Police release cause of death for Florida 2-year-old found in alligator's mouth
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Police in Florida released the cause of death of 2-year-old Taylen Mosley, who they say was killed by his father last month.
In a Monday release, the St. Petersburg Police Department confirmed that the toddler died of drowning.
Taylen was initially reported missing after his mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, was found dead in her apartment's bathroom with over 100 stab wounds on March 30, according to police.
The following day, Taylen's body was found in an alligator's mouth at Lake Maggiore. Police said it was believed that Taylen was thrown or placed into the water by his father, Thomas Mosley.
Officers allege that Mosley murdered both Jeffery and their son before showing up at his mother's house with wounds on his hands and arms "consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack.”
He then went to St. Anthony’s Hospital for treatment. During his stay, he refused to cooperate with the search for his son, stated Chief Anthony Holloway.
According to an affidavit, a bloody fingerprint on a bottle of cleaning solution stashed under a bed matched Thomas Mosley's.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for both victims' deaths, police said.