Investigators say delays, earlier abuse and statements from other children helped widen the case beyond the first arrest.
CITRA, Fla. — The death of 3-year-old Paisley Brown in a home north of Ocala has unfolded through a series of arrests and court hearings, with deputies accusing her mother’s boyfriend of homicide and her mother of failing to stop abuse.
Why the case matters now is that investigators say the final morning was not an isolated burst of violence. The sheriff’s office has described earlier abuse, a delayed emergency call and statements from other children in the home as central parts of the investigation. Jeroen Jarrell Coombs, 32, first faced aggravated child abuse after Paisley was found unresponsive Feb. 19, then later faced a homicide charge. Jennifer Kendrick, 26, was arrested in March after deputies said she admitted she knew Coombs had previously bound and abused her daughter.
The public timeline begins late in the morning on Feb. 19, when deputies say Coombs contacted Kendrick at about 10:58 a.m. to say Paisley was unresponsive. According to the sheriff’s office, Kendrick was not at the home at that point because she had been out running errands or away from the house while Coombs watched the children. Yet 911 was not called right away. Investigators said about 40 minutes passed before anyone called for emergency help. Deputies and Marion County Fire Rescue reached the home in the 16500 block of NE 44th Avenue around noon, and Paisley was taken to a hospital, where she died. The sheriff’s office said deputies quickly learned Coombs was “the one who harmed Paisley,” and that finding led to his arrest. His first explanation, investigators said, was that the child woke up groggy.
That account did not hold. Deputies said Paisley had bruises and ligature marks on her wrists and feet, injuries that pointed to more than a medical emergency. Investigators later said Coombs admitted he had tied the girl’s hands with a robe tie and used painter’s tape on her legs so she would not remove her diaper. At a later hearing, Detective Karla Santana-Palau testified that Coombs also said he dropped Paisley while she was bound because she was squirming. Then, Santana-Palau said, he told detectives he struck the child in the chest three times with his knuckles until she went unresponsive. Lt. Paul Bloom, briefing reporters after the arrest, said, “What we learned was, this child was punished.” Another child at the house also described abuse, according to deputies, who said the sibling reported both the violence that day and prior incidents. Those statements helped move the case from an initial child abuse charge toward homicide.
The picture outside the sheriff’s office also widened. Tabitha Harless, Paisley’s great-aunt, told local television reporters that she owns the trailer where the abuse happened and arrived after the emergency began. She said Coombs was standing with his arms folded and not acting like someone trying to save a child. Harless said she stepped in to perform CPR and questioned why Paisley was wet and covered in bruises. She also told reporters that an older sibling said Coombs had punched the girl in the chest and into a wall. Harless said the children had “slipped through the cracks,” and she described the home as a place where what adults were told did not match what the children were living through. WESH later reported that the home included five children ranging from 1 to 9 years old. Family members said four of the other children were removed and taken into protective custody after Paisley’s death.
The court record, as far as public news reports show, built step by step. Coombs was jailed without bond after a Feb. 25 hearing in Marion County. Assistant State Attorney Janine Nixon argued he should stay locked up while detectives laid out what they said he had confessed to. Judge Peter Brigham agreed and said the facts described a child who had been bound and beaten to death. In early March, the sheriff’s office said Coombs had been additionally charged with homicide. The same week, deputies arrested Kendrick. Investigators said she first denied knowing about abuse, but changed her account when confronted with evidence. Deputies said she admitted she knew Coombs had previously bound and abused Paisley and failed to protect her. She was booked on two counts of felony child neglect, and deputies said her arrest also amounted to a violation of felony probation. Both defendants were reported held without bond.
Even with those developments, important parts of the case remain unresolved in public. Authorities have said they were waiting on autopsy findings to fully establish cause and manner of death, though they moved ahead with the homicide charge. Public reports reviewed for this story do not list a confirmed next hearing date for either defendant. Investigators have also not publicly detailed how long the alleged abuse had been happening, what child welfare contacts may have occurred before Paisley died or whether more charges could follow. What is clear is that a 3-year-old girl died after what deputies describe as punishment disguised as caregiving, and that the official response has grown from one arrest at the scene to a larger review of the adults around her.
The case remains active, with Coombs jailed on the homicide case and Kendrick jailed on child-neglect charges. The next major turn is likely to come in court or through additional records that explain the autopsy findings, the charging decisions and the status of the other children from the home.
Author note: Last updated March 21, 2026.