Ed Lavandera: Inside the Yates hearing

CNN Correspondent Ed Lavandera

CNN Correspondent Ed Lavandera was in the Houston courtroom where Andrea Yates pleaded not guilty Wednesday by reason of insanity to capital murder charges. She is accused of drowning her five children June 30 in the family bathtub. Lavandera has covered the story from the beginning.

Q: Describe the mood inside the courtroom. How did Andrea Yates look? Who from her family was there? Was there any interaction between her and her husband?

LAVANDERA: Andrea Yates entered the courtroom wearing a light orange Harris County jail jumpsuit, which is standard for all Harris County inmates. She looked very withdrawn, very stoic; she never looked to the side, she always looked straight ahead when she walked in and sat down. She never looked at her husband Russell Yates, who was sitting in the front row of the courtroom next to his mother. None of Andrea Yates' family showed up at today's hearing. She never spoke, and looked straight ahead the entire time. She showed no signs of emotion.

Q: What's next in the case?

VIDEO Andrea Yates, accused of killing her five children, was arraigned in Houston, Texas. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports (August 8) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

LAVANDERA: The judge has granted a defense request for a competency hearing, so what will happen over the next several weeks is that medical evidence will be presented to a Houston jury and it will be up to that jury to decide whether or not Andrea Yates is competent enough to stand trial. This is another proceeding in addition to the criminal trial. So basically, what happens in this competency hearing will determine if there's a criminal trial. If the jury decides she is fit to stand trial, we'll move forward. It's unclear what will happen if this jury finds Andrea Yates not fit to stand trial.

Yates' lawyers say that since the murders, Andrea Yates has remained in a psychotic state. She's been unable to communicate effectively or understand what her attorneys are saying. They have conducted medical tests with her and they say they have evidence that will prove this.

Q: How come there were only two counts of capital murder, when there were five victims?

LAVANDERA: There were two counts of capital murder. The first one was in connection to the death of the two oldest boys -- 7-year-old Noah and 5-year-old John. The second capital murder indictment was in connection with the death of the youngest, 6-month-old Mary. Prosecutors have said that by only filing two indictments, that would give them more legal options down the road. For example, if they don't like the outcome of what happens with these first two cases, then they can still pursue indictments on the deaths of the other two children and try it again.

If you remember, 7-year-old Noah, according to Houston police, was the one who discovered his mom allegedly drowning the 6-month-old girl and then, police say, Andrea Yates ended up dragging him back into the tub. So some analysts we have talked to believe that prosecutors will have the best chance of showing premeditation, and that she knew what she was doing, when they explain how 7-year-old Noah was killed.

Q: Have prosecutors said whether they will pursue the death penalty? What's known about their strategy?

LAVANDERA: Prosecutors have not determined yet whether they'll seek the death penalty in this case, and from here on out, it will be very difficult to get a sense of the strategies of both sides because of the strict gag order that the judge has put in effect. Judge Belinda Hill fears that pretrial publicity will taint the jury pool. It's very likely that this case will be tried in Houston, so they want to keep the details of this case in the courtroom.

What's going to happen over the next several weeks, and what this case will boil down to, seems to be the quality and the strength of the medical experts. There will be a lot of attention paid to whether Andrea Yates knew exactly what she was doing at the time of the murders. The prosecutors have requested that their own medical expert be able to evaluate Andrea Yates.