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This week, Drewby and Yergy head to the Tampa Bay area to discuss the case of Phoebe Jonchuck, a beautiful 5-year-old girl who was tossed off the Dick Misener Bridge into Tampa Bay by her then 29-year-old father, John Jonchuck. That same day, John had been suffering from religious delusions, driving all around Tampa and St. Petersburg looking for a priest to baptize him. These delusions were sparked by long term substance abuse, mental health issues, and an obsession with an antique Swedish bible. Support Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themiserymachine PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/themiserymachine Join Our Facebook Group: https://t.co/DeSZIIMgXs?amp=1 Instagram: miserymachinepodcast Twitter: misery_podcast Discord: https://discord.gg/kCCzjZM #themiserymachine #podcast #truecrime Source Material: https://projects.tampabay.com/projects/2016/features/the-long-fall-of-phoebe-jonchuck/ https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2015/01/10/five-year-old-tampa-girl-thrown-bridge/21551243/ https://people.com/crime/cops-questioned-dad-hours-before-he-allegedly-threw-5-year-old-daughter-off-a-bridge/ https://people.com/crime/john-johnchuck-threw-daughter-off-florida-bridge/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2015/01/09/dad-accused-throwing-girl-bridge-had-police-run-ins/15646473007/ https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/crime/john-jonchuck-guilty-of-first-degree-murder-in-2015-death-of-his-daughter-phoebe-20190416/ https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2019/03/27/state-rests-case-in-jonchuck-trial--daughter-s-photos-shown-in-court https://www.tampabay.com/news/pinellas/crime/john-jonchuck-guilty-of-first-degree-murder-in-2015-death-of-his-daughter-phoebe-20190416/ https://www.fox13news.com/news/jonchuck-murder-trial-pauses-for-psychological-evaluation https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2019/08/26/john-jonchuck-convicted-of-daughter-phoebes-murder-seeks-new-trial/ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141048186/phoebe-jade-jonchuck https://www.wfla.com/news/st-pete-officer-who-tried-to-save-girl-thrown-from-bridge-recognized/ https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/phoebe-jonchuck-5-was-thrown-over-the-dick-meisner-bridge-to-her-death-almost-one-year-ago https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kiss-heaven-florida-girl-thrown-bridge-mourned-funeral-n286111 https://www.fox13news.com/news/bikers-remember-phoebe-jonchuck-5-years-after-death https://ny1.com/nyc/bronx/news/2020/02/16/-flowers-for-phoebe--remembers-5-year-old-phoebe-jonchuck- https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/nation/2015/01/14/celebrating-the-life-of-5-year-old-dropped-from-tampa-bay-bridge/21760499/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/14/she-loved-rainbows-and-butterflies-five-year-old-phoebe-jonchuck-laid-to-rest/ https://skywaybridge.com/others/misener.htm https://www.air.tv/watch?v=7LYB7RPfTSqv5ghkY8hmiQ
It was shortly after midnight in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the 8th of January, 2015, when a police officer was heading home down I-275 after finishing his shift. Moments later, a PT Cruiser sped past him at around 100mph. The officer tried to keep up with the car and pull it over. When they reached the Dick Misener Bridge on the approach to the Skyway, the car pulled over and the officer pulled up behind him. Nobody could have ever predicted what happened next.SPONSORS -JUNE’S JOURNEY – Thank you to June’s Journey for sponsoring this episode! The objective of this murder-mystery game is to find objects that are hidden within beautiful, colorful and carefully crafted scenes. Download June’s Journey for free on the Apple app store and Google Play or here: http://onelink.to/ykz5f2PATREON - https://www.patreon.com/morbidologyPODCAST PROMO - PRASH'S MURDER MAPTwitter: https://twitter.com/prashsmurdermapFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/prashsmap/Audio Credit:Ever Mindful, On My Way, Sincerely & Evening of Chaos - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Density & Time - Water LilliesDark Tranquility - Anno Domini Beats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6mBav72AkELicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/Mattia Cupelli - http://www.mattiacupelli.com/Scott Buckley - Undertow
To read the story referenced in this podcast, go to: http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/features/the-long-fall-of-phoebe-jonchuck/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Five-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck was thrown off a bridge and killed by her psychotic, delusional father. Lynette and Stefanie look back at the very clear warning signs, and the broken system that failed this innocent little girl.
This week's episode looks at “The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck,” by Lane DeGregory for the Tampa Bay Times in January 2016. The story looks at the life and tragic death of Phoebe Jonchuck, a five-year-old girl, murdered by her father, who dropped her from the side of a bridge. I talk with Lane about the challenges of exploring this difficult story. Lane Degregory is a feature writer for the Tampa Bay Times. She has won dozens of national awards, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for her story "The Girl in the Window." Some other great examples of Lane's storytelling: A Message from Roger At 99, a St. Petersburg man finds meaning in the working life Driving headlong into a sunny paradise Couple falls for the biggest game at the fair For next week: A Million Little Boxes by Oliver Roeder
This week's episode looks at “The Wreck of Amtrak 188,” written by Matt Shaer for the New York Times Magazine in January 2016. The story examines one of the worst rail disasters in American history, which occurred just north of Philadelphia in May of 2015. It looks at the accident, the victims, and Brandon Bostian, the man who was driving the train that night. Matthew Shaer is an author and award-winning magazine journalist based in Atlanta. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, New York, Harper's, Fast Company, Wired, Men's Journal, Popular Science, and Smithsonian Magazine. For next week, check out "The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck" by Lane DeGregory.
Kelley Benham French of the Tampa Bay Times wrote the three-part series “Never let go.” The story focuses on the birth of Juniper French, the daughter of Kelley and husband Tom French (as in Pulitzer Prize-winning Tom French). Juniper was born at 23 weeks, six days and weighed just one pound, four ounces at birth. While written in the first-person, this story is not your typical piece of memoir. Benham reported the hell out of this story, starting with more than 7,000 pages of medical records and continuing on with extensive interviews with ever doctor, nurse and social worker involved in her daughter’s life. French is now a professor of practice at the Indiana University Media School. She recently worked as the editor on Lane DeGregory's piece, "The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck."
Lane DeGregory is a Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer at the Tampa Bay Times. In early January, the Times published a long story by DeGregory, told in three chapters, about a five-year-old girl whose father killed her by dropping her off a bridge into the ocean. “The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck” is a brutal yet powerful piece that shows how a sweet little girl was the victim of a child protective services system that let far too many children fall through the cracks. The editor on this story was Kelley Benham French, now a professor of practice at the Indiana University Media School. We featured French on the podcast after she wrote the three-part series, “Never Let Go.” DeGregory won a Pulitzer in 2009 for feature writing for her story, “The Girl in the Window.” Her work has appeared in Best Newspaper Writing in four times. She has taught journalism at the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg, been a speaker at the Nieman Narrative Conference at Harvard University, and won dozens of national awards. She’s also known for finding wonderful stories among everyday lives, including a piece on a flag-toting rodeo rider, and a boy buying a Valentine card for his first girlfriend.
Luckily there aren't very many examples of the perfect storm occurring in a community where a dysfunctional family, a broken child-protection agency, and a community that makes a series of unlucky decisions end with the death of a beautiful, happy and loving 5-year-old little girl. Episode 41, however, isn't one of them. On January 8th, 2015, Phoebe Jonchuck was thrown 62 feet off the Dick Misener Bridge in Tampa, Florida. As a result, she died at the hands of her father. Her mother, on the other hand, was absent. After the child's death, revelations about her would be made public that would show how little Phoebe Jonchuck never had a chance. Of course, had the Florida Department of Children and Families done its job, this story would have never had to have been told. But they didn't, of course, and the list of other actors in this story that could have stepped in and didn't is too long to list. Nobody cared enough about this 5 year old girl to take action beyond the bare minimum other than attorney Genevieve Torres whose calls and cries were ignored and dismissed. When you have a system so broken that an attorney insisting that a 5 year old is in danger goes ignored, then what good is it?