A Galveston County jury convicted a Houston woman of capital murder in the death of her 17-month-old daughter, resulting in an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole.
On March 6, 2026, a jury convicted 32-year-old Channel Jasmine Yonko of the capital murder of her daughter, Hannah Yonko, after a week-long trial in the 212th Judicial District Court presided over by Judge Patricia Grady.
The case stems from an occurrence on October 23, 2024, when Galveston police reacted to allegations of a newborn discovered in the street near 59th Street and Seawall Boulevard. Officers came to find the child with a major head wound and stab wounds to her back.
The child was taken by EMS to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where she was pronounced dead.
Investigators later found that the toddler was thrown from a neighboring hotel balcony. Officers were initially unable to locate a parent or caregiver at the scene, but Channel Yonko was eventually identified as the child’s mother, leading to her indictment for capital murder.
During the trial, prosecutors Casey Kirst and Michael D. Rinehart presented evidence that Yonko had traveled to Galveston with her sister, her sister’s companion, and her kid about a week before the murder.
A court-appointed psychiatrist testified that Yonko admitted stabbing Hannah three times in the back inside a nearby condominium, one of which fractured the child’s rib. Investigators also discovered a bloodied pillow and towel in Yonko’s hotel room.
Prosecutors also provided evidence that the safety mechanisms on Hannah’s car seat had been removed before to the tragedy.
Following a fight with her sister’s friend, Yonko and her sister booked into the Beach Front Palms Hotel. Surveillance footage shown during the trial showed Yonko bringing her toddler in a stroller across multiple floors of the hotel before riding the elevator to the top floor.
Jurors then watched a video of Yonko removing Hannah from her pram, wrapping her in two blankets, and throwing her over the balcony. Additional footage showed the toddler plummeting four stories to the concrete below.
During closing arguments, Yonko’s defense attorney admitted she threw the child from the balcony, but claimed she was legally ill at the time and couldn’t tell the difference between right and wrong.
Prosecutors used surveillance video, text messages, witness testimony, and expert evidence to rebut the insanity argument. Investigators discovered that Yonko fled the scene, attempted to hide evidence, and attempted to call an Uber to depart Galveston within minutes of the homicide, all of which prosecutors claimed suggested she knew what she had done.
The jury deliberated for less than an hour before reaching a guilty verdict.
Yonko received a mandatory life term in jail with no possibility of parole due to his conviction for capital murder.
The Galveston County Criminal District Attorney’s Office thanked several agencies for their assistance with the case, including the Galveston Police Department, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, Houston Crime Lab, Galveston EMS, Child Protective Services, and the medical examiner’s office. Officials also praised Detective Matthew Larson for his efforts in the inquiry.
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