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St. Petersburg, Florida's Chief of Police says it is currently unclear whether a 5-year-old girl was alive or dead before her dad threw her off a bridge. She was later pronounced dead, after falling an estimated 60 feet into the water. VPC
John Jonchuck Jr. is taken into custody Jan. 8, 2015, shortly after police say he threw his 5-year-old old daughter off a bridge in St. Petersburg, Fla.(Photo: WTSP-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Police say a 5-year-old girl is dead after an officer watched her father throw her off a bridge early Thursday.
In an early-morning news conference, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said an officer was heading home from work at about 12:09 a.m., driving southbound toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge when man driving a Chrysler PT Cruiser passed him going about 100 mph.
Holloway said the officer did not engage the car in a pursuit, but when he got near the top of the Dick Misener Bridge on the approach to the skyway, the suspect, identified as John Nicholas Jonchuck Jr., got out of the car and approached the officer screaming. The officer then witnessed Jonchuck walk to the passenger side and take his daughter, Phoebe Jonchuck, out of the car and throw her over the side of the rail into the water.
Shown in this earlier police mugshot, John Jonchuck Jr. is accused of throwing his daughter off of a St. Petersburg, Fla., bridge to her death Jan. 8, 2015.(Photo: WTSP-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Jonchuck, 25, got back in the car and drove south, and was eventually stopped by Manatee County Sheriff''s deputies about 30 minutes later.
The child, who was thrown about 60 feet into the water, was located about an hour later and taken to All Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead at 2:44 a.m. Thursday, public information officer Yolanda Fernandez said.
Holloway said the officer immediately tried to locate the child's body after Jonchuck threw her over the bridge but was unable to find her.
It is not known whether the girl was alive when Jonchuck threw her into the water, but a planned autopsy should determine that, Holloway said.
Several dive teams, including from the Coast Guard, were involved in the search for the child. She was recovered by dive teams from Eckerd College.
The officer who witnessed the incident has not been identified. Holloway said he is home resting and will be interviewed later Thursday.
He said he had no explanation for Jonchuck's actions.
"I've been doing this for 29 yrs and I have no idea what was going on in the guy's mind," Holloway said. "I'm kind of worried about my officer because as we say, there is nothing routine about a traffic stop."
A father is in custody after police say he threw his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida, killing her. A police officer who was trying to pull the father over watched the whole thing happen. VPC
Police say Jonchuck, who lived with his parents in Tampa, Fla., had custody of his daughter. Authorities have contacted the girl's mother, who also lives in Tampa.
Jonchuck has had several prior arrests, including domestic battery in 2008 and a DUI charge in 2013. Police say he is not cooperating with detectives at this time.
Police in St. Petersburg, Fla., say this is the Chrysler PT Cruiser that John Jonchuck Jr. was driving when he got out and threw his daughter over a bridge Jan. 8, 2015.(Photo: St. Petersburg Police)
Holloway said Jonchuck filed a domestic violence charge against the child's mother in late December, but it was dismissed.
Police have charged Jonchuck with first-degree murder, aggravated fleeing and eluding and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle on a law enforcement officer. He is expected to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
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