EXCLUSIVE - 'I told him I couldn't get by without him. He hugged me and felt his baby girl kick': In her first interview, Nathan Trapuzzano's widow reveals how they talked about his death just hours before he was 'shot dead by robber, 16'

Jennifer Trapunazzo, 25, reveals final moments she had with Nathan the night before he was shot dead in Indianapolis on April 1

Eight months pregnant Jennifer revealed she told Nathan, 24, that she wouldn't be able to live without him

He laughed, hugged her, felt their baby kick and told her not to 'be silly'

Jennifer revealed he always used to take his daily exercise in the evenings - but fatefully changed his routine so he could spend more time with her

Simeon Adams, a 16-year-old nicknamed 'Red' with a long criminal history was charged with his murder yesterday

Heartbreakingly, she revealed Nathan believed one of the world's greatest crimes was the number of babies growing up without a father



Jennifer said that her husband of just a year 'always prayed for a good death' and hopes good will come of his loss

The heartbroken widow of murdered Nathan Trapuzzano today described their tender last moment together when he put his hand on her stomach to feel the kick of their unborn baby girl.

Poignantly that night, Jennifer, who is eight-months pregnant with their first child, had also told Nathan that she would not be able to cope if he died.

The newlyweds had spent a quiet evening with each other, walking to a local MacDonald’s for ice cream and then cuddling up in bed.

Lying next to him, Jennifer said: ‘I don’t know if I could exist without you, you’re my one and only.’

Fateful: Her face etched in grief, Jennifer told MailOnline that the night before he died she told him that she would not be able to cope if he, her 'one and only', died. Hours later he was shot dead during his morning stroll. Jennifer is being comforted by her mother and father Ann and Karl Swihart, brother Jared and sister Julie (not pictured)



Intimate: Jennifer said: 'I rolled onto my left side and he rolled over and put his arm around me because he wanted to feel his baby girl, that’s the last thing I remember. I woke up the next morning and he was gone'

Her devout Catholic husband reassured her, saying: ‘You’d make it through’, before putting his arm round her and resting his hand on her stomach to feel his unborn child, who they have already named Cecilia. 'Nate was so incredibly excited about being a daddy', Jennifer said.



That was the last time Jennifer saw her husband. When she woke up the next morning he had already left for a morning walk.

Minutes later at 5.50am, he was shot dead just a few blocks from their Indianapolis home after being approached by two men.



Simeon Adams, a 16-year-old nicknamed 'Red' with a long criminal history was charged with his murder yesterday, exactly a week after Nathan’s death.





‘I don’t know why, but we talked about him passing. We were lying in bed and I told him, "I don’t know what I’d ever do without you"'

Soon after the crime police released security footage of two males following the 24-year-old, before one of them shepherded him into a parking lot between two buildings and killed him.

Adams is alleged to have shot another man just two nights before after they 'bumped' in a steak house car park. Then he was shot in the neck himself on the evening after Nathan’s murder.

Adams wanted to rob Nathan, police allege. But to Nathan's family, what makes his killing even more senseless, is that he never carried anythingof value on his walks.

Jennifer also revealed Nathan always used to take his daily exercise in the evenings, but fatefully changed his routine that week so he could spend more time with her.



Tuesday was only the second time he had gone for a walk in the morning.



Jennifer does not want to focus on her husband’s killer, but she has spoken exclusively to MailOnline to pay tribute to her husband.

Describing their final evening together the 25-year-old said: ‘The night before he died I wanted some ice cream, so we walked to McDonalds, it was very normal, but it was a lovely night.



‘I don’t know why, but we talked about him passing. We were lying in bed and I told him, "I don’t know what I’d ever do without you".

'Red': Simeon Adams, 16, was yesterday charged with Nathan's murder. Nathan used to say one of the world's greatest crimes was the number of babies brought up without a father. Adams lived with his aunt and uncle



‘He was the only person I had ever fallen in love with. I always told him he was my one and only. When I fell in love I wanted it to be for real. I wanted it to be the person I was going to marry.



‘He knew when I told him I loved him that meant I wanted to marry him. I had feelings for him, but I wanted it to be a conscious decision, like, I am choosing to love you and I am choosing to love you forever, not just because I feel something for you today, but because I am going to feel something for the rest of my life.



‘He really respected that, even though I think it meant he fell in love with me before I fell in love with him.



‘So that evening when I told him "I don’t think I could exist without you, you’re my one and only", he said, "you’d make it through". I said, "I don’t think I would, I would probably end up living with my parents for 40 years."



'He said, "you’d make it through". I said, "I don’t think I would". I told him I was too silly to get by without him and he laughed and hugged me tight. He told me he loved me so much and I said, "I love you too"'



‘I told him I was too silly to get by without him and he laughed and hugged me tight. He told me he loved me so much and I said, "I love you too".



'I rolled onto my left side and he rolled over and put his arm around me because he wanted to feel his baby girl, that’s the last thing I remember.



‘He was holding his baby girl and he felt her kick. I woke up the next morning and he was gone.’

According to Jennifer, Nathan was extremely disciplined in everything he did. He was absolutely dedicated to his Catholic faith and he was regimented in his exercise routine.



Every evening he would go for a walk round the local neighborhood, using the time to reflect and pray as well as keep himself in shape.

But he was also incredibly devoted to Jennifer and as a result he decided to change his routine and take his stroll in the morning so he could spend more time with her after he finished work as a computer software designer.



That decision had tragic consequences. Jennifer said: ‘One of the hardest things about all this is that last week was the first week he ever went for a morning walk.



‘He would always go in the evening, but it was getting warmer and he wanted to spend more time with me, so Monday and Tuesday, the day he was shot, were the first times he went in the morning. I thought it would be a safer time for him because the sun was coming up.

12 months of joy and despair: Just last May Jennifer and Nathan wed after she fell in love with the computer programmer who shared her devout Catholic faith



The one: Jennifer said that 'he was the only person I had ever fallen in love with. I always told him he was my one and only. When I fell in love I wanted it to be for real. I wanted it to be the person I was going to marry

Together for eternity: Nathan told Jennifer when they married: "I want us both to be saints and for us to go to heaven together, side by side"

‘I used to get so worried about him when he went in the evening, sometimes he would go at 8pm or 9pm. He wasn’t worried, he was a tough guy. I would tell him to take his phone but he thought I was being silly.



‘He didn’t take it with him that morning, not that I think it would have made a difference.

‘There is no rhyme or reason, but it makes it harder that it was the first week he went in the morning. He was so diligent about his exercise. When he was walking he would always pray or listen to podcasts on the Catholic faith.



‘He never took anything of value. His keys would have been the only thing. He didn’t take his wallet, I know because the police couldn’t identify him when they found him. He didn’t have his phone, but that was a flip phone with duct-tape holding the battery in anyway.

‘All he had was his gold crucifix and his gold wedding band, but they didn’t take either of those, which I’m glad about. Even his MP3 player was worth $23.’

At first police struggled to provide a motive as to why anyone would attack someone dressed in a sweater and track pants out on their morning walk.





'Oh how my already wounded heart aches to hear this. Nate always said one of the greatest crimes in the world today is how many babies grow up without their father'

- Jennifer on the suspect being only 16



Some suggested it was a sick gang initiation, but it now seems it was just a desperate robbery attempt by young thugs.



After the murder, it is alleged Simeon ‘Red’ Adams apparently told a friend, ‘white man tried to tussle with me so I shot him'.



Later that day Adams was shot in the neck walking through an alley near his home in the north west of the city.

He was taken to hospital and police arrested him after receiving intelligence that he was behind Nathan’s death and the shooting of another man, Erick Douglas, who he allegedly blasted in the groin and the left leg after bumping into him outside a steak restaurant.



Police claim Adams was involved in another crime, an attempted vehicle theft, on the morning he allegedly shot Nathan. On that occasion he apparently flashed his gun at someone who challenged him and his two friends.

After his arrest yesterday Jennifer posted an emotional Facebook message to friends, reading: ‘Today has been extra rough. It's been one week and I still can't comprehend that this is all real. The police have reported the suspect of my husband's murder was only 16.



‘Oh how my already wounded heart aches to hear this. Nate always said one of the greatest crimes in the world today is how many babies grow up without their father.



'I don't know this man's circumstances but it hurts to hear that such a young man could turn to such violence. Please pray for his conversion.’



A look into Adams’ past shows the kind of troubled childhood that may have taken him down a murderous path. It can revealed that his mother died when he was one and he has never lived with his father.



True love: Jennifer said of their blossoming love: 'He had a lot of quirks. Before we started dating in college I thought he was so geeky. Everyone would be wearing backpacks and he would carry a briefcase... but he was extremely humble and helpful. He had great values'

True gentleman: ‘He loved me so much and took such great care of me,' Jennifer said. 'He made me breakfast in bed every day and he would always open my car door for me, even if I was driving myself. He would help me put my coat on, he was quite old fashioned in that way'

Yesterday his uncle Al Carter told MailOnline he did not believe his nephew was capable of murder.

But at the same time he admitted the teen had been in and out of juvenile detention centers for years.



And this morning more details of Adam’s extensive rap sheet emerged. Adams and another man were accused of stealing several firearms from a local shop last month. It is believed a stolen weapon was used in Nathan’s murder.



Local television station 6 ABC reported that Adams has been in and out of handcuffs since 2007, with arrest reports indicating he has been caught with guns, drugs and various stolen goods for years.

In October 2013, police said he was caught with a stolen pistol after he and a friend were driving around on a scooter.



Two months later in December, Adams was caught with another gun. Police said a woman’s car was stolen as she fueled up at a Sunoco gas station. When the car was found, Adams was nearby with marijuana and a loaded .38-special pistol.





'He made me breakfast in bed every day and he would always open my car door for me, even if I was driving myself. He would help me put my coat on, he was quite old fashioned in that way'

In another arrest last year, Adams was caught carrying a flat-screen TV from a home that had just been burgled, records said.



And when he was just 9-years-old, police said he and three friends were arrested for tossing huge rocks onto traffic from the Interstate-65 Bridge at MLK Street.



His troubled past could not have been more different from that of college graduate Nathan.



The Pennsylvania native was adored by his friends and family – particularly his two brothers - and he dedicated his life to them and the church, which Jennifer says was the first love of his life.



She explained: ‘The church was the most important thing in his life. I was his wife and he loved me so much, but his faith came first.



‘When he asked me to marry him he said, "I want us both to be saints and for us to go to heaven together, side by side". In his mind our marriage had three people, him, me and God.



‘Nathan actually said I was a better Christian than he could ever be, he said I had a child-like faith, I’m not sure if that’s true, but I never doubted God and this hasn’t changed that. Now I just want to become closer to him so I can see Nate again.’



Although he has been described as incredibly humble and gracious, Jennifer says Nathan always believed he was destined for something special and was determined to leave his mark on life.

Ambush: Nathan is captured on CCTV being followed by his killers moments before he is shot dead on April 1

Senseless: Nathan only had a $23 MP3 player, gold crucifix and gold wedding band on him. He didn't have his wallet or phone. Nothing was taken in the robbery



Stroll: Nathan was just out walking and listening to Catholic teachings on his MP3 player. He did this daily



‘He had told me he thought he was made for great things, not in an arrogant or presumptuous way', Jennifer explained.



‘I’m not sure he really knew what, but he just felt something. He wanted to be a teacher, so he could have an impact on people.

‘In the last few days people have told me they are going back to church because of Nate’s story. He never dreamed that this is how it would end, but knowing people are going back to church and that they have been touched by his story means a lot to me and would mean so much to him.



‘He used to invite so many of my friends to come to Latin mass and when I saw pictures of how full the church was for his funeral on Saturday, I thought, he finally did it, he finally got them there.’



Since Nathan’s murder on the west side of Indianapolis Jennifer has moved in with her parents Ann and Karl Swihart just outside the city.

She reflects on how in just a year she has gone from the sheer joy of getting married last May and falling pregnant soon after to the depths of despair she now feels.



The pair met at Ball State University when they were 19 and after more than a year of hanging out together as friends, Nathan finally plucked up the courage to take Jennifer out on a date.

‘We met through a church group at Ball State’, said Jennifer. ‘We had mutual friends and started hanging out in small groups, then he asked me out on a date when we were 21. I didn’t know it was a date, but he picked me up and told me he had reservations.



‘It was coming up to graduation and I didn’t know if I wanted anything serious, but he swept me off my feet. He was such a good guy and had all the values and faith I was looking for in a person. At that point of my life, if I was dating it would have to be someone who I could see myself dating for a long time.’



Despite falling deeply in love with Nathan, she does admit her first impressions of him did not necessarily suggest he was the man who she would spend the rest of her life with.



She said: ‘He had a lot of quirks. Before we started dating in college I thought he was so geeky. Everyone would be wearing backpacks and he would carry a briefcase.



Funeral: Less than a year after he married, Jennifer had to attend Nathan's funeral mass last Saturday



Faith: Jennifer said: 'He used to invite so many of my friends to come to Latin mass and when I saw pictures of how full the church was for his funeral, I thought, he finally did it, he finally got them there'

Missal: The Catholic missal Nathan used to read before bed every night. Jennifer said she now wants to come closer to God 'so I can see Nate again'



‘I bought him some suspenders for a Halloween costume one year and he liked them so much that he would wear them every day. Even if he was wearing a t-shirt.’



But that was part of what endeared him to Jennifer and even if his dress sense left a little to be desired, he had more than enough qualities to make up for it.



She said: ‘He was extremely humble and helpful. He had great values. I saw one of his old bosses after the funeral and he told me that Nate sent him a thank you card after using him as a reference on his resume. Who does that? He was always so thoughtful.



‘And he was always striving to better himself and be a better Christian. He would pray every night. He would always kneel down by my bed and hold my hand. One of the prayers he said was for a happy death, how many 24-year-olds do that? That gives me comfort.



‘He loved me so much and took such great care of me. He made me breakfast in bed every day and he would always open my car door for me, even if I was driving myself. He would help me put my coat on, he was quite old fashioned in that way.

She added: ‘He had moved from Pennsylvania so he didn’t know that many people around this area, but we were working on building a friend group, there were a few couples from a bible study class who we at started to spend time with.



‘He loved good conversation. He always wanted to do a wine and philosophy night. And when we were alone we used to love watching movies together. We had a small living room, so we would get all the pillows out and make a floor bed. That was really special.



‘I was always the one who planned for the future. I would say, ‘in five years, we should buy a house’. But he always liked being practical and realistic.’



Since his murder Jennifer and her family have been absolutely inundated with gifts and messages of support. Some of the couple's friends set up a Go Fund Me site to raise money for funeral costs and Cecilia's education. That has already received more than $150,000 in donations.

Cruel twist: Nathan decided to switch his daily stroll from the evenings to the mornings because he wanted to spend more time after work with his pregnant wife, Jennifer told MailOnline



The family have received countless offerings of diapers, baby clothes and toys. Jennifer said: 'I have been so touched by the incredible support I have received. It is comforting to know there are so many people out there who care.



'I still cannot face hearing the details of what happened that morning, but knowing that people out there are praying for us and sending us their best wishes really does help me get through.

