A mother was stabbed 28 times and her son was found dead in a pool as the father faces murder charges. NBC6’s Kim Wynne reports
A Plantation man had stabbed his wife and son to death before trying to kill himself by drug overdose last week, according to an arrest warrant.
Jean Carlos Aponte, 40, faces two first-degree murder charges in the March 26 killings of his wife, Sara Ashley Gama, and his 2-year-old son, Ethan Aponte, and is being held in jail without bond.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
According to a majorly redacted arrest warrant obtained by NBC6 on Monday, Gama's father called 911 that afternoon after he discovered the 38-year-old mother on the kitchen floor covered in blood and Aponte unconscious in the master bedroom, according to the warrant. He also reported his grandson was missing.
First responders arrived at the family's home on Northwest 97th Avenue and found Gama with apparent stab wounds and slashes to her neck. Ethan Aponte was later discovered face down in the pool.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The couple's 4-month-old baby was found unharmed.
PLANTATION DOUBLE MURDER CASE
The 2-year-old had four stab wounds to his neck and defensive injuries to his hand, police said in the warrant. His cause of death was listed as sharp force injury and drowning.
Gama was stabbed 28 times and had wounds to her face and neck area and her abdomen, police said. She was also discovered with fractures and defensive wounds. Officials said her cause of death was by sharp force injury.
Police administered Narcan after finding Aponte unconscious and transported him to a hospital, where he was stabilized. He had his first court hearing on Sunday, where a judge ordered him to undergo a mental health screening.
NBC6 spoke to Aponte's ex-wife on Monday, who said he struggled with PTSD after serving in the military.
“To be able to commit something like that is really sad and really scary," said his ex-wife, who didn't want to show her face or reveal her identity.
She was married to Aponte for over a year. She said Aponte wasn't a bad person, but things went downhill after they got married.
“After we got married is when he started exhibiting some scary signs. Besides being verbally abusive, it got to a point where it was physical," she said. "He would grab me the wrong. He would push me to the floor. I know one time he slammed the door on my arm because he was very mad. It got to a point where I was scared all the time."
Aponte sought help for his mental health and started to file a claim with Veteran Affairs to get an official diagnosis. He had also reached out to a veterans foundation last year for its services to help with his PTSD and a traumatic brain injury.
He and his ex-wife divorced in 2015. She said she never thought he would take his violence this far.
“It’s just sad to hear that he didn’t get the help in time or that he wasn’t helped in time," she said.
