John Jonchuck Jr., 25, was found cradling his 5-year old daughter. Phoebe Jonchuck over the railing of Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Despite a police officer had drawn a gun and yelling for Jonchuck to stop, he dropped his daughter into Tampa Bay that looms 62 feet below.
Phoebe was found by a search team from Eckerd College 40 minutes later, despite attempts made to resuscitate her, she was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Two doctors ruled that John Jonchuck is mentally incompetent and any case against Jonchuck has to be put on hold until the court is confident that Jonchuck understands the charges pressed against him. According to the State's Attorney's Office, a third mental health examination on Jonchuck will take place on coming 17th of February.
If the court also rules that Jonchuck is mentally incompetent, a stay in the mental health facility for 6 months awaits him before re-evaluation later.
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Child abuse hotline ignored calls that could have saved Phoebe's life.
12 hours before the tragedy happened, Jonchuck's divorce attorney had called a local child abuse hotline warning about Jonchuck's mental state. The call was however ignored by the hotline operator because she assumed that Phoebe was not in danger.
Just a week earlier, a neighbour who had witnessed Jonchuck physically abusing Phoebe in the past had also called the child abuse hotline informing the Department of Children and Families about the situation. Unfortunately the call had failed to probe further investigations because the operator hung up before acquiring Jonchuck's address and closed the case.
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Could the intervention from the Department of Children and Families saved Phoebe's life?
The DCF ignoring calls has not been the first time, in 2011, the same hotline received several calls concerning the safety of a 10-year-old foster child, Nubia Barahona, where the decomposing body of the child was later found in a pickup truck of her adoptive father, doused in toxic chemicals.
Cover image via huffpost.com
