The police in St. Petersburg, Fla., say a man threw his 5-year-old daughter off a bridge into Tampa Bay just 12 hours after calmly telling a sheriff’s deputy he was happy, did not want to hurt himself or the girl and had “new clarity in his life.” The man, John Jonchuck, had been interviewed by the authorities because his lawyer had frantically called 911 to report that he was acting strange. The lawyer, Genevieve Torres, said Mr. Jonchuck had called her God and asked her to translate a Bible in Swedish when they met on Wednesday to talk about his custody case for his daughter, Phoebe. The police encountered Mr. Jonchuck early Thursday when he was driving about 100 miles per hour toward the Sunshine Skyway bridge. By the time an officer caught up with him, Mr. Jonchuck had pulled over on the approach span to the bridge. Mr. Jonchuck got out and started toward the officer, who pulled his weapon. Mr. Jonchuck then grabbed Phoebe from the back seat and held her face to his chest as he carried her to the railing, St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway said. Phoebe’s body was recovered about a mile from the bridge about two hours later. It was not clear whether Phoebe was alive when Mr. Jonchuck threw her into the bay about 60 feet below, though the officer said he thought he heard her scream, Chief Holloway said. A cause of death is pending. Mr. Jonchuck was charged with first-degree murder.