Pierce County prosecutors on Monday charged a man with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter for the death of his former girlfriend, two years after she fell, jumped or was pushed from his moving car during an argument.
Prosecutors allege Kai Domonic Butler either murdered the woman, 23-year-old Tashylah Combs, while unlawfully imprisoning her in his car or recklessly caused her death during the March 14, 2024 incident. Combs died five days later.
A bench warrant was issued Monday for Butler’s arrest. According to charging documents, Butler, 29, has 18 criminal convictions, 11 of which are domestic-violence related.
The Sheriff’s Office does not appear to have previously publicly announced that it was investigating Combs’ death as a homicide. A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that she needed more time to learn about the case to answer what prevented it from being publicly announced at the time.
A GoFundMe started for Combs and her family in 2024 to raise money for medical expenses and a celebration of life said Combs was a “beautiful pure soul.”
Tashylah Combs is pictured in an undated photograph included in a GoFundMe fundraiser. Combs, 23, died March 19, 2024 after deadly incident involving her boyfriend five days earlier in the Frederickson area.
(GoFundMe)
A Sheriff’s Office detective alleged in charging documents that the incident began outside the woman’s mother’s house in the Frederickson area. A Ring camera allegedly captured Combs telling Butler she wanted to break up. Then an argument ensued about Combs’ missing phone.
At one point, Butler allegedly pulled Combs’ from his car while she was searching for her phone. When Combs’ ex-boyfriend — who was living at her house at the time — came outside, Butler allegedly drove his vehicle at the man, forcing him to quickly move out of the way.
When Combs was again leaning into Butler’s car to search for her phone, Butler allegedly made “an aggressive driving move,” causing Combs to fall into the vehicle and the door to shut. According to the probable cause document, the ex-boyfriend reported hearing shouts and then screams as Butler drove out of the neighborhood.
“As Butler turned north onto 78th Ave E from 165th St Ct E, Combs either jumped, was pushed, or otherwise fell out of his moving vehicle, striking her head on the road and knocking her unconscious,” the detective wrote in a sworn declaration.
Cell-phone data allegedly showed Combs’ was injured at about 10:09 p.m. In the minutes after Butler drove away, Combs’ ex-boyfriend tried to call her. According to the probable cause document, a message sent from her phone at 10:16 p.m. said, “Leave me alone.” Another message said, “You ruin everything.”
The detective said Combs’ could not have sent the messages because she was unconscious.
“Combs’ phone was later found to be in Butler’s possession and cellphone data from Combs’ phone indicates her phone was likely in Butler’s vehicle throughout the evening,” the detective wrote in the sworn statement.
Butler has allegedly said that Combs’ jumped from his car, and that he turned around, put her back in the vehicle and drove to his mother’s house. According to the probable cause document, he woke up his cousin, who helped carry her into the house. Butler reported putting a towel on Combs’ head with some ice, but he allegedly said he couldn’t call 911 because his phone was dead.
The detective alleged that Butler chose not to seek medical attention for Combs for about five hours, and that his version of events changed multiple times when speaking to Combs’ family and law enforcement.
The detective’s statement said Butler talked with his cousin through a FaceTime call sometime between 11 p.m. and midnight to ask for help. At the cousin’s urging, according to the probable cause document, Butler took Combs to the St. Joseph Medical Center at 3 a.m.
Butler allegedly said that once his phone was charged, he drove Combs to the hospital and called her mother.
Combs was pronounced dead March 19, 2024. According to charging documents, the Medical Examiner’s Office determined she died of a blunt-force injury to the head.
In addition to the murder and manslaughter charges, prosecutors have accused Butler of second- and fourth-degree assault, unlawful imprisonment and first-degree criminal mistreatment.
