Deputies say the child’s mother knew of earlier harm as her boyfriend faces a homicide case.
OCALA, Fla. — The mother of a 3-year-old girl who investigators say was bound and beaten to death in a rural Marion County home has been arrested on felony child-neglect charges, days after her boyfriend’s case was upgraded to homicide, authorities said.
The arrest shifts the focus of a high-profile investigation that began in mid-February in the small community of Citra, northeast of Ocala. Detectives say the child, Paisley Brown, suffered fatal injuries while in the care of her mother’s boyfriend, Jeroen Jarrel Coombs. Now, they allege her mother, Jennifer Farrah Kendrick, failed to protect her despite signs of prior abuse, and that the inaction helped allow the violence to continue.
Kendrick, 26, was taken into custody Wednesday night and booked into the Marion County Jail on two counts of felony child neglect, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators said Kendrick was on felony probation at the time of her arrest and that the new case also triggered a probation violation. Coombs, 32, was already being held at the jail without bond as prosecutors pursued a homicide charge tied to Brown’s death.
The case began with a 911 call from a home in the 16500 block of Northeast 44th Avenue. Deputies arrived around noon on Feb. 19, sheriff’s officials have said. First responders found Brown unresponsive and she was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Investigators said Coombs was at the home with several children that morning, and deputies were told at the scene that he had harmed the girl and was trying to leave the area before he was detained.
Investigators later described a pattern of restraints and punishment inside the home. In records and court testimony summarized by authorities, Coombs told detectives he had tied Brown’s wrists with a rope and used blue painter’s tape to bind her legs, actions investigators said matched ligature marks found on her body. Detective Karla Santana-Palau, a major crimes investigator, described an interview in which Coombs said he picked the child up, dropped her when she squirmed, and then struck her on the chest. Santana-Palau said he told investigators he “proceeded to strike” the child about three times and that she became unresponsive afterward.
Authorities have said other children in the home provided information that widened the investigation beyond the final hours of Brown’s life. Santana-Palau told the court she briefly interviewed Brown’s 9-year-old brother, who she said was handcuffed in another room during the incident. The detective said the boy reported that Coombs punched his sister on the chest many times and that he could hear her crying. Investigators have also described claims of physical violence and unusual punishments used on children in the home, allegations that remain under review as detectives sort out who knew what, and when.
For weeks, sheriff’s officials said they were examining the mother’s role. Investigators said Kendrick initially denied knowing about abuse, but later changed her account after detectives confronted her with evidence gathered during the case. The sheriff’s office said Kendrick admitted she was aware Coombs had previously bound and abused Brown. Investigators said Kendrick acknowledged that her lack of intervention allowed the abuse to continue and contributed to her daughter’s death.
In public comments after Kendrick’s arrest, a family member said she had been cooperating with investigators. Tabitha Harless, identified by the family as a relative of Kendrick and Brown, said she felt relieved when she learned Kendrick had been taken into custody. “I am happy,” Harless said in an interview carried by local television, adding that she had been “working with investigators behind the scenes.” Harless also said she did not learn the full scope of the allegations until the day Brown died.
Earlier in the investigation, relatives described Coombs as a new figure in the family’s life. Harless said he had been “in the picture” only a few months and appeared caring in brief interactions, but she said the children described a different reality inside the home. “When I say Citra house of horror, that isn’t a lie,” she said in a prior interview as the case drew attention across Central Florida.
Coombs’ case has moved quickly through the courts since his arrest. Prosecutors have argued he should remain jailed as the homicide case proceeds, and a judge ordered him held without bond. During a hearing, Assistant State Attorney Janine Nixon asked the court to keep Coombs behind bars as investigators laid out allegations of restraints, a delay in calling 911, and accounts from children who were in the home. Judge Peter Brigham, in ordering Coombs held, said the allegations described a child whose hands and legs were bound before she was beaten to death.
Authorities have said Coombs was the primary caretaker for the children while Kendrick worked, and that the two had been dating for several months. Investigators have also noted Coombs has prior battery convictions, including a domestic-violence battery case, though those older cases are separate from the child-death investigation. Detectives have not publicly described the full set of injuries documented in Brown’s autopsy or medical records, and they have not released additional details about how long the alleged restraints were used before the child’s death.
Child-welfare officials have also been involved. Investigators said four other children who lived in the home were taken into protective custody after Brown’s death. The Florida Department of Children and Families has been described by local officials as reviewing the case, but the agency has not released details about any prior contacts connected to the family or the home.
Kendrick’s arrest adds a second criminal case to the investigation, but it does not answer all of the unresolved questions. Detectives have not said how long investigators believe Kendrick knew of the alleged restraints, or whether any reports were made to authorities before Brown died. Officials have also not announced whether additional arrests are expected involving other adults connected to the household or whether new charges could be filed as forensic and medical reviews are completed.
As of Thursday, both Kendrick and Coombs remained in the Marion County Jail without bond, according to local authorities, and the homicide case against Coombs was still moving through pretrial hearings. Investigators said the broader inquiry remains open as they review statements, phone records, and evidence from the home.
Author note: Last updated March 5, 2026.