A mother who was convicted of drowning two of her children in 1986 said that she can empathize with Andrea Yates, the woman accused of drowning her five children. Hear A Mother's Sad Story Juana Leija was given a probated sentence for drowning two of her children in Buffalo Bayou and attempting to drown six of her seven children. "It's still hard to remember what happened because, one day I was throwing my children into the Buffalo Bayou," Leija said. "I saw some of the kids in the water." Two of the children drowned and a third suffered brain damage. Leija was charged with murder, but her attorney, Dick Deguerin, convinced prosecutors that she was mentally ill. "She was badly abused by her husband and so were her children and she saw no other way out than to kill her children and herself," Deguerin said. Leija changed her name and began a new life, trying to cope with memories of drowning her children. "I didn't even know that it was called depression," Leija said. "I didn't even know I was sick in my mind. I knew that something was wrong, but I didn't know what it was." Leija said that she sees parallels between herself and Andrea Yates. "I think that she is very, very, sick," Leija said. " I don't think any normal person would be doing that kind of thing. I would say, 'I know what you are going through because I have been there. I know how it feels, because I felt the same way.'" Her belief in God has sustained her, Leija said.