ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — The father accused of murdering his 2-year-old son and the child’s mother has been booked into jail in Pinellas County, Florida.
Thomas Mosley, 21, was charged with the murder of Pashun Jeffery, 20, and her 2-year-old son Taylen Mosley after Taylen’s body was found in the mouth of an alligator Friday, according to police.
Mosley was accused of killing Jeffery after celebrating his birthday at her apartment, according to arrest affidavits from the St. Petersburg Police Department. Jeffery and her son were last seen alive at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, when the last of Jeffery’s family members left her alone with Mosley.
Police said Mosley was unaccounted for until 9:03 p.m., when he showed up at his mother’s house with gashes on his hands and arms, “consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack.” He admitted himself into St. Anthony’s Hospital to treat his wounds.
Jeffery’s body was discovered at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, after her family asked apartment staff to do a welfare check on her when they spotted blood on the sidewalk. The young mother was found on her bathroom floor with over 100 stab wounds, the affidavit said.
Investigators found a bloody fingerprint on a bottle of cleaning solution, which allegedly matched Mosley’s and was stashed under the bed, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit also said there was a bloody shoe print with the Gucci logo in the room where Jeffery was found, but the redacted document did not specify how that is connected to the case.
Mosley was identified as a person of interest as police searched for Taylen, but he was reportedly not cooperating with law enforcement while in the hospital.
Investigators say Mosley left Jeffery’s apartment at around 8:42 p.m. He then allegedly brought Taylen to Lake Maggiore in St. Petersburg and either threw or placed the boy into the water, according to police.
Mosley then went to his mother’s house, which was about 10 blocks away from the lake, the affidavit said.
Taylen’s body was found the next day in the jaws of an alligator. Police euthanized the animal and recovered the child’s body.
According to Jeffery’s family, she had just started living on her own while taking care of her son.
“This was her first month to have lived here and very happy to have a better place than what she had before,” said Theo Brickhouse-Sails, Jeffery’s great-aunt. “And for a 20-year-old, she was doing well. She wanted more out of life.”
Mosley pleaded not guilty to two first-degree murder charges during a hearing Saturday morning.
He is being held without bond and was ordered not to have any contact with Taylen nor Pashun’s families.
In the arrest affidavit, police indicated he may have mental health issues.
According to a GoFundMe started by Taylen’s maternal family, funeral arrangements are being made for the child and his mother.
