Channel Yonko, Texas mother alleged to have intentionally thrown, 17 month old baby, Hannah Yonko from 3rd floor Galveston hotel as mom now faces capital murder. No known motive.
A Texas mother is facing capital murder after ‘intentionally’ dropping her 17 month old baby from a 3rd floor balcony of a Galveston hotel according to police.
Appearing in court, Thursday morning, Channel Yonko, 30, was charged with capital murder in the death of her daughter, 17-month-old Hannah Yonko.
The woman was remanded to Galveston County Jail with no bail.
17 month old baby discovered with three puncture wounds
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Channel is accused of intentionally dropping her daughter from the balcony of a Galveston area hotel, Wednesday morning. The document states that captured surveillance video showing the girl appearing to fall from the third floor to the ground below.
According to the affidavit, when officers arrived just on 9.45am, they found the child unresponsive and bleeding. The girl also had three puncture wounds.
The toddler was found in the middle of the street between the Kroger and the Beachfront Palms Hotel, just off of Seawall Blvd, FOX26 reported.
Hannah still ‘had signs of life’ and first responders performed life-saving measures as they rushed her to the emergency trauma center at UTMB Galveston. She died from bodily trauma a short time later, the Galveston Police Dept stated in a Facebook release.
The infant was taken to UTMB Galveston’s trauma center, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police say quick work by their patrol officers resulted in the suspect being identified and taken into custody.
Channel Yonko was arrested at a restaurant near where Hannah was found, KHOU reported.
Not immediately clear is what led to the mother seemingly wanting to kill her own child.
Why did Texas mother ‘intentionally’ throw her own baby from 3rd floor hotel balcony?
Initial police reports did not indicate how the mother came to be at the hotel, her length of stay and the identity of the infant’s father.
‘This is a horrible crime. All children deserve to feel safe when around loved ones, especially with their own mother,’ GPD Chief Doug Balli said during a press briefing. ‘The Galveston Police Department is committed to bringing justice for Hannah and ensuring the safety of all children in our community.’
Balli said captured surveillance tape showed the child falling from the third floor, landing on the grass, and rolling on the concrete sidewalk where Hannah was found.
Balli emphasized the child’s death was ‘definitely not a natural death.’
The official stated investigators believe Channel Yonko had intentionally dropped the child from the hotel balcony.
During the course of investigations, detectives interviewed the suspect’s sister, who said that she, her sister Channel Yonko, and Hannah were sharing a room at The Beachfront Palms Hotel. The sister said Channel Yonko had sole care of her daughter while she was in Galveston.
Sifting through the clues
The sister said that Yonko had come to Galveston to visit her. On Wednesday morning, they began checking out of the motel. The sister left to meet her fiancé at The Victorian Hotel and left her sister and niece at the Beachfront Palms Hotel.
The sister said Channel Yonko eventually showed up at The Victorian pushing a stroller. The sister told them she didn’t see Hannah in the stroller, but had no reason to believe she was not in it.
The sister told Channel Yonko that she could not find her fiancé and that they should just go back to their hotel room to gather their luggage. That is when Channel Yonko told her not to go back to their room.
Investigators said they found a trash bag in the trash bin in the parking garage under The Beachfront Palms Hotel. Inside the bag was a key card for the room Yonko was staying in along with a skinning knife, plastic sand toys, unused diapers, and unopened kids’ snacks.
As investigators sought to understand what led to the mother throwing her own child from the hotel balcony, a growing memorial was building, with locals come to pay their respects and share their grief in the tragedy.
Authorities are still asking anyone with surveillance cameras in the area to review any footage for information that may help investigators. If they have anything, they should call police detectives at (409)765-3777.
