Broward man killed woman in front of kids, cops say. He had previous domestic violence case
A man was booked into jail Wednesday after police said he confessed to shooting and killing his girlfriend in front of their children hours earlier outside a Broward home.
Police said that one of the kids, ages 4 and 1, told an officer at the scene: “Daddy did it to mommy and mommy is dead.”
Derrick Feliciano Bargman-Williams, 28, is charged with first-degree murder. He remained behind bars Thursday at Broward County’s Main Jail after investigators say he killed 25-year-old Jessica Frankel Singleton.
Around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday, police were alerted via ShotSpotter of gunfire in the 2300 block of Desoto Drive in Miramar. When officers arrived, they found Singleton lying on her side next to a blue Chrysler 300. She had gunshot wounds in the front and back of her torso.
Singleton was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where she later died.
Two of Singleton and Bargman-Williams’ three children, which includes a 1-year-old, were spotted with a woman near the home. That’s when their 4-year-old son told an officer his dad had killed his mom, the arrest report said.
According to police, footage from a neighbor’s Ring camera showed a man running away as a young boy chased, yelling: “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”
As Miramar officers investigated the shooting, the Broward Sheriff’s Office alerted them that a man matching the description of the suspect was spotted near La Salle Boulevard and Bahama Drive. Officers rushed to the area, and a police dog bit Bargman-Williams while he was being detained.
In an interrogation with Miramar police, he admitted to detectives that he was the man caught on tape running from the crime scene, according to the report. He also identified the child as his son after initially denying involvement in the shooting.
Sometime later, Bargman-Williams told police he was arguing with Singleton through the night and morning. Their quarrel, he said, became physical when she struck him in the face and he slapped her.
But it escalated outside the home when Bargman-Williams pulled a gun from his waist and shot Singleton in the chest, according to police. He then shot her again as she turned away from him — in front of their young children, police said.
Bargman-Williams was taken to a hospital to treat his dog bite wounds before he was booked into jail. His attorney information wasn’t available Thursday morning.
The Florida Department of Children and Families is determining who will take custody of the children.
A history of domestic violence?
In August 2019, Bargman-Williams was arrested by Miramar police after being accused of battery with great bodily harm, court records show.
According to a police report, Bargman-Williams punched his girlfriend during an argument while she was 4-months-pregnant. The couple already shared a 2-year-old daughter.
Prosecutors opted not to file formal charges, according to court records. It’s unknown if Singleton was the woman who Bargman-Williams allegedly punched in that case.
According to documents provided by the Broward State Attorney’s Office Thursday, the case was declined because there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction.” The victim didn’t provide a sworn statement or respond to prosecutors when they contacted her.
“It is not uncommon for victims of domestic violence to be fearful about reporting allegations of abuse...” said Stefanie Newman, the prosecutor in charge of the Domestic Violence Unit, in a statement. “We want victims and survivors of intimate partner violence to know that our prosecutors and victim advocates, working with our partners in law enforcement, are here to help them.”
Later that month, Bargman-Williams was also charged with violating a domestic violence injunction and resisting an officer without violence, both of which are misdemeanors.
In a report, police said Bargman-Williams had an active “non-expiring, no-contact order” linked to an ongoing battery case. He had provided police with a fake name and date of birth when they responded to a domestic disturbance call.
Prosecutors dropped Bargman-Williams’ injunction-related charge. He took a no-contest plea for the second offense and was ordered to pay a fee.
If you are the victim of domestic violence, call the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (TTY 1-800-787-3224), text “START” to 88788 or visit thehotline.org.
Miami Herald staff writers Devoun Cetoute and Omar Rodriguez Ortiz contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 20, 2023 at 8:16 PM.
