A florida man with a troubled
past was charged with murder
after throwing his 5-year-old
daughter off a bridge into Tampa
Bay, just hours after police
questioned his bizarre behaviour
but found no grounds to detain
him.
John Jonchuck, 25, had custody
of his daughter despite a lengthy
arrest history involving his
turbulent relationship with the
child's mother.
Police on Thursday gave no
motive for the grim episode they
said played out just after
midnight, when Jonchuck sped
past an officer at 100 miles per
hour (160 km per hour) and
headed toward the Sunshine
Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay.
He stopped his car near the top
of an approach to the bridge,
appearing to wait for the officer,
then removed daughter Phoebe
Jonchuck from the vehicle, police
said.
He threw her over the bridge
railing and drove off at a normal
speed as the officer began
searching for the child in the
waters some 60 feet (18 metres)
below, St. Petersburg Police Chief
Anthony Holloway said.
Alive or not
While it was not immediately
clear if the kindergarten student
was alive when thrown, an off-
duty officer who witnessed the
incident thought he heard her
scream, said Holloway.
"You just throw this baby away
like it's nothing," the chief said at
a news conference.
Phoebe Jonchuck's body was
found in the water about an
hour and a half later, police said.
Her empty pink car seat was
sitting in the back of her father's
car when authorities stopped
him in nearby Manatee County.
On Wednesday, a Tampa attorney
representing Jonchuck in a
custody case had called police to
report concerns about his
behaviour.
She said he had called her "God"
and asked her to translate a Bible
that was written in Swedish,
according to a police report.
Multiple arrests
Deputies located Jonchuck at a
Tampa church and found him
"clean shaven", dressed in
pajama bottoms and a long-
sleeve black shirt, according to a
Hillsborough County Sheriff's
Office report.
Jonchuck told them at one point
he was taking 37 medications
for a health condition that was
redacted from the report, but
that he no longer was on
prescription drugs.
"He doesn't want to hurt himself
or anyone else," officers wrote.
Finding no grounds to detain
Jonchuck, officers noted that his
daughter "appeared happy"
walking with her father and
waved as they left.
Jonchuck was arrested multiple
times in recent years on charges
including domestic violence and
battery, according to
Hillsborough sheriff's deputies
and the Tampa Police
Department.
He had a troubled history with
the girl's mother, Michelle Kerr,
police reports show.
Multiple sclerosis
Kerr told local ABC Action News
that she has multiple sclerosis
and allowed the child to live with
Jonchuck, whom she described
as a good father.
"Never did I think he'd do this,"
she said, the television station
reported.
Jonchuck, who lived with his
parents and had custody of the
child, may have mental issues,
Holloway said.
Now facing charges of first-
degree murder, aggravated
fleeing and eluding, and
aggravated assault with a deadly
weapon on a law enforcement
officer, a judge on Thursday
ordered Jonchuck to be held
without bail.
Asked by the judge if he wanted
to be appointed a lawyer,
Jonchuck declined.
"I want to leave it in the hands of God