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If I saw my daughter looking that way, I don't care if I was grieving over a spouse ---I'd certainly have done something more than what she did ---apparently nothing. Someone should have gotten Andrea away from those kids. They could have sent her to a state institution or something

I agree with what you're feeling, Fitz, but the reality is RUSSELL YATES was the one and only person who had the power to make life and death decisions over Andrea and the children--nobody else could. Andrea's mother and brother couldn't institutionalize her unless Russell had her declared incompetent/insane and went along with an order to institutionalize.

Other family members had no power other than to help out with the children, nag Andrea's husband to get her institutionalized, and try to protect the children from their mother (God forbid.....).

The one thing I would have done (& I'm not sure if they tried this) is that I would have gone to Child Protective Services and made a strong case for child endangerment--have the kids taken away from BOTH mother and father. I'll bet some family members are kicking themselves now for not trying that.

I think CPS wasn't called on by her family, because they really did not think she was a threat to the children, just herself. That's why they got aggravated at Rusty for leaving her alone or leaving knives out etc., because they thought she was going to try to take her own life again.

There evidently is an exception to the rule of the family's "ownership" over a family member. I'm one outside of a family who had concern for suicide, and I expressed that concern to the appropriate people. The agency had an abundant file on this individual, and specifically asked me to sign commitment papers, which I did. I later learned that family members had refused to do the same.

There was a price to pay for doing this, but the outcome meant someone is still alive ... that's not so for the one(s) Andrea's friend tried to protect. With each new bend and twist in this story, it becomes increasingly horrific.