Trial scheduled for dad accused of dropping girl off bridge

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A trial date has been set for a Florida man accused of throwing his young daughter to her death off a Tampa Bay area bridge.

Following a Monday hearing, Pinellas County Judge Chris Helinger scheduled the trial for 27-year-old Jon Jonchuck to begin Feb. 5, 2018.

Another judge found Jonchuck competent to stand trial earlier this month. He was deemed incompetent in February 2015, the month after prosecutors say he dropped 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck into Tampa Bay.

The Tampa Bay Times (https://goo.gl/TFex0X) reports Jonchuck will remain at a state hospital in Gainesville until his trial.

Jonchuck is charged with first-degree murder. He faces the death penalty, but prosecutors have said they may revisit that decision given his mental health history.

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Information from: Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Fla.), http://www.tampabay.com.