TAMARAC, Fla. – Neighbors say chilling surveillance video shows Nathan Gingles calmly walking away with his 4-year-old daughter Seraphine after sheriff’s deputies said he killed his estranged wife, his father-in-law and their neighbor in Tamarac over the weekend.
But before that moment, the cameras picked up the sound of gunshots and screams.
Jail records show Gingles, 43, of Lauderhill, is now facing three first-degree murder charges, two counts of armed burglary, and one count each of child abuse, child neglect and kidnapping.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies said he killed Mary Gingles, 34, along with her father, David Ponzer, 64, and their neighbor, Andrew Ferrin, 36.
Seraphine was unharmed.
Authorities said Nathan Gingles shot Ponzer during a fight. When Mary Gingles made it to Ferrin’s home to seek help, Nathan Gingles is accused of killing them both.
“This is something that has taken place through just pure evil,” Ferrin’s uncle, George David, said Monday.
David said Ferrin had his whole life ahead of him and was just trying to help. Now, a lengthy history of domestic violence is also affecting his family.
“The failure of protecting this poor victim, this poor woman and her child and father-in-law, it ended up branching off to affect our lives -- total strangers who lost a nephew, who lost a son,” he said. “So it’s very, very important that domestic violence is taken seriously.”
Court documents show that Nathan Gingles had a troubled marriage with his wife. Mary Gingles even wrote in those documents she feared that her husband would kill her.
“Because of Nathan’s psychotic behavior, his multiple threats, his drug use, his multiple/many silenced firearms and my impending divorce action, I am afraid Nathan will kill me and my daughter,” she wrote.
Nathan Gingles faced a judge in a dependency hearing for Seraphine on Monday.
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“I don’t believe there’s any services that the department can put in place to alleviate the risk to the health, safety, and welfare that you present to your daughter,” a judge told him.
“The wife represents that both she and the minor child have been terrorized by the husband, and while the wife endured the majority of the physical abuse, the minor child was also shoved off the father’s lap and hit her head, or thrown off his lap generally after yelling at the child, calling her a ‘stupid baby,’” the judge added.
Speaking with Local 10 News, Nathan Gingles’ father described his son as a good person, but said he was unsure what would lead him to allegedly commit the heinous crimes.
On Sunday, Local 10 News looked into the criminal history of Nathan Gingles and found that he was also facing charges for violation of an injunction of protection of domestic violence and interference with custody of a minor.
In that document, Mary Gingles wrote how Nathan Gingles was singing a song about how he was going to kill her, saying that he “sang that he was going to shoot me and there was nothing I could do about it.”
Three cases Local 10 found filed in family court just last year showed he had a connection to military service and a troubled marriage, while one domestic case filed by Mary Gingles was later closed.
Other documents showed she filed for a divorce last February. A second domestic case in December showed Mary Gingles was seeking protection. The judge granted that a little more than three weeks ago but she and two others would still lose their lives at the hands of her estranged husband, deputies said.
Mary Gingles’ uncle, Frank Ponzer, said the system failed her and her child.
“There’s a huge, huge paper trail. Nathan had violated his restraining order multiple times and entered the house,” Ponzer said. “The law let them down. It was all preventable, 100% preventable.”
“No words that can explain it. I’ll never get to talk to my brother again,” he added. “I want justice so bad for David, Mary and the other victim.”
A judge ordered Seraphine Gingles remain in the custody of the state. Her father is being held without bond and is expected back in court on March 5.