A Texas mother was arrested Wednesday after allegedly leaving her critically injured baby to die on the side of a road.
Channel Yonko, 30, is accused of murdering her 17-month-old daughter, Hannah. According to the indictment seen by FOX 26, she allegedly caused the girl to fall from the balcony of a room located on the third floor of the hotel where she was staying in the city of Galveston, located in South Texas. A video of the incident was reportedly captured by a surveillance camera.
Galveston Police Department
The child also had three injuries caused by a sharp object.
The girl was discovered around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday morning on the side of a busy road in the city of Galveston.
Brandon Urbina, the man who found her, told FOX 26 “he had never seen anything like this.”
“I was driving around and I saw a child’s blanket. As I approached, I saw her curly hair,” he added.
First responders tried to resuscitate little Hannah, but the little girl died at the hospital.
Police officers commented on the incident during a press briefing, saying that the child’s death “was not natural.”
“There was a fall and there were several injuries,” Police Chief Doug Balli said during a press briefing held Wednesday.
“The injuries the child suffered led to his death,” he concluded.
Channel Yonko was quickly identified as the prime suspect in the case. The latter was arrested in a restaurant located very close to the scene of the tragedy.
Many residents of the city of Galveston gathered on the hotel grounds to pay tribute to little Hannah.
