Police discovered something they did not expect when responding to calls about a shooting. Sunday morning, officers received a call in Tamarac, Florida about a shooting in the neighborhood. Upon arriving at the scene they found more than they bargained for. They found the victims of the shooting and then it led police to find a missing toddler.
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A Different Call Leads Police To Find A Missing Toddler
These cases had a domino effect on one another I suppose. On Sunday morning, police responded to a call about a shooting in a neighborhood in Tamarac, Florida. Once they arrived on the scene they found the body of Mary Gingles. The 34-year-old woman had been shot dead in her home.
The Daily Mail shares that once investigators arrived to the scene they realized that Mary's husband, Nathan Gingles, had kidnapped their 4-year-old daughter. Nathan had killed Mary and then fled with his daughter, Seraphina Gingles.
Luckily, just mere hours later, Seraphina and Nathan were found in the parking lot of a Walmart. Daily Mail shares that Seraphina was "uninjured and Nathan was arrested and charged with murder."
Not A Single Act Of Violence
While this act of violence is shocking to most of us, Mr. Gingles was no stranger to violence. Reportedly, Nathan and Mary were going through a divorce because of his violence. The Miami Herald reports that he was under "a domestic violence restraining order."
Mary had created a petition, claiming that both she and Seraphina had been physically abused by Gingles. Furthermore, court documents mentioned jarring details. Daily Mail shares that "Seraphina was once forced to watch as Gingles dragged Mary up the stairs while in a chokehold." Additionally, he used to create and sing songs about killing his wife.
Mary knew that things were off and getting dangerous. So, she began going door-to-door in her neighborhood seeking help. Unfortunately, it was not enough, and some of those who responded to her suffered similar fates to her.
Three Victims And More Details To Come
One of the neighbors, Andrew Ferrin, who opened the door for Mary is another victim of Nathan's. Daily Mail shares a quote from the grieving family of that neighbor.
"A woman was in the neighborhood knocking on actual doors, and my nephew who was home happened to open the door for her." Gingles eventually shot Ferrin, who opened the door for Mary. In addition to those two victims, the Broward County Sheriff's Office also shared that deputies found David Ponzer, Mary Gingles' father "suffering from a gunshot wound on the back patio of the home." He later died from his injuries.
Gingles is charged with three cases of first-degree murder, for his wife, Mary Gingles, her father, David Ponzer, and their neighbor, Andrew Ferrin. However, a police dive team was searching a lake in the Tamarac neighborhood on Monday and NBC shared that the search is connected to the Gingles case. So perhaps there are more victims or more details to be uncovered about this case.
As people wait for more details, many are frustrated that this case got to the point that it did. Mary's attorney claimed that authorities failed her and her friend argued that "It shouldn't get to this point."
She continued, "Look at all the lives that have been affected because of one person's action."
