A Texas mother is under arrest, facing capital murder charges in the death of her daughter after police say, she intentionally dropped her 17-month-old from a third-floor hotel balcony in Galveston.
Channel Yonko, 30, was arrested and charged with capital murder following the Oct. 23 death of her daughter, Hannah Yonko. She is being held without bond and faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if convicted.
According to the Galveston Police Department, Around 9:30 a.m. police responded to a call about an abandoned child lying on the pavement, bleeding and unresponsive. The child was later identified as Hannah Yonko.
She was taken to UTMB Health’s John Sealy Hospital, but by 10:34 a.m., she was pronounced dead. Doctors Say, she had suffered multiple traumatic injuries, including three puncture wounds.
During the investigation, authorities reviewed hotel surveillance footage showing Hannah falling from the balcony, “landing on the grass, and then rolling onto the concrete”.
In the hotel’s garage, officers later found a trash bag containing a knife, a room key, children’s toys, snacks, and diapers. It was left in a bin, appearing as a chilling remnant of what investigators believe was a deliberate act.
Surveillance footage reportedly captured Channel Yonko pushing a stroller shortly before her daughter’s fall—a detail echoed by her sister, Mercedes Yonko, who also recalled seeing Channel with the stroller that morning and initially assumed Hannah was inside.
Mercedes Yonko had been staying with Channel and Hannah at the Beach Front Palms Hotel, according to the affidavit. She told police she had briefly left that morning to visit her fiancé at a nearby hotel.
She recalled seeing Channel at that hotel with a stroller and assumed Hannah was inside.
When Mercedes attempted to return to the Beach Front Palms, Channel allegedly warned her multiple times “not to come back.”
Channel appeared before a judge on Oct. 24, where a magistrate denied her bond. She reportedly declined to speak with officers following her arrest and asked for a lawyer. It remains unclear who will represent her or if she has entered a plea.
Galveston police are urging anyone with surveillance footage from the area on the morning of Oct. 23 to review it for any potential information. Investigators can be reached at 409-765-3777 for tips that may assist in the investigation.
