7-year-old was ‘essentially skin on bones’ when she died, autopsy says. Parents charged
.jpg "A 7-year-old girl was severely malnourished, then died when a baby bottle top got stuck in her stomach, an Oklahoma autopsy found.")
A 7-year-old girl weighed just 29 pounds when she died, Oklahoma officials said, and now four people, including her mother, are charged with murder.
Violet Mitchell ultimately died after swallowing the top from a baby bottle, which blocked her stomach, according to an autopsy report obtained by McClatchy News on Nov. 19. However, officials in Oklahoma County said the girl was “essentially skin on bones” and had “sunken eyes,” when she died, according to the report filed on Sept. 17.
Doctors told investigators she was “extremely malnourished” and her body was in rigor mortis when she arrived at the hospital on Aug. 2, KFOR reported. Doctors also believed she had internal and external injuries.
Shortly after the girl’s death, her parents Lisa Mitchell, 31, and Anthony Yonko, 37, were arrested in Midwest City, according to court records and KWTV. Weeks later, on Aug. 21, Yonko’s brother, 25-year-old David Yonko, and Mitchell’s sister, 25-year-old Tiffany Mitchell, were arrested, officials told KOCO.
All four were charged with second degree murder, according to court records. The girl’s parents and Mitchell’s sister are being held on a $5 million bond while Yonko’s brother is being held on a $1 million bond, according to jail records.
No attorney information was listed.
In addition to the blockage caused by the bottle top, the autopsy report also said there were abrasions on her hands and left shoulder, contusions on her left leg and a “pale green” discoloration on her stomach. Her brain weight was also low for what is expected for her age, officials said.
Police said Mitchell would tie the girl to a crib with zip ties and beat her with a broomstick, KOCO reported.
Mitchell is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 27.
Midwest City is approximately a 10-mile drive east from downtown Oklahoma City.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 2:43 PM with the headline "7-year-old was ‘essentially skin on bones’ when she died, autopsy says. Parents charged."
