Texas woman dropped child from 3rd floor balcony, puncture wounds found: court records
Channel Yonko (left) and Hannah Yonko (right) (Source: Galveston Police Department)
GALVESTON, Texas - A 17-month-old girl who was found bleeding on a Galveston street on Wednesday had puncture marks on her back, according to an arrest warrant. Investigators believe the infant was intentionally dropped from a third-floor hotel balcony by her mother.
An arrest affidavit revealed details of Hannah Yonko's death. Her mother, 30-year-old Channel Yonko of Houston, has been charged with capital murder and is being held in jail without bond.
Hannah was found on the east side of the Beach Front Palms Hotel in Galveston just before 10 a.m. Wednesday. She was taken to the hospital where she died less than an hour later.
According to the affidavit by a Galveston police detective, police learned the girl had three puncture wounds.
Police put out a description of a woman who left the area where the baby was found, and an officer found a crying woman who matched the description less than a mile away, according to the document. The woman reportedly asked the officer for help and started making comments about her daughter and that she might have been sick.
She was taken to the police department for questioning. According to the affidavit, she said that she wanted to talk to a lawyer and wouldn’t give investigators her name. She was booked into the Galveston County Jail that day.
According to the document, Channel’s sister was also at the police station and told police that she was staying at the hotel with Channel and Hannah.
On Wednesday, the sister and Channel were gathering their things to begin checking out when the sister left to try and speak with her fiancé at The Victorian in the 6300 block of Seawall Boulevard. The sister claims Channel showed up to The Victorian, pushing a stroller. She initially said the baby was inside, but told officials she didn't actually see the baby and had no reason to believe she wasn't in the stroller.
The sister told officials she let Channel know she was going back to their hotel to get their luggage since she couldn't find her fiancé, but Channel told her repeatedly "don't go back to the hotel."
During the investigation, detectives found a trash bag in the parking garage under the hotel nearby where the baby was found. Inside was a room key to the room the sisters and baby were staying in, a "skinning knife," plastic sand toys, unused diapers, and unopened kids' snacks.
Video footage shows Channel in the lobby of the Beach Front Palms Hotel pushing Hannah inside a stroller. The infant's foot can be seen moving inside the stroller. Shortly after, video from the second story shows baby Hannah falling from what appeared to be the third floor, landing on grass, and rolling onto the concrete sidewalk. Hannah's empty stroller was found at The Victorian.
Documents reveal the clothes Hannah was wearing and the blanket she was wrapped in did not have puncture wounds.