Andrea Yates, husband Rusty and four of her five children. Courtesy of Yates Family/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Logo text Andrea Yates' unspeakable crime was drowning her five young kids in a family bathtub in June 2001 while struggling with severe depression and psychosis - an act that made her America's most hated mother at the time. But Investigation Discovery with The Cult Behind The Killer: The Andrea Yates Story has reopened the debate around the mother, who was convicted after confessing to the crime, but later found not guilty by reason of insanity. The docuseries illuminates a rogue street preacher whose fire-and-brimstone teachings brought the vulnerable Texas mother with a history of mental health struggles under his control. Related Stories Business Netflix Reassures Subscribers After Warner Bros. Deal: "Nothing Is Changing Today" TV If You Can't Become HBO, Buy 'Em? "When I watch the coverage about Andrea Yates, it's like, 'This woman is evil. She's insane.' They are missing a huge part of the story: Michael Woroniecki," Moses Storm, a former cult follower, says in the ID teaser trailer for the docuseries (below). The Cult Behind The Killer: The Andrea Yates Story goes beyond the common narrative of a troubled mother being the sole perpetrator of an unimaginable act to exploring how a woman grappling with severe postpartum psychosis could be driven to tragic extremes due to the psychological manipulation of a cult. The ID docuseries exposes Woroneicki for allegedly twisting Yates' sense of reality. After she was found not guilty during a 2006 retrial by reason of insanity, she was committed to a high-security psychiatric hospital. The role that Yates' mental illness played in her children's deaths has ID questioning who else in the alleged cult was impacted and what might have been, had Woroneicki and his religious guidance not allegedly steered an impressionable mother to ruin her own and her family's lives. "This is one of the most notorious cases of the last 25 years, yet a critical part of the story has gone largely underreported. Andrea Yates wasn't the only person influenced by this group, and that raises an urgent question: what other families could still be at risk? At ID, we're committed to uncovering the deeper story behind the headlines, and exploring this element that shaped Andrea's life and mindset felt essential in telling the full story of the Yates tragedy," Jason Sarlanis, president of ID, said in a statement. The three-episode series features interviews with Andrea's husband, Rusty Yates, and cult survivors David De La Isla and Storm, Woroniecki's own nephew, as evidence points to Woroniecki's tactics and teachings dominating the lives of his followers. The ID series also includes archival footage and expert commentary around mind-control cults. The Cult Behind The Killer: The Andrea Yates Story, directed and produced by Julian P. Hobbs and Elli Hakami, premieres Jan. 6 on ID. Episodes will be available to stream on HBO Max. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up Ryan Seacrest Diana Ross to Headline 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2026' CBS News Tony Dokoupil Named New Anchor of 'CBS Evening News' In Major Overhaul united kingdom Rafe Spall to Play U.K. Prime Minister in Steven Moffat's Channel 4 Political Dramedy 'Number 10' Trey Parker 'South Park' to Finally Deliver the Antichrist in New Episode on Wednesday The Atlantic The Atlantic Sets First-Look Deal With Noah Oppenheim's Prologue Entertainment (Exclusive) Live Feed Drama About Shohei Ohtani Translator's Gambling Scandal Lands at Starz Ryan Seacrest Diana Ross to Headline 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2026' CBS News Tony Dokoupil Named New Anchor of 'CBS Evening News' In Major Overhaul united kingdom Rafe Spall to Play U.K. Prime Minister in Steven Moffat's Channel 4 Political Dramedy 'Number 10' Trey Parker 'South Park' to Finally Deliver the Antichrist in New Episode on Wednesday The Atlantic The Atlantic Sets First-Look Deal With Noah Oppenheim's Prologue Entertainment (Exclusive) Live Feed Drama About Shohei Ohtani Translator's Gambling Scandal Lands at Starz