Twenty five year old John Jonchuck Jr was charged with hurling his five year old daughter, Phoebe Jonchuck, to her death, just after midnight Thursday.
At 12:09 am this morning, in St. Petersburg, Florida, an officer was on his way home, when a PT Cruiser came flying past him at over 100 miles an hour. The car continued over the Dick Misener Bridge, where it stopped. The officer pulled up behind him, turning on his lights, only to witness the father get out of the car, clutching his child to his chest. Then, to the officer’s horror, the man threw the child over the guardrail, where she plummeted 60 feet into the icy cold waters below.
While the officer climbed down a ladder to try and rescue the kindergartner, Jonchuck Jr took over, only to be later apprehended, going the wrong way down the interstate. He refused to talk.
The body of his daughter, five year old Phoebe Jonchuck, was recovered about a mile downstream, just after 1 am. Sadly, attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later. The father was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and aggravated assault with a motor vehicle on a law enforcement officer.
He was denied bond, and declined a public defender, and said he would leave his fate “in the hands of God.”
Local news reports that the family has had two closed cases with Florida’s Department of Children and Families with complaints against Jonchuck, and a current case is open, but the alleged perpetrator is not Jonchuck. It’s also been revealed he has a troubled past that includes several arrests for battery charges, including domestic violence against the child’s mother, and his own mother.
Rest in peace, little angel.
If you suspect child abuse or neglect, please, don’t wait. Your call can save a life. Please contact the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).
