PENSACOLA, Fla. (Court TV) — A couple in Florida was sentenced to decades behind bars for two armed robberies targeting people who had tried to help them.
Natalie Fonseca testifies at her sentencing hearing on Sept. 16, 2025. (Court TV)
Natalie Fonseca and Nafis Reynolds pleaded no contest to a list of charges, including attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and carjacking. In Oct. 2023, Fonseca had met one of the two victims in the case over social media and had arranged to meet up. Fonseca introduced Reynolds as her “uncle” and told the victim that she was in need of food and money.
But when the victim tried to help with food and money, Fonseca and Reynolds stole his shoes, his wallet, his phone and even his car. They beat him before driving him to a bridge, where they slit his throat from ear to ear and dumped his body over. The victim was able to swim until a boater saw him and fished him out of the water.
One week later, a second victim contacted police after he said Fonseca and Reynolds attacked him with a gun and stole his money and phone. The victim told officers it happened while he was trying to help the couple pay for gas.
While the charge of attempted first-degree murder carried a potential life sentence, both defendants pleaded no contest in an agreement with prosecutors to seek a lesser penalty.
“There are no words for what both victims and myself have experienced,” Fonseca said at Tuesday’s sentencing hearing. “I can never get down on paper the mental, emotional and physical abuse that has developed from being in a relationship with Mr. Reynolds since July 9, 2015. I felt a need to protect someone who created trauma within me and took advantage of my vulnerability.”
Nafis Reynolds testifies during a sentencing hearing on Sept. 16, 2025. (Court TV)
Reynolds also took the opportunity to address the Court and offer an apology to his co-defendant. “I know I failed you when you needed me the most. Because of my actions, I destroyed your life in the process,” Reynolds said. “I wish there was a way I could set you free so you could have another chance at life.”
Fonseca’s attorney had requested a downward departure from the 30-year sentence negotiated with the state, but Judge Linda Nobles denied that request. “The crimes that were committed…are quite literally unfathomable,” Nobles said. “I cannot understand the fear that [the victim] must have felt when he was trying to be a kind individual.”
