Prosecutors won’t seek death penalty against woman accused in infant daughter’s death in Galveston

Galveston County Sheriff's Office

State prosecutors said they will not seek the death penalty against Channel Yonko, a Houston woman charged with capital murder in connection with the death of her infant daughter in Galveston.

Yonko’s attorney, Margaret Hindman, confirmed that the decision not to seek the death penalty was mentioned during an evidence discovery hearing in Galveston County on Wednesday.

Hannah Yonko, who was 17 months old, could allegedly be seen on video falling to the ground from the third-floor balcony of the Beachfront Palms Hotel in Galveston on Oct. 23 last year. A probable cause affidavit asserts that she had also been stabbed several times. Her mother is accused of dropping the child off the balcony.

Hindman declined to comment further on the Wednesday decision