«Breaking News» Dad who dropped his 5-year-old daughter 62ft to her death from a Florida bridge will plead insanity

John Jonchuck, 29, goes on trial Monday for the 2015 homicide of his five-year-old daughter Phoebe in Tampa Bay, Florida

A father who dropped his five-year-old daughter to her death from a Florida bridge four years ago will plead insanity, it has emerged. 

John Jonchuck, 29, goes on trial Monday for the January 8, 2015, death of his daughter Phoebe, whom he dropped 62 feet into Tampa Bay as a St. Petersburg police officer watched helplessly. 

Jonchuck is charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. If convicted, he will automatically go to prison for life.

If his attorneys' insanity defense works, he would be sent to a psychiatric hospital and it's unlikely he would ever be released. To be eligible, he would have to prove he was no longer mentally ill or dangerous.

Pinellas County Public Defender Bob Dillinger told the Tampa Bay Times he knows of no Florida case where a killer was found not guilty by reason of insanity of first-degree murder and eventually released.

"He'll be in a state prison for the rest of his life, or a state hospital for the rest of his life," Dillinger said. 

Successful insanity defenses are rare. Under Florida law, Jonchuck's attorneys must convince the jury his mental illness was so severe that he didn't know what he was doing or that it was wrong.

Jonchuck did have a long history of mental problems before he and his daughter ever reached the Dick Misener Bridge - his family told the Times he had been involuntarily committed 27 times - and seemed to be having a breakdown.

Phoebe Jonchuck, 5, died on January 8, 2015 after her father dropped her off a bridge onto another roadway in Tampa Bay, Florida

Pheobe's father had been involuntarily committed 27 times for mental health issues prior to killing his daughter in 2015

Michelle Kerr, mother of Phoebe Jonchuck, wipes her eyes as she leaves the church after memorial services for the late five-year-old at Lake Magdalene Methodist Church in Tampa Bay, Florida in January of 2015

Mourners exit the church after memorial services for 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck at Lake Magdalene Methodist Church in Tampa, Florida

Pallbearers load Pheobe's casket into a hearse after her memorial service in January 2015

Twelve hours before Phoebe's death, Jonchuck's divorce lawyer, Genevieve Torres, called a state child protection hotline, fearing for the girl's safety.

Torres told the Department of Children and Families operator that Jonchuck had driven to three churches in his pajamas with Phoebe in tow that morning, called Torres "God" and asked her to translate his stepmother's century-old Swedish Bible, which he carried and had become obsessed with. The attorney said Jonchuck was also paranoid that Phoebe wasn't his child.

"He's calling the office every five minutes and saying these religious things and saying the child might not be his - it just really concerns me," Torres told an operator. She added, "It's all craziness and it doesn't make any sense and he's out of his mind."

Torres also told the operator, who was inexperienced, that the department had an open investigation after an earlier caller accused Jonchuck of violence, substance abuse, and inadequate supervision.

John Jonchuck appears in court for a pretrial motions hearing at the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater, Florida on March 14, 2019

But the operator thought the attorney was more worried about Jonchuck's safety than the girl's and did not report the call to authorities.

Just after midnight the next day, Jonchuck's PT Cruiser raced past officer William Vickers, who was heading home from his shift in his patrol car. He started following Jonchuck, but never got close enough to read the license plate and didn't know Phoebe was inside.

As they reached the bridge's crest, Jonchuck stopped and got out. Vickers, fearing an ambush, stopped behind him, pulled his gun and yelled at Jonchuck to show his hands. He saw no weapon.

Jonchuck yelled at the officer, "You have no free will." He grabbed Phoebe from the back seat, held her over the side momentarily and then dropped her. Vickers thinks she screamed.

Jonchuck drove off, but was soon arrested. Vickers scrambled down a ladder to a dock below the bridge, but couldn't see Phoebe in the dark water. A marine rescue boat was summoned and her body was found hours later.

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2019/03/18/dad-who-dropped-his-5-year-old-daughter-62ft-to-her-death-from-a-florida-bridge-will-plead-insanity/
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John Jonchuck, 29, goes on trial Monday for the 2015 homicide of his five-year-old daughter Phoebe in Tampa Bay, Florida

A father who dropped his five-year-old daughter to her death from a Florida bridge four years ago will plead insanity, it has emerged. 
John Jonchuck, 29, goes on trial ...

It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.

Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.

Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca





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