5-year-old girl dead after her deranged dad tosses her 62 feet off Florida bridge: cops
John Nicholas Jonchuck Jr., 25, was arrested shortly after he pulled Phoebe Jonchuck from her pink car seat and threw her from the Dick Misener Bridge into the waters of Tampa Bay some 60 feet below, police said. The dad had custody of the little girl, despite prior domestic violence arrests.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Thursday, January 8, 2015, 9:14 AM
Updated: Thursday, January 8, 2015, 5:47 PM
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COURTESY ABC ACTION NEWSLittle Phoebe Jonchuck, 5, was tossed over a bridge railing into the waters of Tampa Bay by her own father early Thursday, police said.
A 5-year-old girl is dead after her deranged dad tossed her off a Florida bridge early Thursday, then calmly drove off as frantic rescuers tried to recover her body, police said.
Some 30 minutes after the fatal fall near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in St. Petersburg, Fla., cops caught up to 25-year-old John Nicholas Jonchuck Jr. and arrested him on murder charges.
Jonchuck had been acting strangely earlier Wednesday, calling his lawyer "God" and asking her to translate a Bible in Swedish, according to the Associated Press. Attorney Genevieve Torres later contacted police to report his bizarre conduct, and officers spoke to Jonchuck and his daughter while he picked her up from a church day care.
"She was smiling and appeared healthy, properly clothed and happy," court documents reveal.
Twelve hours later, the little girl who family friends said hated the water and taking baths, was found dead in Tampa Bay.
APJohn Jonchuck Jr., 25, reportedly sped by a police officer before stopping along a bridge and throwing his daughter, Phoebe, into the waters below, police said.
A St. Petersburg police officer was headed home south on Interstate 275 when a white PT Cruiser blew by him going 100 miles per hour just after midnight Thursday, police said. The officer followed and saw Jonchuck stop the car, pull little Phoebe Jonchuck from her pink car seat and throw the girl over the railing of the Dick Misener Bridge on the approach to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which connects St. Pete with Terra Ceia in the Tampa area on Florida’s west coast.
"We don't know if the child was alive at the time the child was thrown into the water," St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway told the media Thursday morning. "The officer said he thought he heard the child scream, but he is not sure. We're just waiting for the report to come back from the ME's (medical examiner's) Office."
The girl plummeted some 62 feet to the Tampa Bay waters below while her deranged dad took off, police said.
"The officer's initial concern was for the child. He heard the splash," St. Petersburg Police spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez told Bay News 9. "He knew she hit the water. He climbed down to a platform underneath the bridge to try and locate her but the current had already taken her away."
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The officer reportedly saw the entire thing and tried unsuccessfully to stop Jonchuck, who was later arrested some 30 minutes later after crossing the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, into Manatee County, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
"He (Jonchuck) did not (give any indications why this happened)," Holloway said. "Again, when he got out of the car (Jonchuck) said something but the officer has no idea what he said."
Rescuers from Eckerd College found the girl in the water nearly two hours after the fatal plunge, about a mile from where she was tossed. She was pronounced dead at a hospital around 2:45 a.m., police said.
“I’m heartbroken. We were out there looking in the dark. We hit a couple high bars looking as fast as we could, trying to save somebody, but there’s nothing you could do,” Bobby Hay, a fisherman who helped rescue crews search for the victim, told WESH-TV.
CHRIS O'MEARA/APThe Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a popular spot for suicides.
Jonchuck has previous arrest for domestic violence dating to 2008, online jail records show, and he was busted for DUI and battery in 2013.
Despite his checkered past, reports indicate he had custody of his daughter. The girl's mom, 29-year-old Michelle Kerr, says she suffers from multiple sclerosis and had trouble caring for "her little angel."
"I would do anything just to have her for one more day," Kerr told WFTS-TV as she cried. "Phoebe's spirit, she was so lovable."
Jonchuck faces charges of first degree murder, aggravated fleeing and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He appeared in court Thursday afternoon and told a judge, "I want to leave it in the hands of God," when asked if he wanted a court appointed attorney.
"I'm pretty sure God's not going to be representing you in this case," the judge replied. "You're going to be standing trial."
Phoebe loved princesses and appeared fond of her father, said Linda Mattos, who owned the daycare Phoebe attended.
"She was a very smart little girl who loved princesses and who loved to color. She hated the water and didn't know how to swim," an emotional Mattos said. "That's what bothered me the most this morning because I knew how much she hated the water. She wouldn't even take a bath."
The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, opened in 1987, is more than four miles long. The span has proven a popular suicide spot over the years, with more than 200 people jumping to their deaths, according to one unofficial tally.
