Outline:
The Preacher’s Denial of Involvement in the Andrea Yates Tragedy
Michael Woroniecki, a preacher known for his work with children, has publicly denied any connection to the tragic deaths of Andrea Yates’ five children. This denial comes in response to the Investigation Discovery docuseries The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story, which suggested some involvement from Woroniecki in the events leading up to the murders.
Andrea Yates drowned her five children in June 2001. Prior to this, she and her husband, Rusty “Russell” Yates, were reportedly followers of Woroniecki. After Rusty shared details about their relationship with the preacher in the documentary, Woroniecki took to his website to issue a detailed statement addressing these claims.
“I had nothing to do with the tragic crime of Andrea Yates a quarter century ago, not in any way, shape, or form,” he wrote. “I barely even ever talked to her; I met them three times and mostly spoke to her husband. I wrote him some letters back and forth at his request.”
Woroniecki emphasized that Rusty himself had previously stated, “Correspondence as Michael Woroniecki was like an open book; we were free to take or leave what we wanted.” He argued that the idea of a “mail-in cult” is absurd, noting that if someone received a letter they didn’t want, they could simply throw it away.
A History of Sparse Contact
According to Woroniecki, his communication with the Yates family dropped off years before the tragedy occurred. He claimed to have known very little about their lives or personal issues during that time. He also mentioned that he met Rusty about 45 years ago on a university campus, where Rusty expressed interest in following Jesus. They exchanged a few letters over several years, but after Rusty and Andrea married and had children, their contact became sparse.
Woroniecki said that he met the family in person a few times over the years in public places. He noted that Rusty once told him he wanted to live a life similar to the preacher’s, though Woroniecki allegedly told him that he was not fit for such a lifestyle.
Accusations of a Smear Campaign
Once Andrea’s trial began, Woroniecki claimed that an “emotionally unstable individual” who he had only met once “created a massive smear campaign” against him to connect him to the scandal. He denied any involvement in the deaths of the Yates children and insisted that he is not a cult leader.
“I have encountered tens of thousands of people over the course of 50 years. I have no twisted version of the gospel or cult-like ideas, as some lie and say I do. I have never had any followers or cult-like meetings, even such an accusation is absurd on every level,” he wrote.
He added that he believes the media is desperate for salacious and sensational content, and that some people are paid to fabricate stories for documentaries.
Talos Films Responds
Following the release of Woroniecki’s statement, Talos Films, the production company behind the documentary, issued a statement to Us Weekly. They claimed that they had reached out to Woroniecki and his family multiple times over nearly a year to inform them about the film and invite them to share their perspective. However, they did not receive a response.
“We stand by the reporting in our documentary,” the statement read.
The Outcome of Andrea Yates’ Trial
After the deaths of her five children, Andrea Yates was initially convicted of capital murder in 2002 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after forty years. However, the verdict was later overturned on appeal when it was determined that forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz had given false testimony.
The case was retried in 2006, and a Texas jury found that Andrea was not guilty by reason of insanity.