Midwest City father sentenced after 7-year-old abused and starved to death

MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR) - Anthony Yonko was in an Oklahoma County courtroom Thursday, where he was sentenced after the abuse and starvation of his 7-year-old daughter, Violet Mitchell.

"Don't put me on the news," Yonko said as News 4 cameras captured him walking into court.

Four adults were arrested in connection with her death: the father, Anthony, the mother, Lisa Mitchell, the aunt Tiffany Mitchell, and the uncle David Yonko.

Last August, they brought Violet's body to St. Anthony's Medical Center.

According to a police report, Violet weighed just 25 pounds and was 3 feet 1 inch tall. 

When brought to the hospital, she was blue, stiff, covered in dust and soot, and appeared to have internal and external injuries.

Officials said she came in with several bruises, red liquid coming out of her mouth, and overall weighed only 25 pounds. Officials noted that there was more to the story.

The girl’s cousin told police that the parents reportedly beat, cursed at, poured hot food on, and more throughout the past couple of months or more.

Last year, News 4 talked to a neighbor, Tera Day, who might've been one of the last people to help Violet before she died.

Day said she could tell she was malnourished, so she gave her food and sent her back home.

“I took her because she was hungry,” said Day. “She looked malnourished. I fed her chicken nuggets, mashed potatoes, and carrots. She didn’t tell me anything about her parents, just that they loved her. That’s all she said, and she cried, and I took her back home.”

Lisa Mitchell is the mother, and she has a jury trial set for mid-November.

The uncle and aunt both had their sentences of 20 years each.

In a courtroom on Thursday, Yonko's defense team argued that he was evaluated as "mentally challenged," and they asked for 15 years for a sentence.

The state argued that there were no pictures outside of the ones of Violet after she had died. The state also made a point to say that Yonko and Mitchell never took the child to the hospital outside of soon after her birth and when she died.

In his statement before the judge, Yonko said, "I love my babies, I wish it were me, not my baby. I love my daughter so much. Well, here I am. Whatever you want to do, go ahead."

The judge decided to sentence him to 30 years total.

On his way out of court, News 4 asked Yonko why he did it, does he regrets it, and what he had to say to his other children who are now without their father because of his crime.

"No comment," said his defense team in response.