Authorities Decline to Bring Case Against Husband of Woman Found Dead in Coral Springs Canal

March 6, 2026 • By Kevin Deutsch
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Authorities Decline to Bring Case Against Husband of Woman Found Dead in Coral Springs Canal

Jessica Lloyd {GoFundMe}

A Coral Springs man accused of battering his wife before she was found dead in a canal is no longer being prosecuted on the domestic violence charge after police did not formally present a homicide case to the Broward State Attorney’s Office.

Jeffrey Evans, 43, had pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor battery charge connected to the Aug. 25, 2025, incident involving his wife, Jessica Lloyd, 38, who was later found dead in a nearby canal measuring about 17 inches deep. Prosecutors said they declined to file the case after reviewing the evidence and determining there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction.

The Broward Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Lloyd’s cause of death as drowning and the manner of death as undetermined, authorities said.

“If the investigators at the police department believed they had probable cause to make an arrest or file a charge related to the death of Jessica Lloyd, they would have formally presented it to our office for review,” Paula McMahon, director of communications and media relations for the Broward State Attorney’s Office, said in a statement. “No homicide case has been formally presented to our office at this time.”

The Coral Springs Police Department on Friday told Coral Springs Talk they “conducted a thorough, objective investigation, as we do all cases.”

“The investigation led to a closed case and no arrest,” the department said in its written statement

McMahon said there is no time limit for bringing homicide charges if new evidence emerges.

“There is no statute of limitations for any unresolved homicide. We remain ready, willing and able to formally review any evidence that detectives want to present now or in the future,” she said.

Evans, a former lieutenant with Davie Fire Rescue who served in the U.S. Marines, was arrested last year on a misdemeanor domestic violence battery charge stemming from an incident earlier the same day Lloyd died.

Evans had pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1,000 bond while the case was pending. As part of his pretrial release conditions, a judge ordered him to wear a GPS ankle monitor and remain at home unless approved by Broward Sheriff’s Office pretrial services staff while awaiting trial. Those conditions are no longer in place following the decision not to prosecute Evans.

According to a memorandum written by Assistant State Attorney Stefanie Newman, prosecutor in charge of the Broward State Attorney’s Office Domestic Violence Unit, investigators reviewed police reports, 911 calls, Ring camera surveillance video, and Evans’ sworn statement after he was read his Miranda rights.

Police began receiving calls at approximately 8:51 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2025, when Evans called 911 to report that his wife had suffered a “mental break” and needed police assistance. Minutes later, another caller reported hearing a woman yelling that “my husband is trying to kill me.”

When officers arrived, Lloyd was found floating in a canal near the couple’s home. She was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead while police continued investigating the circumstances of her death.

While reviewing the case, prosecutors examined surveillance video showing an earlier confrontation inside the home. According to the memo, the footage shows Lloyd grabbing Evans’ laptop before he ran toward her.

“The defendant is seen punching the victim to the ground, grabbing her by the hair with one hand, while he retrieves the laptop from the victim with the other hand,” Newman wrote in the memo.

Prosecutors reviewed Florida law regarding the use of non-deadly force in defense of property and determined they could not overcome Evans’ account that he was attempting to retrieve his laptop.

“Because the victim is now deceased, the State has no evidence or witnesses to rebut this account by the defendant,” Newman wrote. “In light of the case law in this area and for the reasons set forth above, there is no reasonable likelihood of conviction as to the charge of battery and therefore, this case is being declined.”

Records reviewed by prosecutors show Evans has been arrested twice in cases presented to the Broward State Attorney’s Office.

One case involved the August 2025 misdemeanor battery arrest regarding Lloyd. Another involved a 2020 misdemeanor domestic violence battery case involving another woman that prosecutors declined to file after the alleged victim submitted a waiver of prosecution.

In that earlier case, a memo states there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction” without the victim’s cooperation after she later said Evans did not punch or strike her and could not recall the exact sequence of events.

Since Lloyd’s death, other women have made allegations of violence and abuse against Evans, according to the State Attorney’s Office. Officials said those allegations were not referred to prosecutors at the time and would need to be formally reported to law enforcement for investigation. Some women have obtained civil court injunctions against Evans, authorities said.

Broward State Attorney Harold F. Pryor, his Chief Assistant State Attorney, the head of the office’s Domestic Violence Unit, and a victim advocate from their office met with Lloyd’s family and a close friend on Friday to discuss the misdemeanor battery case decision, McMahon said.

Prior and his team “express our very sincere condolences to Ms. Lloyd’s family and friends,” she said.

 The State Attorney’s Office advised residents seeking advice and support to use their domestic violence unit resource page.

“Our prosecutors and victim advocates work very hard to help listed victims/witnesses to obtain help and resources that will assist them in getting away from the abuser,” McMahon said. 

Newman reminded anyone experiencing domestic abuse or intimate partner violence that it is not uncommon for victims of domestic violence to be fearful about reporting allegations of abuse.

“The national statistics indicate that a victim of intimate partner violence will suffer abuse approximately eight times before they are willing to report the abuse, leave their abuser and/or follow through with the prosecution of the abuser,” she said in a written statement.  “National statistics, reflected in our community, indicate that some 50 percent (sometime more, sometimes less) of domestic violence cases are not filed or have to be dropped after they are filed because the victims and survivors do not feel able to cooperate and go forward with the case. Even when a victim/survivor feels unable to cooperate with a prosecution, our prosecutors file charges and go ahead with the case when they have sufficient, independent evidence to prove the charges. We want victims and survivors of intimate partner violence to know that our prosecutors and victim advocates, working with our partners in law enforcement, are here to help them.”

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Kevin Deutsch

Kevin Deutsch
Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning journalist and author of two nonfiction books. He covers general assignment news and Jewish community issues for Talk Media. He has also worked as a staff writer at The Miami Times, the Rio Grande SUN, the New York Daily News, Newsday, The Miami Herald, The Palm Beach Post, The Riverdale Press, and Bronx Justice News.

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