Missing toddler discovered inside alligator’s mouth day after mother is found stabbed to death

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – A desperate search for a missing Florida toddler came to a tragic end Friday night when the boy’s body was discovered in the mouth of an alligator.

The body of Taylen Mosley, 2, was recovered and his father was charged with two counts of first-degree murder: for the child and for the fatal stabbing of the boy’s mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, WFLA reported.

Chief Anthony Holloway of the St. Petersburg Police Department said officers were searching the area of Dell Holmes Park when they discovered an alligator at Lake Maggiore with “an object in its mouth.”

Police discharged a round, killing the alligator and forcing it to drop the child’s body. The boy was dead, though it’s not yet clear how he died, or if he was deceased prior to ending up in the lake.

“We are sorry that it had to end this way,” Chief Holloway said during a press conference following the horrific discovery.

Jeffrey lived at Lincoln Shores Apartments, located at 11601 4th Street North. She was found dead from “multiple stab wounds” inside her residence after law enforcement authorities followed a blood trail from her vehicle Thursday afternoon. Then a search began about 2:30 p.m. for Taylen, who could not be located after police discovered his mother had been murdered.

The department issued an Amber Alert and launched a major volunteer search for the child out of extreme concern that he was in danger, according to the New York Post.

Officers deployed dive teams in nearby retention ponds. However, it was not until they moved about 14 miles north of Taylen and Jeffery’s home that they ultimately found and recovered the boy’s body.

The toddler’s mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, was stabbed to death. (St Petersburg Police Department/Facebook)

Taylen’s father, Thomas Mosley, 21, was under suspicion from the outset. He showed up at his mother’s home with injuries at 9 p.m. Wednesday before admitting himself into a nearby hospital with “cuts to his hands into his arms.”

It was unclear how he was injured, but Holloway said “nothing in our investigation leads us to believe that he is a victim.”

Mosley remains hospitalized as of Friday evening. When questioned about the deaths, he asked for a lawyer, WFLA reported.

The chief said Friday evening that the toddler’s father now faces two counts of first-degree murder.

Although Jeffrey’s death wasn’t discovered until Thursday when family members asked for a welfare check, neighbor’s heard a commotion at the apartment Wednesday evening, about 30 minutes before Mosley showed up injured at his mother’s house.

Family members of Jeffrey and Taylen were mourning their loss on Friday when gravity of the situation overwhelmed them.

“He’s always calling his mom on his cell phone,” Lakita Denson told WFLA. “He miss his mom, they calling each other all the time. She really loved Taylen.”

“We just want to say that Taylen is a beautiful little boy,” added Theo Brickhouse-Sails. “He’s really loving and caring.”