CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Jeffrey Evans, a former firefighter with a domestic violence history, walked out of jail on Friday in Broward County after his wife died and a neighbor reported hearing her shout, “My husband is trying to kill me!”
Police officers arrested Evans, 43, who was born in Fort Lauderdale and lives in Coral Springs, for a first-degree misdemeanor of battery, touch, or strike, and not for murder, records show.
“I can’t comment on ongoing investigations. I’m sure any lawyer in the world would kill me if they knew that I said anything. The only thing I want to say is I love my wife,” said Evans, whose domestic violence record was not related to his wife, Jessica Lloyd, a nurse found dead on Monday night.
Lloyd wed Evans last year, lived with him at 9901 NW 15 Court, and worked in Delray Beach, according to relatives. She was pronounced dead at 10:05 p.m. on Monday, after she was found dead, face down, in a canal, according to a police report.
Lloyd was 38. When asked if he knew how Lloyd ended up in the water, Evans said, “Can I please not speculate on things that I don’t know about?” On the suspicions that he was to blame, he said, “It’s not what happened, it’s not the truth ... Let’s wait for things to unfold, please. My life is over -- no matter what happens.”
Evans had called 911 shortly after 8:50 p.m. on Monday to report Lloyd was experiencing a “mental break,” and about six minutes later, a 911 caller reported hearing a woman screaming that her husband wanted to kill her, according to the arrest report.
“I know what people think. I know what people think of me,” Evans said while wearing an ankle GPS monitor.
Evans told police officers the two had been arguing over infidelity issues, and he was wrestling with her to get his laptop when she fell, and she was screaming when he restrained her, but they had made up when she vanished, according to the arrest report.
Evans stopped working for the Davie Fire Rescue Department on Feb. 28, 2025. He was a fire lieutenant.
Court records show two different women accused Evans of domestic violence. An ex-wife accused him in August 2018, and another woman accused him in December 2020.
According to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, a domestic violence misdemeanor case in 2020 was dropped after there was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction based on evidence presented and the fact that the listed victim submitted a waiver of prosecution and an affidavit stating that the suspect did not punch or strike her,” and there weren’t “independent witnesses.”
Lloyd’s relative said the domestic violence cases were before Evans had even met Lloyd at a brewing company.
“She was loved,” Evans said.
Broward County Circuit Judge Chris Brown was set to preside over the pending domestic violence misdemeanor case.
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 to remain anonymous.
Related coverage
- New details revealed after Coral Springs woman found dead in canal, husband arrested on domestic violence charge
- Coral Springs man arrested in domestic violence incident after wife found dead in canal, cops say
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
