- 2 days ago
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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.
00:22It'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 when you can't get out, you will never be out.
00:48One of the most heartbreaking tragedies we have ever heard.
01:01Neighbors are understandably stunned.
01:05This bomb's actions are a calculated act of evil.
01:10These events are beyond our ability to understand.
01:13Number one question. Why? Why? Why?
01:29I honestly don't know what precipitated Andrew's breakdown.
01:34She never said anything about what she was struggling with.
01:41But, of course, having kids is stressful.
01:45Living in a small space can be 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.
02:33Faith takes you to that extent.
02:36She just stood there, catatonic.
02:39Faith takes you to that point where you lift the knife.
02:43She 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 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.
04:08It'd be fair to say, okay, well, there was a risk to her.
04:12She did get sick again.
04:14She 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?
04:29Throughout my childhood, Michael had strongly encouraged us to live in a bus like his family.
04:41At this point, my parents were barely paying the bills at a campground,
04:46which is $40 a week.
04:48That's almost no money.
04:50So my mom gets a job as an activities director,
04:53and 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.
05:25That was really fun.
05:28And the pH level in the room changes.
05:34My mom overhears this.
05:36My sister.
05:37Saying that she liked another girl.
05:40Having 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, he would encourage.
06:14Spank them hard so it hurts.
06:17The Bible says,
06:18Ruse, scour away evil.
06:22All because
06:23she said that she liked another girl.
06:28She liked a friend.
06:29She liked a friend.
06:35You know, I don't think there's much more of a more beautiful thing in creation
06:43that God has given
06:44as a beautiful reflection
06:48of what it means to be born again
06:50than the butterfly in the cocoon.
06:55So in this
06:56pamphlet,
06:57bringing 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
07:09as a most glorious witness
07:12to the work of transformation.
07:16What that means in
07:18Michael's terms
07:20is that
07:21you 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.
07:27And finally, this worm just splits on his own.
07:31And you know what?
07:31He starts to spin a cocoon.
07:33And to really get to know God,
07:36who's going to make you a butterfly,
07:38you have to go into a cocoon.
07:40So you enter this phase of 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,
08:01everything that human beings
08:03were meant to do here,
08:06connection,
08:07love,
08:08death,
08:08all of that
08:09is now revolving
08:11around Michael himself.
08:14It's going to be a life
08:14with solitude,
08:17rejection,
08:18persecution,
08:20isolation,
08:22loneliness,
08:23and struggle.
08:26No 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
09:02and 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.
09:16I know.
09:16I 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,
09:34you know,
09:35and I was developing spiritually.
09:39Understanding more of his teaching,
09:42understanding more of the path
09:43I need to go by.
09:46I wanted to learn more.
09:48And then I received a handwritten note
09:52from his wife, Rachel.
10:00What I found peculiar, though,
10:02was the closing in her note.
10:04She ended with,
10:05in Jesus,
10:07Michael's servant,
10:08Rachel.
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,
10:20I understood.
10:22In The Witch and the Wimp,
10:30Michael says that
10:31all women,
10:32as a result of Eve's
10:33disobedience to God,
10:35inherit a witchcraft nature.
10:38All you gotta do is look at your mom,
10:39look at your sister,
10:40look at your neighbor,
10:41look around the women.
10:44This witchcraft nature
10:45seeks to control
10:47and dominate men.
10:49And if you are gonna be
10:50a real man of God,
10:51you're not gonna tolerate
10:52being ruled
10:54by a contentious woman,
10:56a witch.
10:56You don't need a cauldron,
10:57you don't need a broomstick,
10:58you know,
10:59all you need
10:59is that little contentious heart.
11:04In that track,
11:05Mike revealed
11:06the true nature of women.
11:08And that explained
11:09the way Rachel
11:10posed her letter.
11:12She's Michael's servant,
11:13not his wife.
11:15After that,
11:16I began to see men
11:17oppressed by their
11:18contentious wives.
11:20Every time I turned
11:21on the television,
11:22I would see shows
11:24like Married with Children
11:25or Roseanne,
11:27the controlling woman
11:29and the passive man
11:30who lets the woman
11:31call the shots.
11:32I was seeing
11:33witches and wimps everywhere.
11:35I really believed
11:36I was seeing that.
11:39It was a very powerful
11:41paradigm shift
11:42on how you view
11:43the relationship
11:44of a man and woman.
11:45I have this thing,
11:48pin that I wear
11:49that says,
11:49I'd love to submit
11:50to my husband.
11:50Yeah, Elizabeth
11:50was talking about that
11:51on the table.
11:52Those guys from Texas A&M
11:54saw my wife's
11:55has a button.
11:56I love it.
11:56That's what they were
11:56around with.
11:57I love to submit
11:58to my husband
11:59and then it has
11:59all the verses,
12:00you know,
12:01throughout.
12:01It's like,
12:01it's like she's got
12:02a weird thing on,
12:04a stinky,
12:05smelly,
12:06horrible thing
12:06that's got a path
12:07over her.
12:07I love to wear
12:11that button
12:11because that is
12:12my place of security.
12:14When I try to get
12:15out of that place
12:15or I walk
12:16or the contention
12:17of my nature,
12:18the iniquity rises up,
12:19it's like I'm out
12:21of nowhere,
12:21you know,
12:22you can't be there
12:23and have that.
12:24And you know,
12:24it's not like
12:24we're trying to depict
12:25a walk in the garden
12:27kind of relationship,
12:28you know,
12:29it's a constant,
12:30I have to,
12:30because of that,
12:31when you've seen,
12:32I have to constantly
12:33confront my wife
12:34with her nature,
12:35constantly.
12:36Because it's wicked.
12:36It's so deep.
12:39Wow.
12:41Teaching-wise,
12:42it seems consistent
12:43with what they've said
12:44in their tracks.
12:46The submissive role,
12:48the wife,
12:49the man's like
12:51the head of the marriage.
12:54I don't agree
12:55with that now
12:56at all,
12:57but at the time,
13:00I think I would
13:01have agreed with it.
13:02I know we had
13:05that kind of
13:06in our family,
13:07you know,
13:07we had a more
13:07traditional family
13:08and Andrea looked
13:09to me to make
13:09significant decisions.
13:12And I mistakenly
13:14would assume
13:14that if it's bad
13:15for her,
13:15she'll speak up,
13:16but looking back,
13:17I don't think
13:18that's true.
13:21After the knife
13:23incident,
13:23Andrea was released
13:24from the hospital
13:25and I thought,
13:26let's try to get
13:27a more comfortable
13:28home environment,
13:29so we found a house
13:31close to my job
13:32at NASA.
13:33Not real big,
13:34but just right for us,
13:35especially coming
13:36out of an RV.
13:38For some number
13:39of months after that,
13:41she started
13:41doing a lot better.
13:43Get the camera!
13:44Andrea went from
13:45being catatonic
13:46to up and about,
13:48communicative.
13:49Tell us what
13:50you're fixing to do.
13:52Be jackrabbit.
13:53You're going to be
13:53jackrabbit?
13:54Wait a minute.
13:55Really gave me
13:56a lot of hope
13:57because I thought,
13:57oh, this can work out.
13:59Simmons can drive
14:00millions of people
14:01into mental wards,
14:02into drugs,
14:03into all kinds
14:04of false hype
14:05and stimulus.
14:07And then by the end
14:08of 99,
14:10Andrea didn't want
14:11to take any more meds.
14:12She's like,
14:12I don't want to take
14:13any more anything,
14:14so she stopped.
14:19At the time,
14:21going in even
14:22to our marriage,
14:22we'd said,
14:23well, we're going
14:23to have how many
14:25children that come along,
14:26right?
14:26And right or wrong,
14:28that's what we'd decided.
14:30There's the baby.
14:31There's the baby right there.
14:32It was within a year.
14:34The new mother.
14:35Hello.
14:38We got pregnant
14:39with Mary.
14:41If the risk
14:42of having another child
14:44was the flu,
14:47that, you know,
14:48that was a risk
14:48worth taking.
14:49Hi.
14:50Back to the camera.
14:52Hi.
14:52When I got a promotion
14:56to have New Mexico
14:57as my whole sales territory,
14:59I moved to Albuquerque.
15:02That's where I met
15:03a really kind
15:04and caring girl.
15:07That was our first date.
15:10I'm not a bad date,
15:11you know,
15:12I'm full of devil,
15:13but I do a good first date.
15:14She was working
15:19on a master's degree
15:20at the University of New Mexico,
15:21and we quickly
15:22became close friends.
15:25About a year later,
15:26we became engaged.
15:30I slowly introduced her
15:32to Mike
15:32by having her listen
15:34to some of the tapes.
15:35If you're a woman of God,
15:38you will,
15:38out of compassion
15:39and love for your husband,
15:40learn to submit.
15:42Her present initial
15:42was that,
15:43David, this guy
15:44sounds kind of weird.
15:45Your mind is occupied
15:46with your wickedness.
15:48The truth is,
15:49you don't know
15:49how bad you are.
15:50I think she even used
15:51the word creepy.
15:55Then one day,
15:55Mike called me
15:56on the phone,
15:57and he said,
15:58we were going to Europe,
15:59and it's very costly
16:00to go there,
16:01and so this is how
16:03you can wire money
16:04to help them
16:04with their trip.
16:05And so I did.
16:07About a 10-year time period,
16:09I probably gave Mike
16:10and his family
16:11a little under $20,000.
16:15During our phone conversation,
16:17he asked,
16:17what was the latest with me?
16:18And I just told him
16:19that I was engaged.
16:21And he says,
16:21David, you know
16:22that's not a wise idea.
16:24And I said,
16:24yeah, you know,
16:25I'm sorry.
16:26In the heart
16:27of every single woman
16:28is the powerful thwart
16:29of Satan
16:30to demean,
16:31to oppress,
16:31to attack the men of God,
16:33to nullify God's word,
16:35God's word.
16:36Mike teaches that
16:37until a man
16:38has direct revelation
16:39for God,
16:40it's not good
16:41that he become married
16:42because the contentious woman
16:44will be a distraction.
16:46All I can do
16:46is warn you.
16:49The next day
16:50or two days after,
16:51I called Diane,
16:52and I downplayed it.
16:55I told her that
16:56in my spiritual development,
16:58it's just not a good time
16:59for me to be thinking
17:00of marriage
17:01or even to be engaged,
17:02so I'm sorry,
17:03but we're just gonna
17:04have to call this off.
17:13After I called out
17:14the engagement,
17:15I was too numb
17:16to feel a thing,
17:17but afterwards,
17:19I cried
17:20because she was
17:21a wonderful girl,
17:22and she loved me.
17:25She really did.
17:32My dad, Mark,
17:34when he was out
17:35street preaching,
17:36he would get in trouble
17:37with Michael
17:38because he wouldn't
17:38street preach loud enough.
17:41Michael said
17:42that he was
17:43beyond saving.
17:46He was a wimp
17:47of a man.
17:49It made for
17:50a contentious situation
17:51because my dad
17:53is naturally submissive
17:55and not the alpha
17:58in a group.
18:01Michael completely
18:02shifted the power dynamics
18:03in my family,
18:05and my mom and dad
18:07stopped talking
18:08at this point.
18:10It was very hostile.
18:12So, in 1998,
18:14they eventually
18:14divorced.
18:17I got too close
18:18to the water.
18:20My mom got
18:21custody of the five kids,
18:22provided that
18:23my dad gets
18:24custody of the bus.
18:27He takes the bus,
18:29and in the bus
18:29is all Michael's tapes,
18:32and my mom believed
18:33that they were
18:33the secret to salvation,
18:36the shortcut
18:36to heaven.
18:41So, my mom
18:42matches a plan
18:43where there's
18:44one bus window
18:45that doesn't close
18:46all the way,
18:47it never closed.
18:48So, my mom
18:49has me slip
18:50into the bus
18:52while my dad
18:53is out,
18:53and I steal
18:55all of Michael's tapes
18:56back so that
18:57we can have
18:58those to listen to.
18:59I didn't stay
19:07in constant communication
19:08with Warniecki.
19:10Living was more
19:11about just managing,
19:13taking care of the kids,
19:14getting everything done.
19:16But I didn't discourage
19:18Andrea from writing
19:19if she wanted to write.
19:20It's her business,
19:21you know,
19:22her choice.
19:23dear Andrea,
19:34praise Jesus.
19:35I hope your pregnancy
19:38and birth goes good.
19:39We have a new addition
19:41to our family.
19:43This is our little girl
19:44that was born today.
19:46Mary was born
19:47in November 2000.
19:49What do you think
19:49about having a sister
19:50this time
19:51instead of a little brother?
19:53I can't believe it.
19:56But most importantly,
19:57that you would come
19:58to know Jesus
19:59and be able to give him
20:00to your children.
20:02Mary was a beautiful
20:03little girl.
20:04I held her up
20:05and she leaned forward
20:06like she wanted
20:06to kiss me.
20:07That was the sweetest thing.
20:09I pray for you, Andrea.
20:11For you, Rusty,
20:12and your family.
20:13At first,
20:14Andrea seemed perfectly fine.
20:16I know things are not
20:17the way you would
20:18like them to be.
20:19But then a few months
20:20after, Andrea just plummeted
20:22very quickly down
20:24to the state
20:24where she was in 99,
20:27which of course
20:27raised the flag.
20:29I've seen many women
20:30just continually put off
20:32their salvation in Jesus.
20:33Her symptoms
20:35recurred very quickly.
20:37Jesus knows
20:38how wicked you are,
20:40how weak and vulnerable.
20:42She went from being
20:42kind of what seemed
20:44like normal
20:45to in a worse state.
20:48I know you're frustrated,
20:50Andrea.
20:53She was just staring
20:54blankly ahead,
20:56had a scissor leg,
20:57picking at her hair,
20:58not saying anything.
21:00You are accountable
21:01for these children.
21:02You can change them.
21:04There will be a day
21:05when it is too late.
21:08So I called around
21:10to try to see
21:10a psychiatrist.
21:11Oh yeah,
21:12we got an opening
21:12six weeks.
21:13I'm like,
21:13we don't have six weeks,
21:14you know.
21:15I didn't know what to do.
21:17I'm like,
21:17who do you call?
21:19Don't look to Rusty.
21:20Look to Jesus.
21:22I was at my wit's end
21:24at that time.
21:25If you allow Satan
21:26to come in
21:27and still be understanding,
21:29the consequences
21:31will be tragic.
21:34Everything was
21:35out of control.
21:37Love in Jesus,
21:39Rachel.
21:39The time I got
21:56this booklet,
21:57I figured this
21:58could really well
21:59be my last chance
22:00at salvation.
22:01You have got
22:02to go through
22:03that cocoon,
22:04that struggle
22:04all on your own.
22:06There are only
22:07eight butterflies
22:08on the face
22:09of the whole earth.
22:11They all have
22:12the last name
22:12Warren Ecke,
22:13but I was really feeling
22:15that I could be
22:16the ninth one
22:16and join them
22:18in this spirit world
22:19of complete joy
22:21in Jesus Christ.
22:23The sacrifice
22:23is the essence,
22:25the center
22:25of salvation.
22:27So you have
22:28to sacrifice.
22:29And what do you
22:30have to sacrifice?
22:31You have to sacrifice
22:32yourself.
22:34At this point,
22:34I believe I was
22:35Mike's most devoted
22:37and faithful follower
22:38except one thing.
22:41My job was
22:42holding me back.
22:43Please get off
22:44your lazy butt,
22:45turn away from
22:46yourselves,
22:47and watch God
22:48supernaturally provide.
22:49The test of my faith
22:50would be to quit
22:51my job,
22:53don't worry about
22:54how am I going
22:54to pay my bills.
22:55I will now be
22:56100% dependent
22:58and faithful
22:58that God will provide
22:59somehow.
23:00Everything is work.
23:01You're under a curse,
23:02friend.
23:03And so that's
23:03when I quit my job.
23:04To deny yourself
23:06is the key to victory
23:07because you are
23:08your greatest enemy.
23:11I would go to the mountains
23:13with my Bible
23:14and all of Mike's material,
23:16free from distraction
23:17where I could solely
23:18concentrate on
23:19finding God
23:21and receiving revelation.
23:22I would just pray
23:27and ask God,
23:28you know,
23:28please give me light.
23:29God, you know I want you.
23:33Every night,
23:34I'd be begging,
23:36pleading,
23:37please open my eyes.
23:42But there was no
23:44divine encounter.
23:45And so with the little
23:47strength I had,
23:49but the last vestiges
23:50of hope,
23:51I just kept trying.
23:54And I was listening
23:55to one of his tapes
23:56called,
23:57As You Live,
23:58So Shall You Die.
23:59You don't want to think
24:00about what might
24:01really be wrong.
24:02At that point,
24:03I started shutting down.
24:05You can't do
24:07what God requires.
24:09Depression,
24:09despair,
24:10defeat.
24:11Just so overwhelming.
24:14It was hard to function.
24:15You feel horrible.
24:17All your tears
24:17are just crocodile tears.
24:19When you're convinced
24:19that everyone lives
24:21in satanic delusion,
24:22there's no one
24:23to turn to for help.
24:24You are a lame man.
24:26You've got to see,
24:27man,
24:27if you're at sex.
24:28You're left with
24:29emptiness and loneliness
24:30and nothing.
24:33You want to get
24:33what you deserve?
24:35The next thing I know,
24:37you deserve help.
24:39I'm sitting there
24:40in a chair.
24:41You know,
24:44suicide
24:44is the ultimate
24:46self-obsession.
24:47With a loaded shotgun
24:48in my mouth.
24:50You're so
24:51grieved
24:52that you can't
24:52make yourself happy.
24:55Hey,
24:56might as well
24:57blow my brains out.
25:00Can't make myself happy.
25:04Have Mike
25:05mocking me,
25:06telling me
25:07that I'm worthless,
25:08that I'm nowhere,
25:09that I'm just
25:09projecting false humility.
25:11Oh,
25:12I feel so sorry for you.
25:13Oh,
25:13I just can't follow
25:14what he said.
25:15You know,
25:15it's Michael Warniecki's fault.
25:17And I was young,
25:18so I could take this pain
25:20and battle it out.
25:21So I stopped for myself.
25:29If I was 50 years old
25:32and had clinical depression,
25:33it'd be really hard.
25:35So maybe it was good
25:36that I met Mike
25:37when I was young.
25:39If I was old,
25:40I probably would have
25:40really killed myself
25:41and died.
25:42Well,
25:43I'm sorry,
25:43guys.
25:46That's not a warrior.
25:47That's not a person in God.
25:49That's a piece of lard.
25:50That's an unregenerate pagan
25:51who doesn't want God.
25:54So I don't know
25:54what a doctor
25:55would call that,
25:56the combination.
25:57Real clinical depression
25:58and then spiritual depression.
26:00You got it together.
26:01So,
26:02yeah,
26:02it was pretty dark.
26:03Oh,
26:07there was someone
26:07who had that.
26:08Her name was Andrea Yates.
26:09That's right.
26:14You must get right with God
26:16before it's too late.
26:17The window of opportunity
26:19is closing.
26:21After Andrea's symptoms
26:22started getting worse,
26:23I finally got a hold
26:24of a mental health hospital
26:25in the area.
26:27You only have a limited time
26:28to affect those little lives.
26:30Andrea's brother and I
26:31carried her to the car
26:32and took her to the hospital.
26:34Teach and discipline the boys.
26:37And she was readmitted.
26:39I called Noah
26:40to let her talk with Noah
26:43a little bit.
26:44Parents today do not know
26:45how to teach their children
26:46and thus they raise rebels
26:49without discipline.
26:50The only thing Andrea said was,
26:52I'm sorry I've been
26:53such a bad mom.
26:56First, it's not true.
26:57She was an awesome mother.
26:58Second,
26:59it's very out of character
27:00over to say anything like that.
27:02After my suicide attempt,
27:12I didn't break with Michael at all.
27:14I believed that I'd been given
27:16a second chance to live
27:18and to find God.
27:19and then one day
27:22I received a package
27:23that contained a videotape.
27:26I was afraid to watch it
27:27and it sat on my kitchen table
27:30for several days
27:31before I could even muster
27:33the courage
27:34to put it into the VCR.
27:35and my heart was just beating
27:38with anxiety
27:39when I finally hit play.
27:42You're wrong
27:43and you must stop
27:45and change
27:45what you're doing.
27:47No reason for you
27:48to have just
27:50some awkward,
27:53uncomfortable feelings
27:55of change.
27:56No, no.
27:58I hear Mike
27:59imitating Satan
28:00in that creepy voice
28:02and that grotesque mess.
28:03I've already been
28:04eight years
28:05under his teaching.
28:07I felt like
28:07I was in a psychological maze.
28:09That's all that matters
28:10is what you feel
28:11in your own heart
28:12about yourself
28:14and about God.
28:17After the viewing
28:18of the tape,
28:18I started imagining
28:19the devil speaking
28:20to me all the time.
28:21And then
28:26soon another package arrived.
28:31Mike sent a message
28:32saying that
28:33he could meet with me.
28:35I thought because
28:36I wasn't progressing
28:37he was coming to my aid,
28:39you know,
28:39much like a spiritual doctor.
28:41And I envisioned
28:42spending hours with him
28:43in a park
28:43or someplace quiet.
28:45But what I found peculiar
28:46was a place
28:47he chose to meet.
28:49A McDonald's restaurant.
28:51I didn't tell anyone
28:52except Richard.
28:55Me and Richard
28:55were childhood friends.
28:57We were in the same fraternity.
28:59And so he got exposed
29:00to Mike
29:01about the same time
29:02that I did.
29:04So me and Richard
29:05meet with Michael
29:07and it changed everything.
29:17This is the first time
29:18meeting Michael in person
29:19since 1987.
29:22He appeared shifty-eyed
29:23or worried,
29:24even a little nervous.
29:26And I experienced
29:27this immediate wave
29:28of conflicted emotion
29:29and just figured
29:29that the weight of the spirit
29:31must be heavy upon him.
29:33Then I remember Mike
29:34telling me,
29:35do you remember
29:36the opening scene
29:37in The Wizard of Oz?
29:41When the farmhouse
29:42gets lifted
29:42into the powerful winds
29:44of the swirling tornado,
29:45spinning and spinning
29:46in the winds of delusion.
29:47That's you, David.
29:51You don't even realize
29:52you're caught up
29:52in those winds of delusion.
29:54In fact,
29:55you're more deluded
29:56now than ever.
29:58I mean,
29:58my lips started quivering
29:59and my spirit just shattered.
30:02Richard was even worse news.
30:04He was told
30:05there's no hope for him at all.
30:07And then just like that,
30:09he walked away.
30:11Me and Richard
30:15were stunned.
30:22And then
30:22super late that night,
30:24I hear a rapid bang.
30:28So I rush to open
30:29up the front door.
30:31It was Richard.
30:33Terrified, shaking.
30:35I don't think
30:35I can take this anymore.
30:37Just freaked out.
30:38David, I'm going to hell.
30:39You know,
30:39what's the point of living?
30:40I might as well
30:41just end it now.
30:43He was just convinced
30:45under Mike's teaching
30:46and Mike's words
30:47that he was going to hell.
30:49Let me just go.
30:50Let me get my punishment.
30:52He totally saw
30:53no reason to live anymore.
30:55That's in a lot
30:56of scary horror movies.
30:57Nothing can compare
30:59to the look and fright
31:00I saw in Richard's face
31:02that night.
31:03It's the most scariest thing
31:04you will ever encounter.
31:06No producer,
31:07no movie director
31:08could get that on film.
31:09You can't act that.
31:10It's a real experience.
31:13It's a spiritual,
31:14frightened experience
31:15that comes from
31:15the very soul.
31:17He scared me.
31:18And I was emotionally
31:20exhausted
31:20because it took everything
31:22I had to convince him
31:24to not do it now.
31:27And he's my friend.
31:29I loved him.
31:29He was my childhood friend.
31:31And I know he's going to do it
31:33because I know how he feels.
31:35I know.
31:36I know what he's under.
31:40You know, don't do it.
31:42It drained me
31:44because I knew
31:45he was going to do it.
31:47Knew he's going to do it.
31:48And he's my best friend.
31:50That really, you know,
31:56we talked for hours
31:59and eventually Richard
32:01decided to not take his life.
32:03After my parents' divorce,
32:09my mom moved us away
32:10to California.
32:12But my mom doesn't really
32:13want to reach out to Michael
32:14because she's pretty ashamed
32:16and has a lot of guilt
32:17for leaving my dad.
32:19About two years later,
32:20Michael comes back
32:21into our life
32:22and God has told us
32:23that you're just off track.
32:25You're not spiritually
32:26in line with where
32:27you need to be.
32:28So you're going to come out
32:29with us
32:29and you're going to
32:30preach.
32:31Preach Jesus.
32:32Amen.
32:34Glory to your world.
32:35It's going to hell.
32:37It's going to the lake of fire.
32:39And unless you wake up
32:41and repent,
32:42you will perish.
32:43So we go out
32:44with Michael
32:45and all eight kids.
32:47A bunch of fools
32:49walking around
32:50like stupid blind sheep.
32:53They're headed for hell.
32:55God's going to burn
32:56this world.
32:56They're living in sin.
32:58God's going to destroy
32:59this earth
32:59and all you
33:00wretched sinners.
33:01I guess I was old enough
33:02to be embarrassed
33:03for the first time.
33:05I saw people's reaction.
33:07Look, Johnna,
33:08wake up.
33:09Wake up.
33:11Jesus, God.
33:13Wake up.
33:14Wake up.
33:16And then Michael
33:18completely dresses
33:19my mom down
33:20in front of us.
33:21He's a little
33:21wicked woman.
33:22She's contentious.
33:24She's living
33:24a life of sin.
33:26You're so evil.
33:27You're sending
33:27your kids to hell.
33:28Because you deserve
33:29it.
33:29You're rebellion
33:30and your wickedness
33:31to a holy God.
33:33Michael had written
33:34my mom off
33:35because she left.
33:36My dad.
33:38But my mom was,
33:39we've got to get back
33:39in his good graces.
33:41Her entire life
33:42was wrapped up
33:43in,
33:43does Michael love me?
33:45Does Michael think
33:46I'm saved?
33:47So we had
33:48to Michael's tapes
33:49that we took
33:50from the bus.
33:52I noticed
33:53a frequency
33:54in Michael's tapes
33:55being played.
33:56The entire word
33:57of God speaks
33:58about the last days.
34:00These words
34:01are so ingrained
34:01in my head.
34:03Not days of revival,
34:05but days of
34:06intense,
34:08powerful,
34:09deception
34:10and delusion.
34:11Overall,
34:16my mom's
34:16anxiety
34:17about going to hell
34:18and sending
34:18your kids to hell
34:19outweighed
34:20any sort of logic.
34:22That's the point
34:23with Michael's teachings.
34:24It's such an
34:24extreme dogmatic
34:26high stakes.
34:27It's your soul
34:28for eternity.
34:29And I think ultimately,
34:31and I think she regrets
34:32this now,
34:32that got in the way
34:33of one of the most
34:36pure things
34:37in this life,
34:38which is a mother's love
34:39for their kid.
34:41Andrea was
34:46the sickest patient
34:47in that building.
34:48I mean,
34:48you could just tell.
34:49She was, like,
34:49not hardly moving,
34:51not responsive,
34:52not communicative.
34:54And then within
34:54a week or two,
34:56they said,
34:56oh, she might do
34:57better at home.
34:57Let's try that,
34:58which is kind of
34:59probably code for
35:00your insurance run out.
35:02Time to go home.
35:03When she came home,
35:05she was completely
35:05out of it.
35:08I didn't know
35:09at the time,
35:10but Andrea was
35:10having visual
35:11hallucinations,
35:13auditory hallucinations.
35:15You must stop
35:16and change
35:17what you're doing.
35:19And it led to
35:20the delusions
35:21she had
35:21of having the devil
35:22in her.
35:23I'm comfortable
35:24feeling some change.
35:26No.
35:27No.
35:27No.
35:28But at the time,
35:30Andrea didn't tell me
35:31what was going on
35:32in her head.
35:33And none of us,
35:34nobody thought
35:35the kids were
35:36at any risk at all.
35:37nowhere on anyone's
35:39radar was any
35:41possibility of harm
35:42to our children.
35:46Andrea Yates
35:47called 911.
35:49Once authorities
35:50arrived at her home,
35:51they found five young
35:52children dead.
35:55Andrea Yates
35:55confessing to police
35:56she drowned her children
35:58one by one
35:59in the bathtub.
36:01You see a lot of
36:02homicides,
36:03but you don't see
36:03a scene like that.
36:04Sergeant Randall Beatty
36:05never cried
36:06in his 16 years
36:07in the force
36:08until he saw
36:09the horrors
36:10inside this house.
36:11He's so nervous,
36:12it makes my stomach hurt.
36:13Tragedy is an
36:14understatement.
36:14I don't believe
36:15there are words
36:16in any language
36:17that can describe
36:18what has happened.
36:29After the tragedy,
36:31I had a very strange
36:33experience.
36:34I had nightmares
36:36that some
36:37of my children
36:39had passed.
36:40only to wake up
36:42and realize
36:43that it all
36:44had passed.
36:45And I'm like,
36:46wow,
36:47how can reality
36:48be worse
36:49than your nightmare?
36:51You know,
36:51but it was.
36:53I had that happen
36:54probably,
36:56I don't know,
36:57three or four times
36:58where I had
36:58a dream like that.
37:01And
37:01that's tough.
37:10Today,
37:23the Yates children
37:24were laid to rest.
37:26The eulogy
37:27was delivered
37:27by Rusty Yates,
37:28who shared loving
37:29memories of each child,
37:31Noah,
37:31John,
37:32Paul,
37:33Luke,
37:33and Mary.
37:36Rusty Yates
37:36wanted everyone
37:37to know
37:38a treasured moment
37:39he shared
37:39with each
37:40of his angels.
37:41This photo
37:41with Noah,
37:42the oldest,
37:43holding a caterpillar,
37:44tells a story
37:45of a family vacation
37:46to Florida.
37:47He said,
37:48Noah squealed
37:49when his caterpillar
37:50turned into a butterfly.
37:51Here's our butterfly.
37:53Aw,
37:55look,
37:55he wants to go.
37:57The family
37:57pulled off the highway.
37:58He set it free.
38:03This is how I feel now.
38:05I'm setting
38:05each child free.
38:08That's the thing
38:09that was most shocking
38:10to me about it all
38:11was just the finality
38:12of it.
38:13You know,
38:13you do anything
38:14to fight for your children
38:15or for your family,
38:16but it's too late.
38:25What happened
38:25was just,
38:26you know,
38:26incomprehensible.
38:27I mean,
38:27I just can't,
38:30I,
38:30I,
38:31you know,
38:32looking back,
38:33you know,
38:33I struggled with it
38:33all last night.
38:34I couldn't sleep last night.
38:35And I was like,
38:35you know,
38:36is there anything
38:37I could have done,
38:38you know?
38:38That was a lot at once.
38:39It's like being thrown
38:41into a game
38:41you've never played,
38:42you know,
38:42and you're like,
38:43you don't know what to do.
38:44You know,
38:44what do you do?
38:45So,
38:46at the same time,
38:47I felt compelled
38:48that,
38:48okay,
38:48I need to
38:49do what I can
38:51to,
38:52you know,
38:52defend Andrea
38:53and my family.
38:54I'm torn.
38:55One,
38:55one side of me,
38:56you know,
38:57blames her
38:57because she,
38:58you know,
38:59she did it,
38:59you know,
38:59but the other side
39:01of me says,
39:01well,
39:01she didn't
39:02because that wasn't her.
39:03She,
39:04she went through
39:04a postpartum depression
39:05with our fourth child
39:06and it was very serious
39:08then
39:09and she had attempted
39:10suicide then
39:11and I'm supportive
39:15of her,
39:15you know,
39:16it's hard,
39:16you know,
39:17the woman here
39:18is not the woman
39:18that killed my children.
39:19So,
39:20you know,
39:21if Andrea,
39:21if you see this,
39:21I love you.
39:23Right after I defended
39:25Andrea,
39:25a lot of people
39:26were just like,
39:26well,
39:26if it's not her
39:27because she's mentally ill,
39:28it must be that
39:29rotten husband of hers.
39:31People can't understand
39:33how a man,
39:34how a father
39:34could support his wife
39:36after she took
39:37the lives
39:37of their children.
39:45I took the lotto
39:46keep for Andrea
39:47but people can think
39:48what they want.
39:49They didn't live our life.
39:50They didn't sit
39:51in the doctor's office.
39:52Then a lot of people
39:53were saying
39:54she's the devil.
39:55This is an absolutely
39:56evil woman.
39:57Miss Yates
39:58truly and intentionally
40:00drowned them
40:01one by one.
40:02This woman is a beast
40:03who committed
40:04one of the most
40:05horrible crimes
40:05I ever heard of.
40:06Hard to believe
40:06that a mother
40:07could do something
40:08like that.
40:09There's this
40:10tremendous outcry
40:11to give her
40:12the death penalty.
40:15The state
40:16are pursuing
40:17the death penalty
40:18in the Andrea Yates case.
40:20The county
40:20that sends
40:21more people
40:22to death row
40:23than any place
40:24in the U.S.
40:24the entire country
40:27the entire world
40:28is like this woman
40:29is evil
40:31she's insane
40:32but when I first
40:34heard the news
40:34I was jealous
40:36rather than
40:39horrified.
40:41I just need
40:45a police officer
40:46are you there
40:47alone?
40:50No my kids
40:51are here.
40:53I got why
40:54she did it
40:55I got why
40:55the kids
40:56obeyed
40:57I would have
40:58gotten that tough
40:59so I understood
41:03it all.
41:04All of your children
41:05they're seven
41:07five
41:09three
41:10two
41:11and six months
41:12so you have
41:13five children?
41:14Yes.
41:17She did what
41:18she was supposed
41:18to do.
41:19Are you having
41:20a disturbance
41:20are you ill
41:21or what?
41:22Yes I'm ill.
41:23You need an ambulance?
41:24No I need
41:25a police officer.
41:26She made
41:27the greatest
41:28sacrifice.
41:31She was
41:32saving her kids.
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