A Houston mother has been convicted of a capital offense in connection with the tragic d𝚎𝚊𝚝h of her 17-month-old daughter after seriously injuring the child and pushing her from a hotel balcony.

Channel Yonko was found guilty Friday in the case involving her daughter, Hannah Yonko, according to KHOU, KTRK and Houston Public Media. Prosecutors say the incident happened in October 2024 when Yonko pushed the toddler from a third-floor balcony at a hotel in Galveston, the outlets reported.

“I’m not a crier, but the first time I went through the evidence it got me emotional,” Assistant District Attorney Michael Rinehart said, according to KHOU. “It was definitely a very difficult case.”

Jurors rejected arguments from Yonko’s defense team that the woman was legally insane at the time of the incident. They deliberated for less than an hour before returning a guilty verdict, the outlets reported.

“It’s such a heartbreaking case and I kept thinking of Hannah,” juror Jeanie Tinkle said, according to KHOU. “We all wanted to give [Yonko] the benefit of the doubt, but we couldn’t get there.”

Because the victim was younger than 10, Yonko received an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole under Texas law after prosecutors declined to pursue the death penalty.

Officers responding to reports of an abandoned child around 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 23, 2024 found the girl on the ground in the 3300 block of 59th Street just off Seawall Boulevard, according to a Galveston Police Department press release. Hannah was found injured but still alive outside the hotel and was quickly transported by EMS to the trauma center at the University of Texas Medical Branch, officials said.

She passed away a short time later, according to police and previous PEOPLE coverage.

Investigators said the toddler had suffered several serious injuries, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE. Hotel surveillance footage showed the child falling from the hotel balcony, according to the court documents. Police also recovered a bag from a hotel garage trash container containing a sharp tool, toys and children’s snacks, according to previous PEOPLE coverage.