What was behind the tragedy in the Yates household? I believe that we can look to Freuds theory on psychology, the psychodynamic perspective for the answer.
Freuds theory explains that the mind is like an iceberg. That only a small piece of it is visually observable that being behavior. Andrea Yates appeared to be a perfectly normal woman. However, it is completely unknown what her deeper psyche held. Freud explained that his theory is based on a yin and yang partnership. Meaning for one to be sane they must have the three parts of their psyche balanced. Those being the id, the ego and the superego. These three parts of the psyche act in tandem. The superego influences the ego which mediates the id. I will explain how these three parts of the psyche lead to the tragedy in the Yates household.
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The super ego is the perception of perfection. It is what one wishes to strive for. In Andreas case that was religious righteousness. Warnieki made her believe that this was obtainable through having many kids (which caused her postpartum depression). While Warnieki warped her super ego there still should have been one more barrier, that being the basic ego. The ego is the steady hand that guides the mind, dictating right from wrong based on society. I believe that with the combined stress of 5 children, the death of her father and extreme postpartum depression all of her egos mental barriers came down. She snapped and let the impulsive id side of her brain guide her mind. The id side made an impulsive decision thanks to the influence of Michael Warnieki claiming that Andrea's children would go to hell. The decision was that the only way to save her children would be by taking their life while they were still