HOUSTON -- A police source told a Texas newspaper that the Houston mother accused of drowning her five children had been thinking about harming her children for several months.

VIDEO Siblings Talk About Sister's Past Sources Describe Mother's Days In Jail Father Talks Intimately About Children Neighbors, Minister Talk About Service See More On Funeral Service Source Denies Pregnancy Rumors Video Archive From June 20-26 SLIDESHOW See Family Pictures DISCUSSION Should It Affect Penalty? MEMORIAL FUND Donation Information POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION A Very Real Disease Postpartum Help: (805) 967-7636 Antidepressant Information Postpartum Stress Depression After Delivery Locate A Therapist In Your Area RELATED STORIES eBay Halts Andrea Yates Web Address Auction Police: Florida Woman Tries To Drown Baby Houston Police News Release

The Dallas Morning News online edition said that Andrea Yates told Houston police in an audiotaped interview that she felt that she was not a good mother.

The official told the paper on terms of anonymity that Yates was concerned about the development of her children.

"She essentially said that she had realized that she was a bad mother and she felt that the children were disabled and that they were not developing normally," the anonymous source said.

The new information came on the heels of Andrea Yates' husband, Russell hiring a new attorney late Friday afternoon.

Bob Parnham, a well-known local defense lawyer, was retained by Yates' husband to represent his wife.

Parnham, Russell Yates and other family members met with Andrea Yates Friday to discuss the case.

"She is doing well as can be expected under the circumstances, which I know you understand, are extreme," Parnham said.

Friday morning, the court appointed Bob Scott to represent Yates, after she declared that she was indigent.

Prosecutors said that they've begun preparing for the capital murder trial.

Harris County prosecutor Joe Owmby said that Andrea Yates, 36, (pictured, right) has been charged with capital murder in the drownings of two of her five children, 7-year-old Noah and 5-year-old John.

"That's not a final decision, that's a preliminary decision," Owmby said. "It is possible that we could prosecute just that case, or charge other cases, or charge different cases."

Owmby spoke shortly after 7:30 a.m. CDT Friday after a brief court hearing in a downtown Houston courtroom, at which State District Judge Belinda Hill said that she'd appoint a defense lawyer for Yates.

Yates, with her arms folded, appeared before the judge in an orange jumpsuit.

Scott filed a motion for a gag order at the probable cause hearing, but the judge took the motion under advisement, saying she would rule later on the question.

The judge set Yates' arraignment for July 24.

Owmby said that he anticipates presenting the case against Yates to a grand jury within 30 days.

Yates remains behind bars under a suicide watch in a mental health unit of the Harris County jail downtown.

Details Of Mom's Confession Published

According to Friday's editions of the Houston Chronicle, an investigator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Yates described to police in a videotaped statement how she methodically drowned all five of her children. The last to die was the oldest, Noah.

The newspaper said that he entered the bathroom while Yates was drowning her 6-month-old daughter and asked, "What's wrong with Mary?"

Quoting the investigator, the paper reports that she chased Noah through the house, dragged him back to the bathroom and drowned him next to his baby sister.

Police on Wednesday found the oldest child's body in the bathtub. The wet bodies of the other children, three boys and one girl, were discovered on a bed under a sheet in a back bedroom. They were identified as Mary Yates, 6 months; Luke Yates, 2; Paul Yates, 3; and John, according to police.

Preliminary results from autopsies conducted Thursday indicate the children drowned.

Father Expresses Pain

Her husband Russell tearfully told reporters Thursday that he wants to help his wife through the ordeal.

He said that his wife suffered from postpartum depression after their fourth and fifth children were born. He said that she was taking medication but seemed to get worse after her father died three months ago.

While clutching a photo of his family, Yates, 36, said that that he is facing two tragedies, the deaths of his children and his wife's prosecution.

"The woman (in this photo) is not the woman who killed my children," he said. "What you saw yesterday was not her."

Holding back tears, he said that he supports his wife.

"I've got to remember that she wasn't herself," he said. "Andrea, if you're seeing (me on television), I still love you."

By his side stood his mother, Dora Yates, who he said had been helping for the past two months to help take care of the children.

"Andrea is a beautiful person, and this is very shocking to all of us," Dora Yates said.

Russell Yates said that he spoke on the phone with his wife's mother, who was also devastated by the news.

He said that he also hopes to visit his wife, who is being held without bond at one of the Harris County jails downtown.

Authorities arrested Andrea Yates shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday after she called police to her home at 942 Beachcomber Lane in a southeast Houston suburb known as Clear Lake.

Yates answered the door and allegedly told police that she had killed her children.

"When our responding officer arrived, he was met at the door by the woman, who was breathing heavily and you could tell she was disturbed," Houston Police Department spokesman John Cannon said. "At that time, she said to the officer, 'I killed my children.'"

Memorial Fund Set Up

A memorial fund for the Yates family has been set up. The money donated will help with the funeral costs.

The funeral is slated for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Clear Lake Church of Christ.

To donate money, send it to:

Yates Memorial Fund
Sterling Bank
P.O. Box 590027
Houston, TX 77259

You can also drop off donations at Clear Lake Flowers at 907 El Dorado or call (281) 286-0068.