A 3-year-old girl in Florida died after her mother's boyfriend beat her, while the mother finished a nail appointment before seeking help. Authorities charged both adults with child-related offenses following the incident on February 19. The case highlights alleged prior knowledge of abuse in the household.
On February 19, around noon, deputies from the Marion County Sheriff's Office responded to a home in the 16500 block of NE 44th Avenue near Ocala, Florida, for an unresponsive child. The victim, 3-year-old Paisley Brown, was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead.
Jennifer Kendrick, 26, Paisley's mother, was at a salon getting her nails done when her boyfriend, 32-year-old Jeroen Jarrell Coombs, called her via FaceTime. He informed her that Paisley was unresponsive. In a previous call minutes earlier, everything had appeared normal at home. Kendrick asked Coombs to show her the child, who appeared pale and limp with eyes barely open, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Rather than leaving immediately or calling emergency services, Kendrick completed her appointment. During her drive home, she contacted Coombs and her own mother. Upon arrival, she found Paisley limp in a high chair and exclaimed, "My baby is gone. Call 911." Coombs then dialed 911, approximately 40 minutes after the initial FaceTime call.
Investigators determined Coombs had harmed Paisley. He admitted to binding her hands with a robe tie and legs with painter's tape the night before to stop her from reaching into her diaper. Coombs confessed to picking her up while bound, dropping her on the floor, punching her, and hitting her, realizing he had "taken it too far." He also said he "popped" her three times in the chest. Paisley showed bruises and ligature marks on her wrists and feet.
Kendrick faces two counts of child neglect. She initially denied seeing abuse but later admitted overlooking it "for the sake of the relationship." She noted her children, including Paisley and siblings aged 9, 6, 4, and 1, had lost weight due to Coombs' strict eating rules. Paisley was significantly thinner than months prior. Kendrick knew Coombs restrained Paisley at night and had handcuffed another child, whom she uncuffed before police arrived.
One of Paisley's siblings told deputies Coombs assaulted them that day and previously. Paisley's great-aunt, Tabitha Harless, who owns the trailer, arrived at the scene and performed CPR. She described Coombs as standing with arms folded, doing nothing, and questioned the bruises and wetness on the child. An older sibling told Harless, "Aunt Tabby, he killed her. He punched her in the chest and he punched her in the wall."
Harless stated the children had been mistreated and "slipped through the cracks" of the child welfare system, saying, "These children were let down, not only by their parents but by society."
Coombs faces charges of murder and aggravated child abuse, while Kendrick is charged with child neglect. Both are held without bond at Marion County Jail.