Missing 2-year-old Florida boy found dead after mother was murdered

A missing Florida toddler was found dead Friday after authorities found his mother murdered a day prior.

Florida toddler missing has been found

Warning. This can be triggering.

Police say they discovered the body of 2-year-old Taylen Mosley in the mouth of an alligator in St. Petersburg, Florida. The boy was reported missing after his mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, was found dead in her apartment Thursday afternoon with multiple stab wounds, St. Petersburg Police said in a news conference Friday.

Taylen’s father, Thomas Mosley, was arrested for both deaths and is facing two counts of first degree murder, St. Petersburg police said.

Police spotted an alligator in Dell Homes Park, which is just miles from the apartment where Jeffery was found, with an object in its mouth. Officers fired a single round at the reptile and it dropped the object, authorities said.

Officers were able to then retrieve the object, finding Taylen’s body intact.

Father charged

Thomas was treated at a local hospital Friday for cuts to his hands and arms, police said. He was later booked in the Pinellas County jail, according to jail records. 

Authorities say the investigation is still ongoing and have not released information on Taylen’s cause of death or how he ended up in the park.