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Friday, November 4, 2016

A Denton homeless woman beaten unconscious one week ago has died.

Jessica Yankow, 37, died at 12:30 a.m. Thursday at Denton Regional Medical Center, according to a news release issued by Denton police. Yankow was allegedly beaten unconscious by William Stevens, 28, outside the Salvation Army shelter in Denton on Oct. 27, according to a police report. Both were homeless at the time.


Stevens now will be charged with murder, according to Denton police. The department is expected to turn the case over to the Denton County District Attorney, which will present the case to a Denton County grand jury for review. If Stevens is indicted and convicted of murder, he faces five to 99 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.


Stevens was arrested after the incident and remains in the Denton County Jail. His original bail was set at $100,000.
The Salvation Army in Denton serves as a night shelter, food pantry and social service center for local homeless people. The Denton location offers between 30 and 40 beds. Yankow checked into the facility about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26, hours before the early-morning incident on Oct. 27. She left that afternoon, however, and returned after the 10 p.m. curfew, when the shelter doors are locked.


A witness reported seeing Stevens beating Yankow outside the shelter about 5 a.m. Oct. 27 and called 911. Paramedics transported an unconscious Yankow to Denton Regional Medical Center, where nurses said her injuries indicated a brain injury. Yankow suffered multiple injuries to her face, including a bruise on her right cheek that appeared to be a shoe impression, according to Stevens’ arrest affidavit.


Yankow later was placed on life support and remained in critical condition for a week before she died.
Her murder is the fifth connected to Denton this year and the fourth inside the city limits.
Texas Woman’s University student Jacqueline Vandagriff died in September, and Charles Dean Bryant faces murder charges in connection with her death. Although Vandagriff’s body was found near Grapevine Lake, she met Bryant at a Denton bar just prior to her death.


In January, a University of North Texas student, Sara Mutschlechner, died after being shot behind the wheel of her car. Eric Jamal Johnson faces murder charges in connection with her death on New Year’s Day.
Also in January, Stephen Scott was arrested and charged with the murder of his parents, Marion and Linda Scott, both of whom died from multiple stab wounds.


PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE  via Twitter at @phwolfeDRC.


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