ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — John Jonchuck’s murder trial began Monday with jury selection.
After just one day, we're getting an idea of how complicated this trial is going to be. Jury selection has already been time-consuming and tedious in an attempt to narrow the group.
While 1,200 people were summoned for this trial, the court will have a challenging time finding people who can commit to a month-long trial and also don't have previous knowledge of the case.
The jurors who revealed they were familiar with the case were then taken into a private conference room for individual questioning to determine how much knowledge they have and whether they could be impartial.
Some jurors admitted they could not put aside their prior knowledge of the case, saying things like "I have grandchildren," or "it was too horrific."
Potential jurors were also questioned individually about their personal feelings on mental illness and "not guilty by reason of insanity" as a defense.
A St. Petersburg Police officer saw Jonchuck throw his 5-year-old daughter, Phoebe, off the dick Misener Bridge in St. Petersburg just after midnight on Jan. 8, 2015. The bridge leads south to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
Phoebe Jonchuck's body was later recovered in Tampa Bay.
If John Jonchuck is found guilty of murder, he could spend life in prison.
The defense will argue Jonchuck is not guilty by reason of insanity. If he’s found not guilty by reason of insanity, Jonchuck will likely spend the rest of his life in a state mental hospital.
Last week, a judge denied two motions by John Jonchuck’s lawyers.
The first motion was about whether the term, “psychopath” could be used during the trial. Jonchuck’s lawyers argued the term would inflict prejudice on the jury. The state put a psychologist on the stand who believes Jonchuck fits the “psychopath” categorization according to a psychopathy checklist. However, Dr. Peter Bursten never referred to Jonchuck directly as a “psychopath.” The doctor was on the stand for more than two hours.
Judge Chris Helinger did not rule on the word “psychopath,” but said the word “psychopathy” is allowed.
The second motion was to prevent testimony about hypothermia being a cause in Phoebe’s death. That motion was also denied.
After Jonchuck's arrest, he was ruled incompetent to stand trial three times. Jonchuck was placed in a North Florida treatment center, where he’s been since. Doctors deemed him competent to stand trial back in September, but his trial was postponed until March.
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