Toddler who was found in the jaws of an alligator was drowned by father, authorities say

The Florida toddler who was found last month in the jaws of an alligator was drowned by his father, police said Monday.

The cause of 2-year-old Taylen Mosley’s death was determined to be a drowning, according to a statement from the St. Petersburg Police Department, which said it confirmed the drowning with the Pinellas County Medical Examiner.

The child’s father, Thomas Mosley, 21, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of his son and the boy’s mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, police said.

A police spokesperson said Monday that Mosley threw or placed his son in Lake Maggiore, where the child was found in an alligator’s mouth.

No one with the medical examiner’s office was reached Monday.

The public defender’s office of the 6th Judicial Circuit said that while the child’s cause of death was released to the media, its office had not received the full autopsy report to review. 

“The investigation on both sides is ongoing, and we continue to receive and evaluate all of the information we are provided,” the office said in a statement.

The child’s body was found March 31.

A detective shot and killed the alligator, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway has said.

The toddler had been missing since March 30 when Jeffery was found killed in her apartment, police have said.

She had been stabbed multiple times, Holloway said.

Lake Maggiore is almost 10 miles from his mother’s apartment, police said.

A search for the boy included dogs, a drone, and federal and state law enforcement agencies. An Amber Alert was also issued for him. 

Phil Helsel and Madelyn Urabe contributed.