A 17-month-old girl died after falling from the third floor balcony at the Beach Front Palms Hotel and then rolled onto the concrete sidewalk.
ABC13 reported Thursday that she was found abandoned along the Seawall in Galveston on Wednesday.
CrimesChroniclers reports that the child’s mother, Channel Yonko, 30, was charged with capital murder.
She appeared in court on Thursday morning, where a magistrate judge denied bond.
17-month-old Hannah Yonko was found in the middle of 59th Street on Wednesday morning.
According to new details from charging documents, the baby had additional severe wounds. Investigators believe her mother killed her.
Yonko was taken into custody shortly after Hannah was discovered on 59th Street. When an officer located her nearby, she was allegedly crying and asking for help and made comments about how her daughter might have been sick.
Handcuffed and wearing a dark green jumpsuit, Yonko appeared before a Galveston County magistrate judge on Thursday morning after spending the night in jail.
She was told to not say anything as she was read her rights, but instead, she asked to call an attorney.
“Can I receive my phone call?” Yonko asked in court.
“Ma’am, you’re here for magistrate court. Please just listen to the words that are told to you. Don’t ask any other questions unless you need to,” the magistrate judge replied.
Across the island, residents mourn for the 17-month-old daughter Yonko killed.
“It’s really upsetting news, and then I got to work and everybody was talking about it and it just upset me even more and I’m like – I have to go pay my respects,” UTMB pediatric nurse Jasmine Hernandez said.
Hernandez laid flowers and a doll at the growing memorial for Hannah. She said when she heard Hannah had been rushed to the hospital, she hoped they could save her.
According to court documents, Yonko and Hannah were staying at the hotel with Yonko’s sister.
Our source spoke to Brandon Uriba, who said he found Hannah while driving down 59th Street. He said he noticed the girl wrapped in a blanket.
“It was heartbreaking to see that. To see a little precious, beautiful, perfect little girl laying there lifeless,” Uriba said.
