PLANTATION, Fla. – A retired U.S. Marine accused of stabbing his wife 28 times and his 3-year-old son four times in Broward County had served in Iraq and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury, relatives told police, according to records released on Wednesday.
Before the murders on March 26 at his home in Plantation, Jean Carlo Aponte suffered from depression, was “in constant pain,” had delayed a TBI-related surgery in January, and had recently seen a physician with The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, relatives told police, records show.
Aponte, 40, “complained about having sleep issues lately and started taking Ambien” and he was “trying new medications to help regulate his emotions,” according to Plantation Detective Sarah Schaut’s request for an arrest warrant.
Broward County court records show Aponte had been married three times. His first two marriages had ended with divorce and his third was about to end too. Court records show his first wife filed for divorce a few months after the war in Iraq started in 2003, and he filed for divorce from his second wife about five years after the war in Iraq ended.
The police investigation into the murder that ended his third marriage revealed that Aponte and Sara Ashley Gama — who had a baby boy about four months ago — were having marital problems. The 38-year-old mother of his two sons was considering a divorce.
On March 25, Gama’s searches on her iPhone included “Just found out my husband cheated on me years ago” at about 5 p.m., and “How does alimony work in Florida” at about 6:30 a.m., on March 26, records show.
A few hours before the March 26 murders there was a tense exchange between them on Facebook Messenger about his infidelity, according to the arrest warrant.
“I understand I broke your trust,” Aponte wrote at 6:56 a.m.
Soon after, Gama wrote, “You broke a lot of things. It’s quite serious. You also broke our marriage vows.”
The tense exchange continued. Gama asked if he had also been disloyal during a trip to Colombia for his father’s funeral. And at about 7 p.m., Aponte, wrote, “I am not a good person.”
Aponte and Gama had known each other before his second marriage. Court records show that when a Seminole police officer accused him of resisting arrest Gama bonded him out in 2008. Records also show relatives told police Aponte had anger issues and was diagnosed with TBI after a fistfight in 2007.
During their investigation into the murders, police officers found video cameras in the house that recorded the sounds of Aponte and Gama arguing about his infidelity and later the horrifying sounds of violence, according to an arrest warrant.
“I hope those videos and everything you got and all that stuff from the Super Bowl ... where she was skinny and all that you wanted, I hope she was worth it,” she said at about 8 a.m., according to police records.
Detectives reported that later, a video camera at the couple’s house recorded the sounds of him yelling, a “scared” child screaming, a child coughing, and “a loud slamming noise” at about 9:30 a.m.
The medical examiner reported both Gama and Ethan suffered hand defensive wounds, and Gama suffered most of the 28 stab wounds on her face and neck.
Gama also suffered wounds to her liver, abdomen, jugular, and a fractured spine, records show. After not hearing from them, Gama’s parents reported they went to the couple’s home and found the baby crying.
There was blood all over. Gama’s father reported finding Gama in a pool of blood in the kitchen and Aponte on the floor of the master bedroom. He told police he couldn’t find his 3-year-old grandson.
While Gama’s mother held the baby, police officers reported pulling Gama’s son Ethan Aponte out of the pool. The medical examiner reported he suffered four stab wounds in the neck and died by drowning and sharp force injury, records show.
“Ethan was a cherished child whose presence brought warmth and joy to all those around him,” Renata Pavanelli wrote on a GoFundMe page to benefit the grieving Gama family.
Police officers reported Aponte had “labored breathing” and “a faint pulse,” and they administered NARCAN, which can treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency.
“Medical staff believed that [Aponte] appeared to have attempted to overdose on several of his prescribed medications,” Schaut wrote, according to the warrant.
While Aponte was treated on March 26 at the Westside Regional Hospital, police officers reported he sporadically talked while he was in and out of sleep and said, “I am sorry,” “I am taking it,” and “I did it.”
Aponte’s condition was stable by March 27, but he remained hospitalized, police said.
Meanwhile, in a lake in the back of the house, divers found two mobile phones — an iPhone 13 belonging to Gama and a Samsung Galaxy belonging to Aponte, according to police.
Detectives also found evidence of marital issues on WhatsApp and the iPhone’s search history. They have pending warrants as part of the ongoing investigation, records show.
There was an iPad in the master bedroom, according to police. The last user typed “Call 911 online” in the search field, but never executed the search, records show.
Gama’s parents told police that they visited the couple’s home in Plantation regularly and helped them with childcare needs. They described Aponte as a loving father and husband.
Gama’s father “stated that he believed that [Aponte] managed his ‘issues’ well most of the time but knew him to have a few anger outbursts, although, these were never violent in nature,” Schaut wrote, according to the warrant.
Plantation police officers arrested Aponte on Saturday at the Westside Regional Hospital, and he appeared in Broward County court during a bond hearing on Sunday.
Broward County Circuit Judge Elijah Williams found probable cause for the two first-degree murder charges, and he ordered a mental health evaluation during the bond court hearing.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies held Aponte without bond at the main jail in Fort Lauderdale. Broward County Circuit Judge Barbara R. Duffy was set to preside over his capital homicide case.
THE COST OF WAR
President George W. Bush launched the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Aponte was among the more than one million U.S. Marines, sailors, airmen, and soldiers who served there. By the time President Barack Obama ended the war in 2011, about 4,500 Americans had died.
Research shows U.S. Marines who were deployed to Iraq had a higher prevalence of PTSD, a disorder that develops when a person has experienced or witnessed a dangerous event. There is also evidence of “an association between PTSD and behavior problems” in Marines who were deployed to war.
According to the Wounded Warrior Project, it’s common for military veterans to deal with overlapping symptoms from PTSD and TBI and it may take years for these to be diagnosed after injury and treatment needs to be multi-disciplinary.
There has been research done on how these are associated with violent impulses and homicidal and suicidal ideations. In 2018, a study of military veterans who served after the September 11, 2001 attacks and lived with PTSD, TBI, and chronic pain showed the violence risk was “greater” and about 12% reported experiencing violent impulses.
For confidential help in dealing with a crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is available at 988 (Press 1).
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Stephany Heilbron contributed to this report.
Related stories