BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – In 2012, Kate Ranta and her father Robert Ranta were shot by her estranged husband Thomas Maffei right in front of her 4-year-old son.
“All of a sudden, it was boom, boom, boom three shots came through the door,” she said. “Any of those bullets could have hit his son.”
Fast forward more than 12 years later.
Last month, Mary Catherine Gingles, who was going through a divorce, would also come face to face with a gun after spending the past year seeking restraining orders, calling police for help multiple times.
Surveillance video shows the last few moments of Gingles’ life. Her estranged husband Nathan Gingles is seen chasing after her with gun in hand all while their 4-year-old daughter Seraphine followed and watched the terror unfold.
Tragically, detectives said he would shoot and kill Mary Gingles, her father David Ponzer, and neighbor Andrew Ferrin, who tried to help her.
“I did the things I was supposed to do to keep myself safe, Mary did too, and look what happened,” said Ranta. “I almost died, she’s dead.”
Psychologist Dr. Linda Parker, who is also the President and CEO of Women in Distress, a domestic violence shelter in Broward County, said Gingles did everything she could do to keep her and her daughter safe, but was failed.
“He was never going to let her be. This man was on a mission to hurt as many people as he could,” said Parker. “If she reported the violation, they should have immediately taken him in, especially looking at the history of all the things that have gone on in the home.”
According to Parker, the number of domestic violence cases has gone up since the pandemic.
“We are seeing about a 28% increase of domestic violence across the state of Florida and a 25% increase just in Broward County,” she said. “I would definitely call it an epidemic or a crisis.”
Parker stresses the community needs to start paying attention. There has to be a conversation about what’s working and what’s not.
“We’ve got to have comprehensive laws regarding holding batterers accountable,” she said.
Parker’s mission is to let victims know they don’t need to suffer alone and in silence.
Women in Distress has been around for 50 years and is doing everything possible to combat this crisis. In recent years, services have been expanded to treat the entire problem.
“We’ve got counseling, we do referrals to other community partners, we have a full legal (team),” she said. “Our law firm does injunctions for protection and dependency court. When you can get to us, we can help you. You have to get to us so that we can scream for you. The louder the number of voices are the in the room, the more support you have.”
For those in need, there are options and there is help out there. You are not alone.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, you can call Women in Distress at 954-761-1133 or the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-500-1119.