Killer dad drops 5-year-old daughter off 60-foot Florida bridge to 'save her' after 'hearing voices'

A killer dad threw his five-year-old daughter off a 60-foot bridge in Florida as he thought killing the child would actually save her.

John Jonchuck , 34, was sentenced to life in jail in April 2019 over the January 2015 murder of his daughter Phoebe. His lawyers claimed the man, who was 25 at the time, was insane when he threw the girl off the Dick Mesiner Skyway Bridge in Tampa - but jurors rejected that defense attempt.

Jonchuck was convicted of first-degree murder after 21 days of evidence. In the early hours of January 8, 2015, the father sped towards the bridge while a police officer followed him with her lights off.

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After the father parked on the bridge and picked his daughter up off the back seat, the cop who had been following him told him to get back in the car and asked him to show her his hands. But Jonchuck replied: "You have no free will," before he walked over the guard rail and dropped his daughter off the edge of the bridge.

An autopsy revealed that little Phoebe survived the fall but died after suffering hypothermia caused by exposure to the cold water of the river. During a preliminary hearing in December 2018, Jonchuck claimed he heard "voices" that told him to kill his daughter.

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His mother, Mickey Jonchuck, revealed he had become obsessed with the Bible to the point he would spread salt around doorways as he thought this would keep out evil spirits. The court heard Jonchuck even told his stepmom that Phoebe was a demon. In his first interview with detectives, Jonchuck declared: "My name is God and you shall address me as such."

During interviews with a mental health doctor, Jonchuck said: "I was hearing voices saying that if me and Phoebe didn't die, everybody was going to go to hell." He also told the psychiatrist that he had "bad dreams" about his daughter in which he couldn't "get her to wake up."

He went on to describe himself as "a really good father" who was loved "so much" by Phoebe. He added: "I always promised her that I’m not going to let anything happen, and I did." His mother told officers that her son, who struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, hadn't been taking his medicine.

When Jonchuck was sentenced to life in prison, no one from his family was in court to hear the verdict and no relatives spoke on behalf of the little victim. Prosecutor Bernie McCabe said after the verdict: "I am satisfied that justice was done. My immediate reaction is killing children doesn't make one a very sympathetic character."