Police: Child Discovered in Florida Alligator’s Jaws Drowned by Father

The father of the two-year-old boy found inside the mouth of a Florida alligator in Lake Maggiore is accused of drowning his own son.

In a statement Monday, St. Petersburg law enforcement said the cause of Taylen Mosley’s death was drowning, NBC News reported.

#stpetepd Chief Holloway said It’s with great sadness that we report we found the body of Taylen Mosley in Lake Maggiore. His father Thomas Mosley is charged with 2 counts of 1st degree murder. pic.twitter.com/I1hsIj0UAw

— St. Pete Police (@StPetePD) April 1, 2023

“The Pinellas Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death of two-year-old Taylen Mosley. The child died of drowning,” the agency noted in a press release.

Officials charged the boy’s 21-year-old father, Thomas Mosely, with two counts of first-degree murder in the child’s death and the boy’s mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, who was stabbed to death and her body found inside her apartment.

Thomas Mosley, 21, of St. Petersburg, has been charged with two counts of first degree murder for the death of Pashun Jeffery and their 2-year-old son, Taylen Mosley.
Thomas Mosley was taken to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Jail, where he remains awaiting trial #StPetePD pic.twitter.com/MLASVTfeIn

— St. Pete Police (@StPetePD) April 3, 2023

“A police spokesperson said Monday that Mosley threw or placed his son in Lake Maggiore, where the child was found in an alligator’s mouth,” the NBC report continued, adding the investigation was ongoing.

The child’s body was located on March 31 after he went missing on March 30. A detective at the scene fatally shot the alligator so authorities could retrieve the body.

Video footage shows Mosely being escorted into a courtroom with his hands and arms in casts. According to Fox 13, court papers said the suspect’s injuries were consistent with “slippage during a knife attack.”

Jeffery was reportedly stabbed over 100 times. Body camera video shown in the courtroom recorded Jeffery’s mother speaking to law enforcement officials about Mosley’s birthday party the day before Jeffery’s body was discovered:

When asked if they were drinking at the time, the woman replied, “I just know they were smoking.” She was then asked if they were smoking weed, to which she answered, “Yeah.”

Meanwhile, additional video footage shows the funeral service for the mother and two-year-old:

“We come most of all to praise God for the life of sister Pashun and young Taylen,” one of the speakers said during the service. “While we may not understand, we are still saddled with the grief that accompanies this movement. But our faith tells us that we look unto God,” he added.