The search for a lost toddler in Florida came to a tragic conclusion Friday evening when the child’s corpse was discovered inside an alligator’s mouth.
Taylen Mosley, 2, was charged with two charges of first-degree murder, one for the infant and one for the stabbing death of the boy’s mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20.
Officers were examining the Dell Holmes Park neighbourhood when they discovered an alligator with “an object in its mouth” inside Lake Maggiore, according to St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway.
Officers fired a round at the alligator, killing it and causing it to release the corpse of the boy.
Taylen’s corpse was recovered, but authorities say it’s unclear how the child perished or if he was deceased before falling into the lake.
“We’re sorry it had to come to this,” police Chief Anthony Holloway said.
Taylen had been missing since 2:30 p.m. Thursday, when police discovered her body inside her apartment with “multiple stab wounds” after tracking a blood path from her car.
Taylen’s father, Thomas Mosley, was quickly called a person of interest after he checked himself into a nearby hospital with “cuts to his hands into his arms.”
Police would not say whether Jeffery’s injuries were suffered in self-defense, but Holloway said “nothing in our investigation leads us to believe that he is a victim.”
Mosley, who is still in the hospital, signed in without his son.
Out of grave worry that the child was in peril, the department issued an Amber Alert and began a massive voluntary hunt for him.
Officers used dive teams in local retention ponds before travelling 14 miles north of Taylen and Jeffery’s house to find the boy’s remains.
Taylen and Jeffery’s family recalled them lovingly after their tragic deaths.
“He’s always calling his mom on his cell phone,” said 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.”
