A 21-year-old man has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder after police found the body of his 2-year-old son in the mouth of an alligator days after the child’s mother was stabbed to death in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The child, Taylen Mosley, was reported missing when authorities found his mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, stabbed to death in her apartment on Thursday, and Taylen was found dead hours later inside an alligator about 10 miles from his mother’s home. Yolanda Fernandez, a police spokesperson, said in a press release.
“Due to the extremely serious allegations surrounding these tragic losses, our investigation is currently focused on gathering information about the facts and circumstances of the case, as well as our client’s mental state.”
Mosley’s defense attorney Margaret Russell said in a statement
Law enforcement recovered the toddler’s body after euthanizing the gator, and Thomas Mosley is currently in Pinellas County Jail after being treated for cuts on his hands and arms.
The elder Mosley had been at Jeffrey’s home in the late afternoon with the victim’s family to celebrate the young father’s birthday.
Several hours later, Mosley arrived at his mother’s house with ‘severe lacerations to both of his hands and arms consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack.’
Prior to arriving at his mother’s house, Mosley travelled to the Lake Maggiore area and, in a premeditated fashion, threw his son into the body of water, an action police classified as first degree murder.
Mosley then arrived at his mother’s house at around 9pm and from there went to the hospital to be treated for his wounds before being arrested. He was reportedly not cooperative with authorities.
A bloody footprint and a bottle of cleaning solution with a bloody fingerprint were also found in the apartment.
A GoFundMe established by the mourning family that has now raised north of $20,000, described Jeffrey as ‘dedicated’ to making life better for her son.
Taylen was described as a ‘sweet and happy toddler’ who would ‘grab anyone’s phone and pretend to call his mom’ while she was at work.
‘To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing. We will remember their love and will keep them in our hearts,’ it reads.
