‘I am fearful for my life’: Slain wife of man who kidnapped daughter warned of danger
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Amber Alert unravels triple murder in Tamarac
Nathan Alan Gingles is accused of abducting his 4-year-daughter and killing her mother, grandfather and a neighbor in Tamarac.
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For more than a year, Mary Catherine Gingles lived on edge, believing that her estranged husband was plotting to kill her, court records show.
And on Sunday, the Broward Sheriff’s Office says, he did. Nathan Alan Gingles, 43, is accused of killing Mary, 34, her 64-year-old father David Ponzer, and her 36-year-old neighbor Andrew Ferrin.
READ MORE: After Amber Alert for Broward girl, mother found dead, father arrested on murder charges
Nathan also abducted their 4-year-old daughter Seraphine Gingles, catapulting an Amber Alert that ended with the girl being found with him at a Walmart in North Lauderdale, deputies say. BSO deputies arrested him at the Walmart.
He’s now jailed — and faces a slew of charges, including murder, kidnapping and child abuse.
A Broward judge issued a domestic violence restraining order against Nathan on Dec. 30. In her petition seeking the order, Mary detailed a history of abuse, including threats and stalking, which she reported to BSO and Tamarac police. It was the second time she sought — and received — a restraining order against Nathan.
“[Mary] did literally everything that could have been done to protect herself and so did the judge,” said Sara Singer, a family law attorney in Fort Lauderdale.
The judge granted temporary restraining orders against Nathan both times Mary requested them and awarded Mary temporary custody of their daughter. However, judges are “handcuffed” to the limited confines of the law, the attorney said.
“You can get the piece of paper, but at the end of the day, it’s just a piece of paper,” Singer said.
‘Taken steps to ...murder me’
Mary’s domestic violence petition is littered with threats against her life.
Before filing the document, Mary said she found a bag belonging to Nathan that had gloves, plastic wrap, restraints and duct tape, among other items, inside. She also alleged that her estranged husband placed a tracker on her car and tampered with her security camera, making her feel unsafe in her Tamarac home.
“I think he is aiming to kill me while he has access to the rental property where I reside,” Mary said in the filing.
While exchanging Seraphine at a Starbucks, the girl told her mother that Nathan, the girl’s father, was “trying to make you die,” according to the petition. She repeated similar statements several times, telling her mother during an outing that “He just wants to kill you.”
READ MORE: Abducted child witnessed father gunning down mother, 2 others in Broward, deputies say
“With Nathan’s violent history, his flagrant disregard for rules or laws, and his telling our daughter that he is going to kill me, I am fearful for my life...” Mary said in the document.
“He has already taken steps to prepare to murder me, but is waiting for the opportune time.”
Served in the military
In another petition she filed in February 2024, Mary said she lived “in constant fear of my husband.” Nathan, who had served in the U.S. military and was an IT contractor with the U.S. Southern Command in Doral, had substance abuse problems, according to court documents.
He isolated Mary, keeping her and her daughter’s legal documents and changing her online passwords, the filing alleges. In fact, the abuse Mary detailed in the petition predated the couple’s move to Broward in 2022.
“Because of Nathans 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.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 10:47 AM.
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