No parent who is mentally stable throws their child off a bridge.
John Jonchuck threw his five-year old daughter, Phoebe, off the Dick Misener Bridge in St. Petersburg, Florida, into the Tampa Bay earlier this month. Her body was recovered about a mile from the bridge about two hours later. An autopsy report revealed the child was likely alive when her father threw her over the bridge.
Just hours before Phoebe’s death, Jonchuck met with his attorney to file paperwork in his child custody case. Jonchuck’s unusual behavior during the meeting prompted his attorney to call 911 to report her concern for the child’s safety. Her client was acting “strange,” and “out of his mind,” she reported. She also called the Florida Department of Children and Families hotline to report that her client was “depressed and delusional.” Yet when the police arrived and talked with Johchuck at length, he appeared to be fine and told police he didn’t want to hurt himself or his little girl. Phoebe was smiling and holding her father’s hand.
Jonchuck is being held at the Pinellas County Jail charged with first-degree murder. When asked by the judge if he wanted an attorney, he responded, “I want to leave it in the hands of God.” The judge appointed a public defender to represent him.
Phoebe’s mother said Jonchuck “does the Jekyll and Hyde. It’s just something that goes on in his head, he just wasn’t wired right.” Johchuck and his wife are separated.
Mr. Jonchuck was obviously experiencing a psychotic episode when he threw his daughter to her death. How very sad that in this country we allow individuals with serious mental illness to commit crimes before we treat them. He obviously fell through the cracks. No one picked up on the Red Code Alerts.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one in 17 – about 13.6 million Americans – live with a serious mental illness.
Some serious mental illnesses make it difficult for sick people to assess their own need for treatment. Only when a sick person becomes a danger, as determined by a judge at a commitment hearing, can he or she be committed. By this time, it is sometimes too late. I’m the mother of an adult son who suffered from severe bipolar disorder. His third attempt at suicide was successful.
Mental illness is not going away. We must find a balance between protecting the rights of mentally ill people and also getting them the treatment they require to recover and not be a threat to innocent people who have the misfortunate to get in their way.
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), in December 2013, introduced the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” H.R. 3717. This bill will expand access to treatment for individuals who miss out on mental-health services because they are too sick to seek treatment. It will lead to treatment before tragedy.
On January 7, Congressman Murphy kicked off the 144th Congress with a speech on the House Floor announcing his plans to reintroduce his comprehensive mental health reform bill to the new Congress. The bill currently has the bipartisan support of 118 co-sponsors. It’s time for Congress to pass the “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis” bill and get it on President Obama’s desk.
Dottie Pacharis, Author, Mind on the Run – A Bipolar Chronicle