A 2-year-old boy who had been missing since his mother was killed inside their home was found dead inside the mouth of an alligator. The boy’s father has now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
A mother killed, 2-year-old son goes missing
On March 30, the body of 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery was found stabbed to death in her apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her 2-year-old son, Taylen Mosley, was reported missing after authorities found her body.
The day before, Jeffery’s family had visited her apartment to enjoy a birthday party for the boy’s father, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley.
According to witnesses, the boy and his mother were seen alive on Wednesday around 5:20 PM. Later that evening, at approximately 8:30 PM, neighbors said they heard a loud noise coming from the area of the mother’s apartment. However, police were not called at that time, BuzzFeed News reported.
When the family hadn’t heard from Jeffrey the next day, they sent police for a welfare check. Officers found what they described as a “very violent homicide scene” in which Jeffrey’s body had been stabbed “in excess of 100 wounds,” according to the police warrant. That same afternoon, an AMBER Alert was issued for Taylen.
Alligator spotted with something in its mouth
As authorities worked the case, their investigation led them to Dell Holmes Park and Lake Maggiore, ABC News reported. During their search, detectives spotted an alligator with an object in its mouth, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said in a press conference.
Police fired a round at the alligator, which caused the reptile to drop the object. Police later identified the object the alligator had as the body of Taylen Mosley, which was recovered completely intact. Chief Holloway said the alligator was killed.
Authorities have not yet determined a cause of death for 2-year-old Taylen Mosley.
The boy’s father charged with double murder
During the investigation, when authorities went to question Thomas Mosley, they learned that he had checked himself into a local hospital Wednesday night, where he was admitted with cuts on his hands and arms, injuries consistent with slippage during a knife attack, according to the affidavit. Authorities say Mosley would not speak to investigators at the hospital and requested an attorney.
Mosley is now facing two counts of first-degree murder, which include allegations that he “did throw or place” his 2-year-old son, Taylen, into a lake, inflicting “mortal wounds” that caused the child’s death, according to one of the affidavits, CNN reported.
According to the arrest warrant, a cleaning bottle found under a bed in Jeffrey’s apartment had a bloody fingerprint that allegedly belonged to Mosley. Investigators also found a bloody shoe print that had the Gucci emblem, according to the affidavit.
Mosley was appointed a public defender and pleaded not guilty to murder charges. He claimed he had been at his mother’s house at the time of the murders, about ten blocks from where his son’s body was found, according to police.
Mosley is being held without bond in Pinellas County Jail.
