A Miami father of two was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and son after admitting to having an affair before attempting suicide, police said.
Jean Carlos Aponte, 40, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife Sara Ashley Gama, 38, and their two-year-old son, Ethan Aponte.
Gama and her son were found dead inside the family’s $850,000 home in Plantation, a city west of Fort Lauderdale in the South Florida metropolitan area, on March 26; The couple’s four-month-old baby was found alive in a rocking chair when worried relatives forced him on their way home.
According to an arrest affidavit seen by DailyMail.com, the husband and wife had been texting about their martial problems the morning of the murders.
Gama sent a message around 6:50 am saying: ‘Let me ask you: when you went to Colombia for your dad’s funeral, what happened there? Because there are tons of escorts there.
Aponte responded: “I understand that I broke your trust.”
Jean Carlos Aponte (left), 40, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder of his wife Sara Ashley Gama (right), 38, and their two-year-old son, Ethan Aponte (center).
Court documents show Aponte (pictured) and his wife had been messaging about their martial problems the morning of the murders.
Ethan’s body (pictured) was discovered in the pool and an autopsy determined he had four stab wounds. His cause of death was sharp force injuries and drowning.
‘You broke a lot of things. It’s pretty serious. You also broke our wedding vows,” Gama said.
“I’m not a good person,” Aponte responded.
“And you are realizing this right now at the moment of coming to Jesus,” Gama said.
The mother of two’s search history revealed that she had searched for “just found out my husband cheated on me years ago” and “how alimony works in Florida,” according to the affidavit. She also visited a divorce attorney’s website shortly before the murder.
Court documents revealed that video from cameras inside the home captured the couple arguing before the attack.
A female voice is heard saying, ‘because with your meetings and everything you can’t have full custody.’
“So I hope those videos and everything you have and that whole Super Bowl thing in Germany where she was skinny and everything you wanted. I hope it was worth it, don’t chase my money, don’t chase anything,” the female voice said. .
“And we should have signed a prenup, we should have signed one.”
On March 26, Aponte did not drop the children off at their grandparents’ house, prompting Gama’s parents to go to their house and check on them, according to the affidavit.
They arrived at the house and heard the family dog barking and the baby crying, which made them believe something was wrong.
When they entered the house, they found their daughter lying on the kitchen floor in a bloodbath and Aponte unconscious on the master bedroom floor.
“Red and brown dried blood footprints could be seen along the bedroom hallway, along with hit or drag marks,” the affidavit said.
Video from cameras inside the home captured the couple arguing before the attack, and Gama’s search history showed he had searched for divorce attorneys.
Gama and her son were found dead inside the family’s $850,000 home in Plantation, a city west of Fort Lauderdale in the South Florida metropolitan area on March 26.
Aponte did not drop the children off at their grandparents’ house, prompting Gama’s parents to go to their house and check on them, where they discovered the bloodbath.
Aponte is being held in the Broward County Jail without bond. He made his first court appearance Sunday and was ordered to undergo a mental health examination.
“On the kitchen counter next to (Gama) there were two kitchen knives resting on the cutting board and counter that were covered in blood.”
Autopsies found Gama had 28 stab wounds and the cause of death was determined to be a sharp force injury.
Ethan’s body was discovered in the pool and an autopsy determined he had four stab wounds. The cause of his death was brute force injury and drowning.
Aponte was taken to the hospital, where medical staff said he appeared to have attempted to overdose on several of his prescription medications.
Gama’s father told police he was “not aware of any marital problems” and “knew they had a happy marriage,” according to court documents.
Aponte’s mother and sister told police he is a Navy veteran who was deployed to Iraq and was recently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Family members also said he suffered a traumatic brain injury from a fight and suffered from depression.
Aponte is being held in the Broward County Jail without bond. He made his first court appearance Sunday and was ordered to undergo a mental health examination, he said. WTVJ.
