Pompano Beach Man Kills Wife, Self
POMPANO BEACH (CBS4) - A Pompano Beach couple is dead in what the Broward Sheriff's Office is calling a murder-suicide.
Just before 8 p.m. Tuesday, sheriff's investigators say Abel Ferdinand Jr., 29, got in a heated fight with his wife Nattalie, 25, in the couple's apartment in the Golden Villas at 1371 NW 18th Drive in Pompano Beach.
When Ferdinand Jr. pulled a gun, the sheriff's office said Nattalie screamed to her mother to go and get help. The older woman ran next door and pounded on the door, that's when she heard the gun shot which took her daughter's life.
After the shooting, Ferdinand Jr. grabbed their 3-year-old son, jumped in his car and headed toward his parents' house in Lauderdale Lakes. On the way he reportedly called family and friends from the car, saying he had killed Nattalie and that he was going to kill himself.
When he arrived at his parents' apartment in the 2900 block of NW 33rd Way he handed the child over to his sister, investigators said, who tried to talk Ferdinand Jr. out of committing suicide. A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy arrived and also tried to convince Ferdinand Jr. to surrender. Instead, he went to his car as more deputies arrived.
"They surrounded the car," said Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti. "As they approached they realized the subject (Fernandez Jr.) was still there and still armed. At that point they immediately backed off and waited for assistance. About two minutes later they heard a single gunshot from inside the car."
Lamberti said when they approached the vehicle they found the man dead inside. Lamberti added that his officers have to be very careful, particularly after the recent shooting of officers in Miami-Dade and St. Petersburg.
"This illustrates the kind of encounters our deputies are facing every single day. It doesn't matter if it's in Miami-Dade or Broward County, Broward County in not immune. By the grace of God, the deputy was not shot. If he was hell bent on taking the deputy with him, like we saw in Dade County, he could have easily had the opportunity to shoot the deputy."
Detectives said the couple's son may have witnessed his mother's death. A hearing will be held Thursday to determine who will take custody of the child.
