MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The man who Marion County deputies took in for questioning Thursday in the death of a girl in Citra has been arrested, the sheriff’s office confirmed Friday.
Jeroen Jarrel Coombs, 32, faces a charge of aggravated child abuse and second-degree murder in the death of a 3-year-old girl, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The sheriff’s office said Thursday on social media that deputies responded around noon to the 16500 block of NE 44th Avenue in Citra to help Marion County Fire Rescue with an unresponsive female child.
The girl was taken to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead, the post states.
Coombs was questioned after deputies at the scene were told he had harmed the girl, according to the sheriff’s office.
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According to a news release shared Friday, a juvenile told deputies during interviews on Thursday “that he heard Coombs strike (the girl) and disclosed prior physical abuse” by him.
Detectives reportedly learned that Coombs was home alone with one to four children ranging in age from 1 to 9 when he contacted the victim’s mother around 10:58 a.m. to say the 3-year-old was unresponsive.
A 911 call wasn’t made for another 40 minutes, the sheriff’s office said.
Coombs initially told investigators that the girl was groggy that morning, yet he “admitted to causing the injuries that led to her death” after being confronted about bruising and ligature marks on the child’s body, according to the release.
In further remarks to detectives, Coombs said that he “took it too far” with the girl — allegedly binding her arms and legs, dropping her on the floor while she was still bound, and striking her multiple times — adding he didn’t call 911 faster because he was scared, the release states.
”What we learned is that this child was punished, according to Mr. Coombs. She was taped up with painter’s tape from her thighs to her ankles and also her hands were tied and bound with a bathrobe belt, tie, as punishment for reaching into her diaper. Again, in his words," Lt. Paul Bloom said during a news conference Friday. “He told our detectives that he picked his child up out of her playpen and accidentally dropped her, and that’s why the injuries, but then he said ‘I did pop her three times,’ punching her in the chest, ‘and notified her mother.’”
Bloom said Friday that it appeared Coombs is the boyfriend of the victim’s mother, whom he also confirmed was under investigation.
“At noon, we’re getting this call. That was called in 40 minutes after she found out about this,” Bloom said. “We’re being told that she left that morning to go out to run some errands, and that was, what she indicated to us, was going to a post office, tax office, and getting her nails done.”
Coombs was being held without bond at the time of this report, records show.
”It’s tragic and it’s shocking. This is not something that, I don’t think anybody, as a first responder, wants to see, is prepared to see. We try to train and prepare ourselves for these types of things, but it’s shocking to us just as much as it is to the public. I can tell you, our detectives are working hand in hand with Bill Gladson, State Attorney Bill Gladson and his folks over there, and this case is progressing, it’s still an active case and there’s a lot of questions," Bloom said.
Additional charges are pending a report on the cause and manner of the girl’s death, the sheriff’s office said.
Watch the news conference again in the video player below or by clicking here.