ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 21-year-old man is accused of killing a 20-year-old mother and their 2-year-old son. Thomas Mosley was arrested Friday night after police say they found his missing toddler son, Taylen Mosley, dead.
The 2-year-old's body was found inside the jaws of an alligator in Lake Maggiore — 13 miles away from where his mother's body was found, the St. Petersburg Police Department said in a news release.
Thomas Mosley has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. 10 Tampa Bay confirmed he currently has no bond and was appointed a public defender during a hearing over the telephone Saturday morning.
"We are sorry it had to end this way," Chief Anthony Holloway said during a news conference Friday night.
On Wednesday afternoon, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery's family visited her home for Thomas Mosley's birthday party, according to an affidavit from the police department.
Jeffery's family left the home at about 5:15 p.m. and the only people at the residence were Thomas Mosley, Jeffery and their 2-year-old son, the affidavit says. Almost four hours later at around 9:03 p.m., police say Thomas Mosley arrived at his mother's home with "severe lacerations to both of his hands and arms" that closely aligned with the same injuries of someone who was involved in a knife attack. He later admitted himself to St. Anthony's Hospital.
The murder investigation began the next day when officers responded to Lincoln Shores Apartments, off of 4th Street North, after Jeffery's family voiced their concerns about the 20-year-old and said they saw blood on the sidewalk in a path leading away from her apartment, the affidavit reads.
The family reportedly called management at the apartment complex who entered the home and found Jeffery dead.
Authorities say they found "in excess of 100 wounds" on the 20-year-old's body.
At the apartment, police say they found a bloody fingerprint on a cleaning bottle that was intentionally placed under a bed and a bloody shoe print with a Gucci emblem on the bathroom floor where Jeffery was found.
According to the affidavit, the fingerprint from the cleaning bottle was identified as belonging to Thomas Mosley.
Documents say around 8:42 p.m. Thursday, Thomas Mosley went to the Lake Maggiore area in St. Pete before continuing on to his mother's which is about 10 blocks away from the lakes.
Holloway said the 2-year-old's body was intact when found, however, officers killed the alligator.
In charging Thomas Mosley with first-degree murder, authorities say he "did throw or place" the child into the lake, "thereby inflicting...mortal wounds." The exact cause of the child's death will be determined following an official autopsy.
The investigation is ongoing.
Police labeled the child's father a person of interest while law enforcement officials searched for the 2-year-old Friday.
An AMBER Alert was issued for the child and a $5,000 reward was offered for information that led authorities to Taylen Mosley.
"We want to start by thanking everyone in the St.Petersburg area, Florida, and across the United States for praying and sending positive thoughts our way in the past few days as we grieved Pashun and searched for Taylen," the Jeffery's family said in a statement. "We especially send our gratitude to St. Petersburg police and all law enforcement working day and night in the search for Taylen and the concerned citizens who shared helpful information.
"We are heartbroken that we must begin putting them both to rest."
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help support them as they deal with their losses. To donate, click here.