Missing Florida toddler found dead in alligator’s mouth after mom is found fatally stabbed in apartment

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (TCD) -- A 21-year-old man is in custody after a missing 2-year-old’s body was discovered inside an alligator’s mouth and the child’s mother was found stabbed over 100 times.

According to a news release from the St. Petersburg Police Department, on March 30 at approximately 2:30 p.m., officials found 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery dead from stab wounds in her apartment on Lincoln Shores. Jeffery’s family became worried after finding blood near her apartment, WTSP-TV reports.

In a press conference posted by WFLA-TV, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway called the apartment a "very violent homicide scene."

Within the home, police reportedly located a cleaning bottle with a bloody fingerprint on it, which was hidden under a bed. They also discovered a bloody Gucci shoe print near where Jeffery’s body was located, according to WTSP.

That same day, police announced Jeffery and Thomas Mosley’s 2-year-old son, Taylen Mosley, was missing. Police then issued an Amber Alert.

Officials reportedly learned that on Wednesday, March 29, Jeffery’s family went to her home for Thomas Mosley’s birthday and left several hours later. At approximately 9:03 p.m. that evening, WTSP reports that Thomas Mosley went to his mother’s home and had "severe lacerations to both of his hands and arms" consistent with a possible knife attack.

Mosley reportedly went to the hospital for treatment.

On the evening of Thursday, March 30, Mosley allegedly went to Lake Maggiore and then later stopped by his mother’s home, approximately 10 blocks away.

The next day, March 31, a volunteer search for the missing toddler began, and later that evening, police said they located Taylen Mosley’s body inside an alligator’s mouth near the area of Dell Holmes Park and Lake Maggiore. Officials reportedly killed the alligator and extracted the missing toddler’s body from its mouth.

Taylen Mosley’s body was sent to the medical examiner to determine his cause of death.

As a result of their investigation, police arrested Thomas Mosley on two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his son and Jeffery. He remains held in the Pinellas County Jail and is awaiting trial.

In a statement obtained by WTSP, Jeffery’s family said, "We want to start by thanking everyone in the St. Petersburg area, Florida, and across the United States for praying and sending positive thoughts our way in the past few days as we grieved Pashun and searched for Taylen."

They continued, "We especially send our gratitude to St. Petersburg police and all law enforcement working day and night in the search for Taylen and the concerned citizens who shared helpful information. We are heartbroken that we must begin putting them both to rest."

MORE:

• Homicide and Missing Toddler — St. Petersburg Police Department
• Press Conference — St. Pete Police Chief Anthony Holloway gives update on missing 2-year-old, ‘violent’ homicide — St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway/WFLA
• Pinellas County Jail Records
• Police: Man stabbed mother of 2-year-old found in alligator jaws more than 100 times