REMEMBERING SAVANNAH & TYLER

Savannah Irene Yates and Tyler Richard Yates entered the world together. They were twin sister and brother, only about five weeks old when their lives were taken.

They had barely begun to experience the world around them. At five weeks old, Savannah and Tyler should have been learning the sound of familiar voices, being held when they cried and finding comfort in the people responsible for keeping them safe. They should have grown up side by side. There should have been photographs of two babies becoming toddlers together, two first birthdays, two first days of school and years of memories made as brother and sister. Instead, Savannah and Tyler were given only weeks. Their mother, Susan Winbun, did not live with their father, David Yates. She later explained that she left the twins in David's care when she needed to work. Despite problems in their relationship, she said she had never believed that her babies were unsafe with him. In April 2008, Savannah and Tyler went to stay with their father at his home in Baraboo, Wisconsin. They would never come home.

SAVANNAH & TYLER'S STORY

Savannah and Tyler had been staying with their father since Friday. On Sunday, April 13, their mother went to David's home to pick up her babies. No one answered the door. Concerned, she contacted police. Officers entered the residence and found David Yates in bed. When officers asked about the twins, David initially told them that Savannah and Tyler were at a friend's home, but he was unable to provide a telephone number for the person he claimed had them. The babies were still inside the house. An officer discovered Savannah and Tyler beneath a bed. Both infants were dead. Investigators determined that the twins had likely been dead for approximately 12 to 24 hours before they were discovered. The autopsies revealed that Savannah and Tyler had suffered devastating injuries. Both babies died from multiple blunt force injuries and suffered severe trauma to their heads. A pathologist later described the extent of their injuries as comparable to injuries that might be seen after a vehicle rolled repeatedly. Tyler also suffered injuries to his heart and rib cage consistent with his tiny chest having been severely compressed. These were five week old babies.

They could not run. They could not hide. They could not call for help. Savannah and Tyler depended completely upon the adults caring for them for everything they needed to survive. Instead, while in their father's care, both of their lives ended.

WARNING SIGNS

The violence surrounding Savannah and Tyler did not begin with their deaths. Before the twins were born, there had been violence in the relationship between their parents. Court records showed that Susan had previously reported an incident in which David pushed her onto a couch, slapped her, put a finger into her eye and grabbed her throat. Domestic battery charges stemming from that incident were later dismissed as part of a plea agreement involving other charges. David was receiving individual and group counseling following the case. Susan later said that during the years she had known David, she had never seen him behave abusively toward her older children. She had separated from him shortly after Savannah and Tyler were born and hoped they could successfully share parenting responsibilities.

Years after the twins died, Susan spoke publicly about what she had learned from losing them. She said she had believed that she was the person who made David angry and had not understood that the violence she experienced could eventually place her children in danger as well. She also acknowledged the guilt she carried for leaving Savannah and Tyler with their father. But Savannah and Tyler's deaths demonstrate something larger than one mother's decision. Domestic violence against a partner can be a warning sign of danger within a household, even when a person has not previously been seen abusing the children around them. Savannah and Tyler were too young to recognize that danger themselves. They needed the adults around them to recognize it for them.

JUSTICE FOR SAVANNAH & TYLER

David R. Yates was charged with two counts of first degree intentional homicide for the deaths of his children. He pleaded not guilty and maintained that he had not killed Savannah and Tyler. His case eventually went to trial in October 2010. After approximately ten days of testimony, the case was given to a jury. The jury found David guilty of both counts. Even after the verdict, David continued to insist that he had not killed his children. The judge rejected that claim. David was sentenced separately for each baby's death. One life sentence was imposed for Savannah. Another life sentence was imposed for Tyler. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. The judge declined to give David any opportunity for early release.

 

David R. Yates

Relationship to Savannah and Tyler: Father

Convictions: Two counts of first degree intentional homicide

Sentence: Two consecutive life sentences with no possibility of release
FOREVER REMEMBERED

Savannah Irene Yates and Tyler Richard Yates had only just arrived. Five weeks is barely enough time for a baby to begin discovering the world. It was not enough time for Savannah and Tyler to show everyone who they would become. They never got to crawl across a floor. They never got to take their first steps. They never got to call each other by name. They never got to experience what it meant to grow up as twins, sharing birthdays, childhood memories and a bond that began before either of them was born. Their mother later said that Savannah and Tyler had not been allowed to live long enough to leave their own footprints on the world. So she intended to spend the rest of her life leaving a footprint large enough to represent what her children might have accomplished if they had been given the chance to grow up.

Savannah and Tyler deserved that chance. They deserved to grow from tiny babies into toddlers, children, teenagers and adults. They deserved a lifetime together.

Abuse Angels remembers Savannah Irene Yates and Tyler Richard Yates, the twin sister and brother whose lives began together and whose names will always be remembered together. We remember Savannah. We remember Tyler. We speak their names. And Savannah Irene Yates and Tyler Richard Yates will not be forgotte