Prosecutors in Florida have announced they will not seek the death penalty against a father accused of throwing his five-year-old daughter from a bridge in 2015. Jon Jonchuck, 27, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Phoebe Jonchuck.
During a hearing on Monday, Assistant State Attorney Doug Ellis told Judge Chris Helinger that the state had elected to waive the death penalty. Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett explained the decision was made to focus on the defendant's sanity and streamline the trial, which is scheduled to begin on September 24.
If convicted, Jonchuck will automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors allege that in January 2015, Jonchuck dropped his daughter into Tampa Bay off the Dick Misener bridge after visiting a lawyer's office.
Jonchuck has a history of mental illness. He was deemed incompetent to stand trial in February 2015 but was later found competent in March 2017. Hours before the incident, he reportedly told an attorney he was the Pope, sought a DNA test, and asked the lawyer to read a Bible in Swedish.
Jonchuck's mother, Michele Jonchuck, previously told the Tampa Bay Times that the death penalty 'would be too easy on him,' adding that her family deals with the tragedy daily and that he needs help.
