CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A Florida jury has found a man guilty of first-degree murder for dropping his 5-year-old daughter off a Tampa Bay area bridge four years ago.
Jurors in Clearwater, Florida, deliberated for about seven hours over two days before convicting 29-year-old John Jonchuck.
No one disputed that Jonchuck dropped his daughter Phoebe 62 feet (18 meters) into Tampa Bay in January 2015.
But prosecutors claimed Jonchuck's action was premeditated and that he acted out of anger against Phoebe's mother and his own mother. They said he knew what he was doing was wrong.
His defense attorney said during closing arguments that Jonchuck was insane, and delusions led him to believe Phoebe was possessed.
