ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Scripps News Tampa) — Thomas Mosley, 21, the father accused of murdering his 2-year-old son and the child’s mother, has been booked in the Pinellas County Jail.
After over 24 hours of searching, St. Pete Police confirmed a missing 2-year-old boy was found dead Friday evening and his father now faces two counts of first-degree murder.
Three photos show Taylen Mosley, whose body was found in the jaws of an alligator after more than 24 hours of searching. (St. Petersburg Police Department)
The body of Taylen Mosley, 2, was found by Dell Holmes Park. Authorities said Friday they spotted an alligator in a pond with an object in his mouth.
The object turned out to be Taylen.
The toddler had been missing since his mother’s body was found in an apartment Thursday afternoon.
Police said the body of Pashun Jeffery, 20, was found around 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Shores Apartments. The arrest affidavit says that she had over 100 stab wounds.
St. Pete Police immediately began searching for her son, Taylen Mosley, 2.
An investigation revealed that Taylen’s father was at Jeffery’s apartment with cuts on his hands and arms around 9 p.m. on Wednesday, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway added during a presser on Friday. He then left and checked himself into a hospital, where Chief Holloway said he remains today.
“I can tell you it’s a very violent homicide scene within the apartment, but we cannot find the 2-year-old, so right now, that is our main concern,” said Police Chief Anthony Holloway.
St. Pete Police said Jeffery’s family became concerned when they did not hear from her on Thursday. Her family told police they last saw her and her child alive around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Pashun Jeffrey was found murdered in her home. (St. Petersburg Police Department)
“They contacted maintenance and management here at the apartment complex to go and check on her, so when they went to her apartment, they did go inside and they found her body and she had been killed,” said Yolanda Fernandez with the St. Petersburg Police Department.
The St. Pete Police Department said neighbors told police they heard a commotion around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday evening.
Officers searched the mother’s vehicle, which was located in the parking lot of the complex, and drones were deployed to search the waters around the complex.
The family of Pashun Jeffery has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses and support the family.
This story was originally published on March 31, 2023, by WFTS in Tampa, an E.W. Scripps Company.
