John Jonchuck guilty of first-degree murder in 2015 death of his daughter, Phoebe
Last edited Wed Apr 17, 2019, 05:11 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: Tampa Bay Times
LARGO — John Jonchuck is guilty of first-degree murder, a jury ruled Tuesday, and should spend the rest of his life in prison for dropping his daughter, Phoebe, off a bridge into the chilly, dark waters of Tampa Bay.
He was not facing the death penalty.
Over more than four weeks, jurors heard a tangled narrative of Jonchuck’s mental history. His public defenders argued that he was insane at the time of the killing, driven by imagined voices and delusions, unaware that what he was doing was wrong. Their case was built on Jonchuck’s recollection of hearing an old Swedish Bible knocking, of listening to Phoebe chanting when she touched it, of thinking she was possessed and that he was the Pope or God.
His rantings did not sway the jury, which ultimately decided that Jonchuck, now 29, knew killing 5-year-old Phoebe was wrong. Prosecutors said he was acting out of vengeance, killing Phoebe so her mother could never get custody of her and because he was bitter that his own mother loved the little girl with affection she never showed for him. Jonchuck’s mother and uncle both said if he was not insane, he should “rot in hell” for what he did to Phoebe.
Read more: https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/crime/john-jonchuck-guilty-of-first-degree-murder-in-2015-death-of-his-daughter-phoebe-20190416/
One sidenote I found interesting on the night of his arrest was despite a documented history of drug use, despite throwing his child off a bridge and leading police on a chase, despite telling the cops that he was God and wanted a Bible to read, they did *NOT* drug test him
