MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A Marion County woman trusted by the state to care for the siblings of a 3-year-old allegedly beaten to death is now facing her own child abuse charge.
47-year-old Vanessa Pawlicki was arrested Monday after a witness reported her for abusing a child after church.
She was caring for the siblings of 3-year-old, Paisley Brown, who investigators said was beaten to death by her mother’s boyfriend, Jeroen Coombs.
Detectives said Coombs beat Paisley and shoved her under a running water faucet back in February. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office found evidence that Coombs also abused Paisley’s siblings, who reportedly witnessed the toddler’s death.
Coombs, was indicted for First-Degree Murder in the Death of the three-year-old and Paisley’s mother Jennifer Kendrick was also charged with manslaughter for allegedly not doing enough to prevent abuse.
According to investigators, after Coombs and Kendrick were arrested, Paisley’s surviving siblings were placed into the care of Vanessa Pawlicki.
While investigators have not stated whether the victim Pawlicki is accused of abusing is one of Paisley’s siblings, community members are calling on the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to do better.
“There has been DCF call, after DCF Call, after DCF call. When does it stop?,” said Wendy Irizarry, “I think that they could have done a lot better.”
Irizarry is a Marion county resident and the owner of Neverland Tattoo. She was among those who felt compelled to help Paisley’s siblings after learning about the case.
In March, Irizarry organized a fundraiser benefitting Paisley’s brothers and sisters. She tattooed customers with designs picked out by Paisley’s siblings, including dinosaurs, Care Bears, and butterflies.
The tattoo fundraiser raised nearly $4,000 which Irizarry hand-delivered to Pawlicki, who used the money to purchase a van for the children.
“I thought that these children were safe. Everybody trusted her,” said Irizarry.
According to an arrest report, Pawlicki was arrested Sunday after Pawlicki was seen repeatedly hitting and kicking a child victim who got in trouble after church.
Deputies observed scratch marks on the victim’s face, bruising on his ear and hairline, and bruises on his back and chest.
According to the arrest report, afterward Pawlicki began “coaching” the child victim on what to say and allegedly told the child victim, he would go to jail if anyone found out what happened.
“I read that and I feel anger. I feel disgusted,” said Irizarry, “There’s just been failure after failure after failure. When does something good happen?”
Irizarry wants to know how Florida’s Department of Children and Families vetted Pawlicki to begin with.
Above all else she wants Paisley Browns’ siblings placed in a loving new home, but she worries about DCF’s ability to make it right for the kids.
On Tuesday, Channel 9 asked the DCF how they vetted Pawlicki and what steps they are taking to ensure the children’s next placement is safe.
A spokesperson told Channel 9 the Department was working on a response, but we did not hear back before news time.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.