Father accused of throwing child from St. Petersburg bridge refuses to speak in court

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man seen throwing his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge refused to answer questions Monday as a judge appointed him a public defender.

John Jonchuck seemedto reject a court-appointed attorney last week when he said he wanted to leave his fate "in the hands of God."

Police said 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck was likely alive when her father sped past a police officer early Thursday morning, then pulled over to the side of the bridge. The officer could only watch from a distance as John Jonchuck pulled the girl from the back seat and dropped her to her death in the waters of Florida's Tampa Bay.

Jonchuck's own divorce lawyer had warned authorities of his mental state about 12 hours earlier, calling the local sheriff's office for help. Florida's child protection hotline also was called with a plea for intervention. Deputies met with the father and daughter at a church but found no reason to take the girl away. Child protective investigators decided not to investigate.

The director of Florida's Department of Children and Families pledged Monday to do a better job of checking on parents and other caregivers with mental health and substance abuse issues.  To start, a "Critical Incident Response Team" will examine the agency's prior interactions with the Jonchuck family, DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said.

"I think our real issue is, how we deal with complex substance abuse issues and mental health issues and families that are fragmented," he said. "Based on the criteria, they decided it didn't rise to the level of a formal investigation," Carroll added. "To me, my gut says we should investigate that every time."

In response to Phoebe's killing, Carroll changed the agency's hotline protocol: From now on, if a caregiver seems to be experiencing a psychotic episode, a child protective investigator will be required to visit within four hours.

Jonchuck's lawyer from his paternity case, Genevieve Torres, revealed details about Jonchuck's mental health.

"He was delusional in his statements and in his behavior," said Torres.

Over the weekend, Pheobe's grandmother, Michelle Lynn Jonchuck, spoke for the first time since losing her granddaughter.

"Right now, I have no intention of talking to him because nothing could give me an answer to what he's done," said Michelle Lynn Jonchuck. "I saw no indication. If I thought there was an indication of this, this would have never happened."

Phoebe's mother, Michelle Kerr, described Jonchuck's personality like that of Jekyll and Hyde.

"Sometimes he would be so nice, and then sometimes he would be so unfathomable of what he was capable of doing to a human being," Kerr said.

The Jonchuck family is also faced with funeral arrangements for Phoebe. Her grandmother wants to warn the public about potential scams to collect money for the funeral.  She said it has all been paid for.

In court Monday the judge said that Jonchuck chose to remain silent and that a public defender would be appointed to represent him.

Jonchuck's next court appearance, on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and aggravated fleeing and eluding, is scheduled for February. He's being held without bond.

WFTV