
11:12not his wife.
11:14After that,
11:15I began to see men
11:16oppressed
11:16by their contentious wives.
11:18Every time
11:19I turned on the television,
11:21I would see shows
11:22like Married with Children
11:23or Roseanne,
11:26the controlling woman
11:27and the passive man
11:28who lets the woman
11:29call the shots.
11:31I was seeing
11:31witches and wimps everywhere.
11:33I really believed
11:35I was seeing that.
11:37It was a very powerful,
11:39paradigm shift
11:40on how you view
11:41the relationship
11:43of a man and woman.
11:45I have this thing,
11:46pin that I wear
11:47that says,
11:47I'd love to submit
11:48to my husband.
11:48Yeah, Elizabeth was
11:49talking about that
11:50on the table.
11:51Those guys from Texas A&M
11:52saw,
11:53my wife has a button.
11:54I love to submit
11:57to my husband
11:57and then it has
11:58all the verses,
11:59you know,
11:59throughout.
11:59It's like,
12:00it's like she's got
12:00a weird thing on,
12:02a stinky,
12:03smelly,
12:04horrible thing
12:05that's got a bad
12:05over it.
12:06All I can tell you
12:08is I love
12:09to wear that button
12:10because that is
12:11my place of security.
12:12When I try to get
12:13out of that place
12:14or I walk
12:14or the contention
12:15of my nature,
12:16the iniquity rises up,
12:18it's like I'm out
12:19of nowhere.
12:20You know,
12:20you can't be there
12:21and have that.
12:22And you know,
12:22it's not like
12:23we're trying to depict
12:24a walk in the garden
12:25kind of relationship.
12:27You know,
12:27it's a constant,
12:28I have to,
12:28because of that,
12:29when you've sinned,
12:30I have to constantly
12:31confront my wife
12:32with her nature,
12:33constantly.
12:34Because it's wicked.
12:35It's so deep.
12:37Wow.
12:39Teaching-wise,
12:40it seems consistent
12:42with what they've said
12:43in their tracks.
12:44The submissive role,
12:47the wife,
12:48the man's like
12:49the head of the marriage.
12:53I don't agree
12:53with that now
12:54at all,
12:56but at the time,
12:59I think I would have
13:00agreed with it.
13:00I know we had
13:04that kind of
13:04in our family.
13:05You know,
13:05we had a more
13:06traditional family
13:06and Andrea looked
13:07to me to make
13:08significant decisions.
13:11And I mistakenly
13:12would assume
13:12that if it's bad
13:13for her,
13:14she'll speak up,
13:15but looking back,
13:16I don't think
13:16that's true.
13:20After the knife incident,
13:22Andrea was released
13:23from the hospital
13:24and I thought,
13:25let's try to get
13:25a more comfortable
13:26home environment.
13:27so we found a house
13:29close to my job
13:30at NASA.
13:31Not real big,
13:32but just right for us,
13:33especially coming
13:34out of an RV.
13:36For some number
13:37of months after that,
13:39she started doing
13:40a lot better.
13:43Andrea went from
13:43being catatonic
13:44to up and about,
13:46communicative.
13:48Tell us what
13:48you're fixing to do.
13:50Be jackrabbit.
13:51You're going to be
13:52jackrabbit?
13:52Wait a minute.
13:54Really gave me
13:54a lot of hope
13:55because I thought,
13:56oh, this can work out.
13:58Stimulus can drive
13:59millions of people
13:59into mental wards,
14:00into drugs,
14:01into all kinds
14:02of false hype
14:03and stimulus.
14:05And then,
14:06by the end of 99,
14:08Andrea didn't want
14:09to take any more meds.
14:10She's like,
14:11I don't want to take
14:11any more of anything,
14:12so she stopped.
14:18At the time,
14:19going in even
14:20to our marriage,
14:21we said,
14:21well, we're going to have
14:22how many children
14:24that come along,
14:24right?
14:25and right or wrong,
14:27that's what we decided.
14:28There's the baby.
14:29There's the baby right there.
14:31It was within a year.
14:32The new mother.
14:33Hello.
14:36We got pregnant
14:37with Mary.
14:40If the risk
14:41of having another child
14:43was the flu,
14:45that, you know,
14:46that was a risk
14:47worth taking.
14:47Hi.
14:48Hi.
14:48When I got a promotion
14:54to have New Mexico
14:56as my whole sales territory,
14:57I moved to Albuquerque.
15:00That's where I met
15:01a really kind
15:03and caring girl.
15:06That was our first date.
15:08I'm not a bad date,
15:10you know,
15:10I'm full of devil,
15:11but I do a good first date.
15:13She was working
15:17on a master's degree
15:18at the University of New Mexico
15:19and we quickly
15:20became close friends.
15:23About a year later,
15:24we became engaged.
15:28I slowly introduced her
15:30to Mike
15:31by having her listen
15:33to some of the tapes.
15:34If you're a woman of God,
15:36you will,
15:36out of compassion
15:37and love for your husband,
15:38learn to submit.
15:40Her present initial
15:41was that,
15:41David,
15:41this guy sounds kind of weird.
15:44Your mind is occupied
15:45with your wickedness.
15:46The truth is,
15:47you don't know
15:47how bad you are.
15:49I think she even
15:49used the word creepy.
15:53Then one day,
15:54Mike called me
15:54on the phone
15:55and he said,
15:56we were going to Europe
15:57and it's very costly
15:59to go there
15:59and so this is
16:01how you can wire money
16:02to help them
16:03with their trip
16:03and so I did.
16:05About a 10-year time period,
16:07I probably gave Mike
16:08and his family
16:09a little under $20,000.
16:11During our phone conversation,
16:15he asked what was
16:16the latest with me
16:16and I just told him
16:17that I was engaged
16:19and he says,
16:20David, you know
16:20that's not a wise idea
16:22and I said,
16:23yeah, you know,
16:23I'm sorry.
16:25In the heart
16:25of every single woman
16:26is the powerful
16:27thwart of Satan
16:28to demean,
16:29to oppress,
16:30to attack the men of God,
16:32to nullify God's word.
16:34Mike teaches that
16:35until a man
16:36has direct revelation
16:38for God,
16:38it's not good
16:39that he become married
16:40because the contentious woman
16:42will be a distraction.
16:44All I can do
16:45is warn you.
16:47The next day
16:48or two days after,
16:50I called Diane
16:51and I downplayed it.
16:54I told her that
16:54in my spiritual development,
16:56it's just not a good time
16:57for me
16:58to be thinking of marriage
16:59or even to be engaged,
17:00so I'm sorry,
17:02but we're just gonna have
17:03to call this off.
17:11After I called out
17:12the engagement,
17:13I was too numb
17:14to feel a thing,
17:16but afterwards,
17:18I cried
17:18because she was
17:20a wonderful girl
17:20and she loved me.
17:23She really did.
17:27My dad,
17:31Mark,
17:32when he was out
17:33street preaching,
17:34he would get in trouble
17:35with Michael
17:36because he wouldn't
17:36street preach loud enough.
17:40Michael said
17:41that he was
17:42beyond saving.
17:44He was a wimp
17:45of a man.
17:47It made for
17:48a contentious situation
17:50because my dad
17:52is naturally
17:52submissive
17:53and not the alpha
17:56in a group.
17:57Michael completely
18:00shifted the power dynamics
18:02in my family
18:03and my mom
18:05and dad
18:05stopped talking
18:06at this point.
18:08It was very hostile.
18:11So,
18:11in 1998,
18:12they eventually
18:13divorced.
18:15I got too close
18:16to the water.
18:18My mom got
18:19custody of the five kids
18:20provided that
18:22my dad gets
18:22custody of the bus.
18:24he takes the bus
18:27and in the bus
18:28is all
18:29Michael's tapes
18:29and my mom
18:31believed that
18:31they were
18:32the secret
18:32to salvation,
18:34the shortcut
18:34to heaven.
18:35So,
18:40my mom
18:41matches a plan
18:42where there's
18:42one bus
18:43window
18:43that doesn't
18:44close all the way.
18:45It never closed.
18:47So,
18:47my mom
18:47has me
18:48slip into
18:49the bus
18:50while my dad
18:51is out
18:51and I steal
18:53all of
18:54Michael's tapes
18:55back
18:55so that we can
18:56have those
18:57to listen to.
18:57I didn't stay
19:06in constant
19:06communication
19:07with Warniecki.
19:08Living was more
19:09about just managing,
19:11taking care of the kids,
19:12getting everything done.
19:14But I didn't
19:15discourage Andrea
19:16from writing
19:17if she wanted to write.
19:19That's her business,
19:20you know,
19:20her choice.
19:27Dear Andrea,
19:33praise Jesus.
19:35I hope your pregnancy
19:36and birth
19:37goes good.
19:39We have a new addition
19:39to our family.
19:41This is our little girl
19:42that was born today.
19:44Mary was born
19:45in November 2000.
19:47What do you think
19:48about having a sister
19:48this time
19:49instead of a little brother?
19:51I can't believe it.
19:54But most importantly,
19:56that you would come
19:57to know Jesus.
19:57and be able
19:58to give him
19:59to your children.
20:00Mary was a beautiful
20:01little girl.
20:02I held her up
20:03and she leaned forward
20:04like she wanted
20:04to kiss me.
20:05That was the
20:06sweetest thing.
20:07I pray for you,
20:08Andrea.
20:09For you,
20:10Rusty,
20:11and your family.
20:12At first,
20:12Andrea seemed
20:13perfectly fine.
20:15I know things
20:15are not the way
20:16you would like them
20:17to be.
20:17But then,
20:18a few months after,
20:19Andrea just plummeted
20:21very quickly
20:22down to a state
20:23where she was
20:23in 99,
20:25which of course
20:26raised the flag
20:27I've seen many women
20:29just continually
20:30put off their salvation
20:31in Jesus.
20:33Our symptoms
20:33recurred very quickly.
20:36Jesus knows
20:37how wicked you are,
20:38how weak
20:39and vulnerable.
20:40She went from being
20:41kind of what seemed
20:42like normal
20:43to in a worse state.
20:45She was just staring
20:52blankly ahead,
20:54had a scissor leg,
20:55picking at her hair,
20:56not saying anything.
20:57You are accountable
20:59for these children.
21:01You can change them.
21:03There will be a day
21:04when it is too late.
21:06So,
21:07I called around
21:08to try to see
21:09a psychiatrist.
21:10Oh yeah,
21:10we got an opening
21:11six weeks.
21:12I'm like,
21:12we don't have six weeks,
21:13you know.
21:14I didn't know what to do.
21:15I'm like,
21:15who do you call?
21:17Don't look to Rusty.
21:19Look to Jesus.
21:20I was at my wit's end
21:22at that time.
21:23If you allow Satan
21:24to come in
21:25and still be understanding,
21:28the consequences
21:30will be tragic.
21:33Everything was
21:34out of control.
21:35Love in Jesus,
21:37Rachel.
21:37The time I got
21:52this booklet,
21:53I figured this
21:55could really well
21:56be my last chance
21:57at salvation.
21:58You have got
21:59to go through
21:59that cocoon,
22:00that struggle
22:01all on your own.
22:03There are only
22:04eight butterflies
22:05on the face
22:06of the whole earth.
22:07They all have
22:08the last name
22:09Warren Ecke,
22:10but I was really feeling
22:11that I could be
22:12the ninth one
22:13and join them
22:14in this spirit world
22:16of complete joy
22:18in Jesus Christ.
22:19The sacrifice
22:20is the essence,
22:21the center
22:21of salvation.
22:24So you have
22:24to sacrifice.
22:26And what do you
22:26have to sacrifice?
22:28You have to sacrifice
22:29yourself.
22:30At this point,
22:31I believe I was
22:32my most devoted
22:33and faithful follower
22:35except one thing.
22:37my job
22:38was holding me back.
22:40Please get off
22:41your lazy butt,
22:41turn away
22:42from yourselves
22:43and watch God
22:44supernaturally provide.
22:46The test of my faith
22:47would be to quit
22:48my job,
22:49don't worry about
22:50how am I going
22:51to pay my bills.
22:52I will now be
22:52100% dependent
22:54and faithful
22:55that God will provide
22:56somehow.
22:57Everything is work.
22:58You're under a curse,
22:59friend.
22:59And so that's
23:00when I quit my job.
23:01To deny yourself
23:02is the key to victory
23:03because you are
23:05your greatest enemy.
23:08I would go to the mountains
23:09with my Bible
23:11and all of Mike's material
23:12free from distraction
23:13where I could solely
23:14concentrate on
23:16finding God
23:18and receiving revelation.
23:19I would just pray
23:23and ask God,
23:25you know,
23:25please give me light.
23:26God,
23:26you know I want you.
23:29Every night,
23:31I'd be begging,
23:33pleading,
23:34please open my eyes.
23:36but there was
23:40no divine encounter.
23:43And so with the
23:44little strength I had
23:45but the last vestiges
23:46of hope,
23:47I just kept trying.
23:50And I was listening
23:52to one of his tapes
23:53called
23:53As You Live,
23:54So Shall You Die.
23:56You don't want to think
23:57about what might
23:58really be wrong.
23:59At that point,
24:00I started shutting down.
24:02You can't do
24:03what God requires.
24:05Depression,
24:06despair,
24:07defeat.
24:08Just so overwhelming.
24:10It was hard to function.
24:12You feel horrible.
24:13All your tears
24:14are just crocodile tears.
24:15When you're convinced
24:16that everyone lives
24:17in satanic delusion,
24:19there's no one
24:19to turn to for help.
24:20You are a lame man.
24:22You gotta see, man,
24:23but you're ass sick.
24:25You're left with
24:25emptiness and loneliness
24:26and nothing.
24:29You want to get
24:30what you deserve?
24:31The next thing I know,
24:33you deserve help.
24:36I'm sitting there
24:36in a chair.
24:39You know,
24:40suicide
24:40is the ultimate
24:42self-obsession.
24:43With a loaded shotgun
24:44in my mouth.
24:47You're so
24:47grieved
24:48that you can't
24:49make yourself happy.
24:52And hey,
24:53might as well
24:54blow my brains out.
24:57Can't make myself happy.
24:58I have Mike mocking me,
25:03telling me
25:03that I'm workless,
25:04that I'm nowhere,
25:05that I'm just
25:06projecting false humility.
25:08Oh, I feel so sorry
25:09for you.
25:10I just can't follow
25:11what he said.
25:11You know,
25:12it's Michael Warniecki's fault.
25:14And I was young,
25:15so I could take this pain
25:17and battle it out.
25:24So I stopped for myself.
25:25If I was 50 years old
25:28and had clinical depression,
25:29it'd be really hard.
25:31So
25:31maybe it was good
25:33that I met Mike
25:34when I was young.
25:35If I was old,
25:36I probably would have
25:37really killed myself
25:38and died.
25:39Well, I'm sorry, guys.
25:42That's not a warrior.
25:44That's not a person in God.
25:45That's a piece of lard.
25:46That's an unregenerate pagan
25:48who doesn't want God.
25:50So I don't know
25:51what a doctor
25:52would call that,
25:52the combination.
25:53real clinical depression
25:54and then spiritual depression.
25:56You got it together.
25:58So, yeah,
25:59it was pretty dark.
26:03Oh, there was someone
26:04who had that.
26:05Her name was Andrea Yates.
26:06That's right.
26:11You must get right with God
26:12before it's too late.
26:14The window of opportunity
26:15is closing.
26:17After Andrea's symptoms
26:19started getting worse,
26:20I finally got a hold
26:21of a mental health hospital
26:22in the area.
26:23You only have a limited time
26:25to affect those little lives.
26:27Andrea's brother and I
26:28carried her to the guard
26:29and took her to the hospital.
26:31Teach and discipline the boys.
26:34And she was readmitted.
26:36I called Noah
26:37to let her talk
26:39with Noah a little bit.
26:40Parents today do not know
26:42how to teach their children,
26:44and thus they raise rebels
26:45without discipline.
26:46The only thing Andrea said was,
26:49I'm sorry I've been
26:50such a bad mom.
26:52First, it's not true.
26:53She was an awesome mother.
26:55Second, it's very out of character
26:57over to say anything like that.
27:07After my suicide attempt,
27:09I didn't break with Michael at all.
27:11I believe that I've been given
27:13a second chance to live
27:14and to find God.
27:18And then one day
27:19I received a package
27:20that contained a videotape.
27:22I was afraid to watch it.
27:25And it sat on my kitchen table
27:27for several days
27:28before I could even
27:29muster the courage
27:30to put it into the VCR.
27:33My heart was just beating
27:34with anxiety
27:35when I finally hit play.
27:38You're wrong.
27:40You must stop and change
27:42what you're doing.
27:43No reason for you
27:45to have just some awkward,
27:50uncomfortable feelings
27:51of change.
27:53No, no.
27:55I hear Mike imitating Satan
27:57in that creepy voice
27:58in that grotesque mask.
28:00I've already been
28:01eight years under his teaching.
28:03I felt like I was
28:04in a psychological maze.
28:05That's all that matters
28:06is what you feel
28:08in your own heart
28:09about yourself
28:10and about God.
28:13After the viewing
28:14of the tape,
28:15I started imagining
28:16the devil speaking
28:17to me all the time.
28:22And then soon
28:23another package arrived.
28:27Mike sent a message
28:28saying that
28:29he could meet with me.
28:31I thought because
28:32I wasn't progressing,
28:34he was coming to my aid,
28:35you know,
28:35much like a spiritual doctor.
28:37And I envisioned
28:38spending hours with him
28:39in a park
28:40or someplace quiet.
28:42But what I found peculiar
28:43was a place
28:43he chose to meet.
28:46A McDonald's restaurant.
28:48I didn't tell anyone
28:49except Richard.
28:51Me and Richard
28:52were childhood friends.
28:54We were in the same fraternity.
28:55And so he got exposed
28:57to Mike
28:57about the same time
28:58that I did.
29:00So me and Richard
29:02meet with Michael
29:03and it changed everything.
29:05It was the first time
29:13meeting Michael
29:13in person
29:14since 1987.
29:17He appeared shifty-eyed
29:18or worried,
29:19even a little nervous.
29:21And I experienced
29:21this immediate wave
29:22of conflicted emotion
29:23and just figured
29:24that the weight
29:25of the spirit
29:25must be heavy upon him.
29:28Then I remember
29:29Mike telling me,
29:30do you remember
29:31the opening scene
29:32in The Wizard of Oz?
29:33When the farmhouse
29:36gets lifted
29:37into the powerful winds
29:38of the swirling tornado,
29:40spinning and spinning
29:41in the winds of delusion,
29:43that's you, David.
29:45You don't even realize
29:46you're caught up
29:47in those winds of delusion.
29:49In fact,
29:50you're more deluded
29:51now than ever.
29:52I mean,
29:53my lips started quivering
29:54and my spirit
29:55just shattered.
29:57Richard was even
29:58worse news.
29:59He was told
30:00there's no hope
30:00for him at all.
30:01And then,
30:02just like that,
30:04he walked away.
30:05me and Richard
30:10were stunned.
30:16And then,
30:17super late that night,
30:19I hear a rapid bang.
30:22So I rush to open
30:23up the front door.
30:25It was Richard.
30:28Terrified,
30:28shaking.
30:31Just freaked out.
30:33David,
30:33I'm going to hell.
30:34You know,
30:34what's the point of living?
30:35I might as well
30:36just end it now.
30:38He was just convinced
30:40under Mike's teaching
30:41and Mike's words
30:42that he was going to hell.
30:44Let me just go.
30:45Let me get my punishment.
30:47He totally saw
30:48no reason to live anymore.
30:50That's in a lot
30:51of scary horror movies.
30:52Nothing can compare
30:53to the look and fright
30:55I saw in Richard's face
30:56that night.
30:57It's the most scariest thing
30:59you will ever encounter.
31:01No producer,
31:02no movie director
31:02could get that on film.
31:04You can't act that.
31:05It's a real experience.
31:07It's a spiritual,
31:09frightened experience
31:09that comes from
31:10the very soul.
31:12He scared me.
31:13And I was emotionally
31:14exhausted
31:15because it took everything
31:17I had to convince him
31:19to not do it now.
31:22And he's my friend.
31:23I loved him.
31:24He was my childhood friend.
31:26And I know he's going to do it
31:28because I know how he feels.
31:30I know.
31:31I know what he's under.
31:34You know, don't do it.
31:37It drained me
31:39because I knew
31:40he was going to do it.
31:42Knew he's going to do it.
31:43And he's my best friend.
31:45That really,
31:50you know,
31:51we talked for hours
31:54and eventually Richard decided
31:57to not take his life.
31:58after my parents' divorce,
32:04my mom moved us away
32:05to California.
32:07But my mom doesn't really
32:08want to reach out to Michael
32:09because she's pretty ashamed
32:10and has a lot of guilt
32:11for leaving my dad.
32:14About two years later,
32:15Michael comes back
32:16into our life
32:16and says,
32:17God has told us
32:18that you're just off track.
32:20You're not spiritually
32:21in line with where
32:22you need to be.
32:23So you're going to come out
32:24with us
32:24and you're going
32:25to answer your preach.
32:26Praise Jesus.
32:27Amen.
32:28Glory to your world.
32:30It's going to hell.
32:31It's going to the lake of fire.
32:34And unless you wake up
32:35and repent,
32:37you will perish.
32:38So we go out
32:39with Michael
32:40and all eight kids.
32:42A bunch of fools
32:43walking around
32:45like stupid blind sheep.
32:48They're headed for hell.
32:49God's going to burn this world.
32:51They're living in sin.
32:52God's going to destroy
32:53this earth
32:54and all you wretched sinners.
32:56I guess I was old enough
32:57to be embarrassed
32:58for the first time.
33:00I saw people's reaction to it.
33:02Look, Johnna, wake up!
33:04Wake up!
33:06Jesus Christ!
33:08Wake up!
33:09Wake up!
33:11And then Michael
33:13completely dresses
33:14my mom down
33:15in front of us.
33:16She's a wicked woman.
33:17She's contentious.
33:18She's living a life of sin.
33:20You're so evil.
33:21You're sending your kids to hell.
33:22Because you deserve it
33:24because you're a rebellion
33:25and you're wickedness
33:26to a holy God.
33:28Michael had written my mom off
33:30because she left my dad.
33:32But my mom was,
33:33we got to get back
33:34in his good graces.
33:35Her entire life
33:36was wrapped up in,
33:38does Michael love me?
33:40Does Michael think I'm saved?
33:42So we had two Michael's tapes
33:44that we took on the bus.
33:45I noticed a frequency
33:49in Michael's tapes being played.
33:51The entire word of God
33:52speaks about the last days.
33:55These words are so ingrained
33:56in my head.
33:58Not days of revival,
34:00but days of intense,
34:03powerful,
34:04deception,
34:05and delusion.
34:05Overall,
34:10my mom's anxiety
34:11about going to hell
34:12and sending her kids to hell
34:14outweighed any sort of logic.
34:17That's the point
34:17with Michael's teachings.
34:19It's such an extreme,
34:20dogmatic,
34:21high stakes.
34:22It's your soul
34:23for eternity.
34:24And I think ultimately,
34:26and I think she regrets this now,
34:27that got in the way
34:28of one of the most
34:31pure things in this life,
34:33which is a mother's love
34:34for their kid.
34:40Andrea was the sickest patient
34:41in that building.
34:43I mean,
34:43you could just tell.
34:43She was like,
34:44not hardly moving,
34:45not responsive,
34:47not communicative.
34:48And then within a week or two,
34:50they said,
34:51oh,
34:51she might do better at home.
34:52Let's try that,
34:53which is kind of probably code
34:54for your insurance right now.
34:56Time to go home.
34:58When she came home,
34:59she was completely out of it.
35:03I didn't know it at the time,
35:04but Andrea was having
35:06visual hallucinations,
35:08auditory hallucinations.
35:10You must stop
35:11and change
35:12what you're doing.
35:14And it led to
35:15the delusions she had
35:16of having the devil in her.
35:18I'm comfortable
35:18feeling some change.
35:20No.
35:22No.
35:24But at the time,
35:25Andrea didn't tell me
35:26what was going on
35:26in her head.
35:27and none of us,
35:29nobody thought
35:30the kids were
35:31at any risk at all.
35:33Nowhere on anyone's radar
35:34was any possibility
35:36of harm to our children.
35:41Andrea Yates
35:42called 911.
35:44Once authorities
35:45arrived at her home,
35:46they found
35:46five young children
35:48dead.
35:49Andrea Yates
35:50confessing to police
35:51she drowned her children
35:53one by one
35:54in the bathtub.
35:56You see a lot of homicides,
35:57but you don't see
35:58a scene like that.
35:59Sergeant Randall Beatty
36:00never cried
36:01in his 16 years
36:02in the force
36:02until he saw
36:04the horrors
36:04inside this house.
36:06We saw nervous
36:06that makes my stomach hurt.
36:08Tragedy is an understatement.
36:09I don't believe
36:09there are words
36:10in any language
36:11that can describe
36:12what has happened.
36:22After the tragedy,
36:24I had a very strange experience.
36:27I had nightmares
36:29that some
36:30of my children
36:32had passed
36:32only to wake up
36:35and realize
36:36they all had passed.
36:38And I'm like,
36:39wow,
36:40how can reality
36:41be worse
36:42than your nightmare?
36:44You know,
36:44but it was.
36:46I had that happen
36:47probably,
36:49I don't know,
36:50three or four times
36:51where I had
36:51a dream like that.
36:54And
36:54that's tough.
36:59Today,
37:16the Yates children
37:16were laid to rest.
37:19The eulogy
37:20was delivered
37:20by Rusty Yates
37:21who shared loving
37:22memories of each child
37:23Noah,
37:24John,
37:25Paul,
37:26Luke,
37:26and Mary.
37:29Rusty Yates
37:29wanted everyone
37:30to know
37:31a treasured moment
37:32he shared
37:32with each
37:33of his angels.
37:34This photo
37:34with Noah,
37:35the oldest,
37:36holding a caterpillar,
37:37tells a story
37:38of a family
37:38vacation to Florida.
37:40He said,
37:41Noah squealed
37:42when his caterpillar
37:42turned into a butterfly.
37:44And here's
37:44our butterfly.
37:46Aw,
37:48look,
37:48he wants to go.
37:50The family
37:50pulled off the highway.
37:51He set it free.
37:52Beep.
37:53This is how
37:57I feel now.
37:58I'm setting
37:58each child free.
38:01That's the thing
38:02that was most
38:02shocking to me
38:03about it all
38:04was just the
38:04finality of it.
38:06You know,
38:06you do anything
38:07to fight for your
38:08children,
38:08for your family,
38:09but it's too late.
38:11What happened
38:18was just,
38:19you know,
38:19incomprehensible.
38:20I mean,
38:20I just can't,
38:23I,
38:23you know,
38:25looking back,
38:26you know,
38:26I struggled with it
38:26all last night.
38:27I couldn't sleep
38:27last night.
38:28I was like,
38:28you know,
38:29is there anything
38:30I could have done?
38:31You know?
38:31That was a lot
38:31at once.
38:32It's like being
38:33thrown into a game
38:34you've never played,
38:35you know,
38:35and you're like,
38:36you don't know
38:37what to do.
38:37You know,
38:37what do you do?
38:38So,
38:39at the same time,
38:40I felt compelled
38:41that,
38:41okay,
38:41I need to
38:42do what I can
38:44to,
38:45you know,
38:45defend Andrea
38:46and my family.
38:47I'm torn.
38:48One side of me,
38:49you know,
38:50blames her
38:50because,
38:51you know,
38:51she did it,
38:52you know,
38:52but the other side
38:54of me says,
38:54well,
38:54she didn't
38:55because that wasn't her.
38:56She went through
38:57a postpartum depression
38:58with our fourth child
38:59and it was very serious
39:01then
39:02and she had attempted
39:03suicide then
39:04and,
39:06um,
39:07I'm supportive of her,
39:08you know,
39:09it's hard,
39:09you know,
39:10the woman here
39:11is not the woman
39:11that killed my children
39:12so,
39:13you know,
39:13if Andrea,
39:14if you see this,
39:14I love you.
39:16Right after I defended
39:18Andrea,
39:18a lot of people
39:19were just like,
39:19well,
39:19if it's not her
39:20because she's mentally ill,
39:21it must be that
39:22rotten husband of hers.
39:23people can't understand
39:26how a man,
39:27how a father
39:27could support his wife
39:29after she took
39:30the lives
39:30of their children.
39:38I took a lot of
39:39key for Andrea,
39:40but people can think
39:41what they want.
39:42They didn't live our life.
39:43They didn't sit
39:44in the doctor's office.
39:45Then a lot of people
39:46were saying,
39:47she's the devil.
39:48This is an absolutely
39:49evil woman.
39:51Miss Yates
39:51truly and intentionally
39:53drowned them
39:54one by one.
39:55This woman is a beast
39:56who committed
39:57one of the most
39:58horrible crimes
39:58I ever heard of.
39:59Hard to believe
39:59that a mother
40:00could do something
40:01like that.
40:02There's this
40:03tremendous outcry
40:04to give her
40:05the death penalty.
40:08The state
40:09are pursuing
40:10the death penalty
40:11in the Andrea Yates case.
40:12The county
40:13that sends
40:14more people
40:15to death row
40:15than any place
40:17in the U.S.
40:18The entire country,
40:21the entire world
40:21is like,
40:22this woman is evil,
40:24she's insane.
40:25But when I first
40:27heard the news,
40:28I was jealous
40:29rather than
40:32horrified.
40:37I just need
40:38a police officer.
40:40Are you there alone?
40:42No, my kids are here.
40:46I got why she did it.
40:48I got why the kids
40:49obeyed.
40:51I would have
40:51gotten that tough.
40:55So I understood it all.
40:56All of your children.
40:59They're seven,
41:00five,
41:02three,
41:03two,
41:04and six months.
41:05So you have five children?
41:07Yes.
41:10She did what
41:10she was supposed to do.
41:12Are you having
41:12a disturbance?
41:13Are you ill or what?
41:15Uh, yes, I'm ill.
41:16You need an ambulance?
41:17No, I need
41:18a police officer.
41:20She made
41:20the greatest sacrifice.
41:24She was
41:25saving her kids.
41:26She was
41:26saving her kids.
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