Agents find body of missing American toddler in alligator’s mouth | Abroad

On Thursday afternoon all alarm bells went off: Pashun Jeffery (20) was found murdered in her apartment in St. Petersburg (Florida), but her son Taylen was nowhere to be found.

Immediately the boy’s father came into the picture as a possible suspect. Thomas Mosley, 21, was himself taken to a hospital to treat deep cuts on his arms and hands, but refused to explain what had happened.

On Friday evening, police searched near Lake Maggiore, a lake several kilometers away. “Officers suddenly noticed an alligator with an object in its mouth,” police chief Anthony Holloway told the news conference.

Soon the realization came that it was about the missing toddler. A police officer fired in the direction of the reptile, causing the animal to release its grip. Taylen’s body turned out to be intact. “We wished for a better outcome, but at least the family no longer has to live in uncertainty,” said Holloway. The alligator was later euthanized.

Jeffery was last seen alive outside her apartment door last Wednesday. Around 8:30 p.m., the neighbors heard a lot of stumbling in the flat, but no one called the police.

On Thursday, Jeffery’s mother was very concerned. She could not reach her daughter in any way and asked the landlord if he wanted to take a look. He was the one who finally made the gruesome discovery. Not much later, an Amber Alert was declared in the state of Florida for the missing boy.

The mother died from several stab wounds. Investigators logically assume that Mosley also killed his son himself. He is now charged with first-degree double murder.

In theory, however, the alligator may also have played a role in the death. The autopsy should provide a definitive answer on this.