In the year since Mary Gingles, her father and a neighbor were hunted down in a quiet Broward neighborhood, Mary’s estranged husband Nathan Gingles — accused in the triple murder — has lambasted the conditions inside jail, portrayed himself as a victim of corruption and tried to have his cousin get custody of his young daughter.
Very rarely in his 34 jailhouse calls, which spanned about six hours and which the Herald reviewed, did Nathan mention Seraphine, his 4-year-old daughter who witnessed him gunning down her mother, her grandfather and Mary’s neighbor in the early-morning hours of Feb. 16, 2025, a Sunday morning in suburban Tamarac.
Nathan,44, is accused of kidnapping his daughter after the rampage that killed Mary, 34, her father David Ponzer, 64, and Andrew Ferrin, 36. BSO deputies found Nathan and Seraphine at a North Lauderdale Walmart later that afternoon, where he was arrested. Seraphine, who was placed with a foster family by state authorities, told detectives her father said they were going to visit family in Texas.
Not once in the calls did Nathan mention Mary’s name or directly discuss the murders.
Mary Gingles with her father, David Ponzer. Both were shot and killed early Sunday morning, Feb. 16, 2025, in Tamarac. Nathan Gingles, who was Mary’s estranged husband and had a domestic violence restraining order against him, has been charged with their murders and the murder of their neighbor, whose home Mary sought refuge in as Nathan stalked her, police say. Courtesy of Ponzer family
On the morning of the killings, Nathan, clad in black, showed up at 5987 North Plum Bay Parkway, first shooting Mary’s father to death as he drank coffee on the back patio of her olive-colored house, BSO says. He then chased Mary down the street with a semiautomatic handgun equipped with a silencer, killing Mary and Ferrin, whose home she sought refuge through an unlocked door, to death inside his house, according to BSO.
Andrew Ferrin, right, poses with his uncle John David, left, in an undated photo. He was shot to death in Tamarac, Florida, on Feb. 16, 2025, one of three people killed that morning in the Plum Bay community. Nathan Gingles has been charged with the three murders. Courtesy of John David
Seraphine, barefoot, ran to keep up with her father, crying, “Daddy, please don’t.” She trailed him as he shot her mother “100 times,” she told deputies.
Mary Gingles plays with her daughter Seraphine in an undated photo. Courtesy of Mary’s friends
The calls, which are not dated, were obtained by the Herald through a public-records request. They are part of a trove of photographs, interview transcripts and investigative documents released to the Herald.
The recorded calls are the only time Nathan can be heard talking after the murders because Nathan declined to speak with investigators when he was arrested.
Nathan Gingles looks around after he was placed in an interrogation room. Gingles was arrested on Feb. 16, 2025, on charges of murdering his wife, her father and a neighbor in Tamarac, Florida, on that day. Broward State Attorney’s Office
READ MORE: Terrorized by her husband, she warned police he would kill her. They failed to stop him
‘Kinda had the fault in me’
In the calls, mainly between Nathan and his friend John Fickett, Nathan lamented his situation, complaining about receiving food trays with moldy eggs, being placed on lockdown and having “snitches” among the inmates at Broward County Main Jail.
He frequently relied on Fickett as a lifeline to the outside world, asking for assistance purchasing food and books, logging into his accounts and canceling his car insurance and subscription to Amazon Prime. Fickett didn’t respond to the Miami Herald’s request for comment.
In one conversation, Nathan discussed his outlook before he landed in jail, saying he “kinda had the fault in me.”
“You know me, I was kinda a little jaded,” Nathan said. “But this place is on a whole other level, man. This is a Third World country. This isn’t even part of America.”
Nathan, who is facing the death penalty if convicted, has pleaded not guilty to the murders.
Custody battle for daughter
In several of the calls, he accused prosecutors and judges of trying to “traffic” his daughter. Nathan’s cousin Demaris Schuler and Mary’s sister Elizabeth Miller are both seeking custody of Seraphine.
The guardianship case is still open, court officials confirmed to the Herald. Whether a judge has ruled on Seraphine’s placement is unclear because the proceedings are closed to the public.
In the calls, Nathan appeared to be on edge, pointing out that what he was saying was being taped — and could be played in court at his trial.
“Every single thing we say is being recorded and put into transcripts,” Nathan said. “They’re submitting it straight to evidence in my case.”
In another call, he said: “Wish I could say more, but like I said, we have no constitutional rights … because [they] don’t apply in Florida. So I can’t even have a conversation without being recorded. So good times.”
Murder case is a ‘circus’
While Nathan didn’t explicitly talk about the murders on the phone, he likened the aftermath to being “crucified],” saying he is fighting “b——t charges” that are “f—–g lies.”
“They’re completely trying to throw the book at me …,” he told Fickett. “Even the death penalty charges are all just b——t.”
The notoriety of the case, Nathan said in a call, has him being used as “a political tool” for police and prosecutors’ anti-civil rights, anti-gun and anti-family agendas, he claimed.
“They used my name for purging a bunch of people from their positions …,” Nathan said. “It’s just crazy man. … And, of course, they’re trying to destroy my daughter’s life as well.”
Eight Broward Sheriff Office deputies were fired following an internal investigation into the agency’s bungled handling of the shooting scene and lack of urgent response to more than a dozen calls Mary made to BSO in the year leading up to the murders.
In the calls, Mary detailed to the deputies the steps Nathan was taking to kill her, from affixing a tracker on her car to stashing a black backpack in her garage containing duct tape, zip ties and a note with the word ‘waterboarding’ written on it. Her friends called it “Dexter’s murder kit.”
READ MORE: No rush to scene after 911 calls. Lax BSO response detailed in Tamarac triple murders
“They’re making a circus out of this. They’re putting a bunch of propaganda and lies in the news, so good times,” Nathan said, claiming that he wouldn’t get a fair trial in Broward.
In November, a judge rejected Nathan’s request to close off the courtroom and impose a gag order, which limits attorneys and investigators from making out-of-court statements about the case. The judge ruled that sealing off the courtroom to keep the media and the public from hearings would be “contrary to the law.”
Nathan also instructed Fickett, who had previously received an interview request from the Herald, to “ignore any and all” questions from reporters.
“I don’t plan on talking to anyone,” Fickett said.
“Good plan,” Nathan responded.
Nathan appeared to be paranoid about his legal representation, telling Fickett that his attorneys are “actively working against me” and “working with the prosecutors against my best interest.”
Nathan added that he was looking for an attorney in North Florida to take his case. But hiring an attorney would cost about $250,000, according to Fickett, who had asked a lawyer.
“Put the word out that they’re not to be trusted,” Nathan told Fickett.
Sought book on prosecutorial misconduct
In the bulk of his conversations, Nathan detailed the misery of jail life. It’s cold inside. There’s black mold in the vents. “Garbage a-s fake news s–t” blasts on TV all day.
He recounted once being excited at catching a glimpse of a squirrel through a window because it was the first time in months he had seen the outside.
“I should’ve never come to this place,” Nathan said. “It’s full of criminals.”
He said he orders peanut butter and jelly, matzo crackers, tea, lemonade, peanut M&Ms and other high-calorie snacks because “half the food” he gets is rotten. He told Fickett fellow inmates say they look forward to going to prison so they can eat food with “actual nutrients in it.”
“Wow, that’s sad. It is what it is,” Nathan said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”
Jail staff, Nathan said, were “retaliating” against him, making the jail “like torture.” Deputies, he claimed, blocked him from going to exercise in the rec yard, cut off his laundry and wouldn’t give him access to law books.
“Pure corruption, dude,” Nathan said. “Piece of s–t sheriff department. The corrupt a-s psychopath prosecutors’ office. The f—–g judiciary, corrupt to the damn core, man.”
In a call, he asked Fickett to order him a law dictionary and a book related to prosecutorial misconduct. He also requested several science-fiction and fantasy novels as well as the works of Roman philosopher Seneca. In another commissary order, he bought Nike sneakers.
Inmate secrets
As time went by, Nathan relayed to Fickett what he learned from inmates. How they brew makeshift wine in toilets and mop buckets. How state prisons don’t have air conditioning. How all inmates sentenced to prison have to take a test to determine the security level of the facility to which they’re sent.
Nathan quipped about how his charges are so serious, he would start off at a maximum-security facility.
In several conversations, he implied that jailhouse deputies are trying to kill him. Nathan told Fickett that if Fickett doesn’t hear from him, he should get a “real lawyer” to find out what happened to him.
“Looking forward to what this prison has in store for me …,” Nathan said. “If anything happens, it’s 100% the guards, 100% the prison leadership behind it.”
What will happen with Seraphine?
Nathan’s jailhouse calls also shed light into the guardianship battle for Seraphine.
In what seems like one of the first calls after his arrest, Nathan told Fickett he was booked on murder charges and that Seraphine was turned over to child-welfare authorities. He also referenced his cousin Demaris, who is locked in a battle with Mary’s sister to get custody of Seraphine.
“I was just trying to see because you and Demaris are power of attorney and guardians, so I was hoping you could get her at some point as soon as possible and get her the f–k out of the state,” Nathan said.
“Demaris is trying. All they told her yesterday was that she was safe, so I think she’s going to call today to try to get her,” Fickett replied.
Mary Gingles and her 4-year-old daughter, Seraphine Gingles. Florida Department of Law Enforcement
In another call, Fickett conferenced in Demaris. For several minutes, Nathan ranted about the conditions in the jail.
“I’m so sorry,” Nathan’s cousin said. “… Well, we’re praying for ya.”
In another call, presumably at a later date, Fickett told Nathan that Demaris “can’t talk to you until she gets Sera.”
Seraphine, who gave detectives a detailed account of what she saw on the day of the murders, is expected to be prosecutors’ star witness.
The house where David Ponzer was killed appears empty on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. Nathan Gingles is accused of killing Ponzer, his daughter Mary Gingles and Andrew Ferrin, a neighbor whose home Mary sought refuge as her estranged husband Nathan hunted her down with a semiautomatic handgun on Feb. 16, 2025, the date of the murders, Broward Sheriff Office deputies say. Nathan Gingles has pleaded not guilty. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
This story was originally published February 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
Miami Herald
Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.