Jabez Spann

Was this 14 year old murdered because he witnessed another murder?
Jabez Spann was a 14-year-old boy with a great heart and a smile that could make anyone laugh. Remembered by his family as an excellent athlete and an all-around great kid, Jabez was a good student who got along well with other children. Like many teenagers, he loved sports, video games, and his grandmother’s Southern cooking. He dreamed of playing college football and one day buying his grandmother a house. His life was tragically cut short after he disappeared from his Sarasota, Florida, neighborhood on Labor Day, September 4, 2017.

The week before he went missing, Jabez may have witnessed a homicide. On August 28, 2017, 31-year-old Travis Combs was chased by three men into a grassy lot near 22nd Street and North Orange Avenue and fatally shot. According to police reports, a witness named Reginald Parker later told Jabez’s grandmother that he saw Jabez at the scene. Parker allegedly heard a gunshot and then heard Jabez yell, "Oh my God. Y'all shot him." Parker later recanted this statement to detectives. Jabez’s family believes he was killed because of what he saw that day.

On the night he vanished, Jabez, a Black male, attended a family barbecue and a candlelight vigil for Travis Combs on 22nd Street, just a couple of blocks from his home in the Newtown area of Sarasota. He was last seen around 1 a.m., wearing a turquoise shirt. His disappearance triggered a Missing Child Alert, and for the next year and a half, his family held onto hope that he would be found alive. The Sarasota Police Department and the FBI investigated approximately 100 tips, but every lead went cold.

The search came to a heartbreaking end on February 16, 2019. A man working on a fence line in a rural pasture off Canal Road in Palmetto, a part of Manatee County about a 25-minute drive north of Sarasota, discovered skeletal remains and called 911. Investigators confirmed through dental records that the remains belonged to Jabez Spann. It was an area the teen was not known to frequent, and it was outside the initial search area. Authorities have not publicly released the cause of death, but his case is being investigated as a homicide.

The investigation into Jabez's death is a joint effort between the Sarasota Police Department and the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. Detectives have had to re-examine the case from the beginning, scouring files to ensure every tip was thoroughly followed. Police have stated from the start that they believe someone in the tight-knit Sarasota community knows what happened to Jabez. His grandmother, Lucille Tillery, has voiced her frustration, saying, "Anybody that can kill a child is capable of killing anybody."

In the years since his death, Jabez’s family has channeled their grief into advocacy. His mother, Tawana Spann, said the family was heartbroken by the discovery. "We thought we were prepared, but I guess that’s not something you can get prepared for,” she said. “We got some closure, we are going to put him to peace and lay him to rest, but I’m not done.” On the second anniversary of his disappearance, she founded the Jabez Spann Foundation to raise awareness for unsolved cold cases and to support other families of missing people. A memorial with a large cross and flowers was placed at the site where his remains were found.

As of September 2023, the investigation into the murder of Jabez Spann remains active and ongoing. No arrests have been made in his case or in the killing of Travis Combs. A reward of $50,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest. The Sarasota Police Department continues to urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers of Sarasota at 941-366-TIPS (8477).