Dad of boy found in alligator stabbed childs mom over 100 times: cops

Publish date: 2024-08-26

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A Florida man who was charged in the death of his 2-year-old son after the tot’s body was found in an alligator’s mouth allegedly stabbed the boy’s mother more than 100 times after she hosted a birthday party for him, a report said.

Thomas Mosley, 21, allegedly killed little Taylen Mosley and his mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, after guests left a 21st birthday party for Mosley in the mom’s St. Petersburg apartment, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Jeffery’s body was found on the bathroom floor next to a bloody shoeprint with a Gucci emblem and Mosley also left his fingerprints on a bloody cleaning bottle found under the bed, the report said.

The boy was later found inside the alligator’s mouth, but the exact circumstances of his death were unclear.

The gruesome details were revealed after Mosley was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder for stabbing Jeffery more than 100 times in the bathroom of her Lincoln Shores apartment.

Thomas Mosley, 21, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

Police records show that Mosley had been living at the home for just a few weeks when Jeffery decided to have a gathering for his birthday last week.

Guests left the party at about 5:15 p.m., leaving Taylen and his parents behind in the apartment, according to an affidavit cited by the news outlet.

Mosley left around 8:40 p.m. and went to the Lake Maggiore area, near Dell Holmes Park, where the boy was later found inside the alligator’s mouth.

He then went to his mother’s nearby house, where he arrived about 9 p.m. with “severe lacerations” on his hands and arms, according to the affidavit.

Mosley later went to St. Anthony’s Hospital, where he was admitted with wounds that were “consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack,” according to the document.

On Thursday morning, Jeffery’s family grew worried when they couldn’t reach her for their daily FaceTime call, so they went to her apartment on Fourth Street North, where they found blood on the sidewalk outside, officials said.

St. Petersburg police announced the body of missing toddler Taylen Mosley was found in an alligator’s mouth, a day after his mother’s murder.
Mosley allegedly put Taylen’s body into a lake, where it was found inside an alligator’s mouth. St Petersburg Police Department/Facebook

They called the management, who unlocked the door and found Jeffery’s body and a “very violent crime scene” inside.

The victim was sprawled on the bathroom floor with over 100 stab wounds, officials said.

Also found was a bloody cleaning bottle under a bed with a fingerprint that was later identified as Mosley’s — along with a bloody shoeprint with a Gucci emblem in the bathroom, according to the affidavit.

Taylen was missing.

Pashun Jeffery, 20, Taylen’s mother, was stabbed more than 100 times, police said. St Petersburg Police Department/Facebook

Police issued an Amber Alert, deployed drones and a helicopter and brought in a bloodhound from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit to search for the boy.

When someone reported seeing something in an alligator’s jaws, police shot the beast and retrieved Taylen’s body.

Jeffery’s family said she had just started living on her own while taking care of her young son.

A memorial for 2-year-old Taylen Mosley. FOX 13 Tampa Bay

“This was her first month to have lived here and very happy to have a better place than what she had before,” her aunt Theo Brickhouse-Sails said. “And for a 20-year-old, she was doing well. She wanted more out of life.”

A photo posted on a GoFundMe page shows Jeffery holding Taylen at her high school graduation.

“We chose this picture because you will see Pashun’s pride at this moment,” her mother, Lakita Denson, and Brickhouse-Sails wrote.

“Taylen was a sweet and happy toddler and loved his mom,” his family said. St Petersburg Police Department/Facebook

“She was in her graduation gown, holding Taylen when he was just a baby. This picture shows how beautiful Pashun was and how dedicated she was to make a better life for her son,” they wrote.

“We will miss her smile, joyous laughter, and commentary on life,” they wrote about the slain mom, who had worked at a local CVS. “Taylen was a sweet and happy toddler and loved his mom.”

They added: “To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing.”

The family launched the GoFundMe page to help with the search efforts, but said after Taylen was found that the nearly $30,000 raised so far will go toward memorial expenses.

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