Florida Sheriff Rips Into Deputies For Not Acting Before Horrific Family Massacre : 'Piss Poor Performance'

A Florida Sheriff acknowledged failures in dealing with a domestic situation that ended with a man killing his father-in-law, wife and neighbor, saying that deputies will be held accountable.

"There will be people that will lose their job over this," said Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony. "This is death on my watch," he added.

Seven deputies have been suspended after preliminary results of an internal investigation showed severe lapses in judgement to handle the case, in which Nathan Gingles ended up killing three people in in front of his four-year-old daughter before abducting her.

Gingles was apprehended following an Amber Alert issued for his daughter, Seraphine, who had witnessed the murders in Tamarac, Florida. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Miami Herald, Seraphine told police she was sitting on a couch in the family home when her father entered through the back door. She described seeing him walk onto the patio with a "long black gun" before fatally shooting her 64-year-old grandfather, David Ponzer, who had been outside drinking coffee. She recalled her father saying "bye bye" as he fired.

The girl then saw her father chase her mother, 34-year-old Mary Catherine Gingles, into the street, where a physical altercation ensued. Mary reportedly screamed for help and knocked on doors in the neighborhood before managing to enter the home of 36-year-old Andrew Ferrin.

Surveillance footage showed Nathan Gingles entering Ferrin's home shortly after. Once inside, Nathan shot Mary multiple times. Both Mary and Ferrin were found dead in a bedroom. Mary also sustained severe facial injuries and had two stun gun marks on her back.

Nathan abducted Seraphine after the killings, telling her they were leaving for Texas and that she would never see her mother or grandfather again. Authorities issued an Amber Alert, leading to his arrest at a Walmart parking lot in North Lauderdale later that day.

Court records show that Mary had obtained a domestic violence restraining order against Nathan in early February 2024, and divorce proceedings were ongoing at the time of the murders. Nathan has been charged with three counts of premeditated first-degree murder, along with seven other charges, including kidnapping, violating a protection order, and child abuse. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.