![Jamie Marie Pogreba-Brown, pictured with her children, died Feb. 22. Friends have established a GoFundMe account with a $10,000 goal to cover her funeral expenses. [Special to the Press Gazette]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-49877b25-358b-75ed-e053-0100007f30e0-dca2e32b.jpeg)
MILTON — Family and friends lost Jamie Marie Pogreba-Brown, who died Feb. 22, too soon. Now, they want to honor her memory with a proper burial.
An argument over money appears to be what led a Milton-area man to fatally strike his 28-year-old wife in the head with a hatchet, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office.
Todd Michael Brown, 34, was arrested Feb. 22 after he allegedly admitted that he killed Pogreba-Brown. He has been charged with first-degree murder.
Deputies answering a disturbance call at 6420 Eva St. detained Brown as he left the home, a sheriff's office arrest report said. They entered the home and found Pogreba-Brown lying in the kitchen. She was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola "with severe head trauma," the report said, and was pronounced dead at 3:01 a.m.
Brown waived his Miranda rights and told deputies he and Pogreba-Brown "engaged in a verbal dispute … about the money; $4,000 they owed his parents," the report said.
A sheriff's office news release states Brown called 911 and said "he had struck his wife in the head with a hatchet." A hatchet was found in the home's laundry room, the arrest report said.
Pogreba-Brown’s family has established a GoFundMe account with a $10,000 goal for funeral expenses. Any donations over this amount will benefit her children, 4-year-old Uryah McCasland and 2-year-old Louie Pogreba.
“She was extremely passionate,” Pogreba’s older sister, Jenny Holovack, said. “I remember when she was 15 or 16 and wanted to start a homeless shelter. She worried about people in general and always wanted to help. She saw the best in everybody, whether it was there or not.”
Holovack and other family members are caring for Pogreba’s boys.
“Her kids were her absolute number one over everything,” Holovack said, adding she wanted to recognize Santa Rosa Kids’ House, which aided the transition for Pogreba’s children.
“They were so wonderful to us during the process. They took the boys, played with them and fed them until we were able to get to them that day ….”
The fund has $6,370 as of this writing. Those wishing to help can donate at www.gofundme.com/justice-for-jamie.
Northwest Florida Daily News writer Tom McLaughlin contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Funeral expenses sought for Milton woman