Florida child found in alligator’s mouth, mother stabbed more than 100 times after father’s birthday party

Pashun Jeffery, the 20-year-old Florida mother found dead on her bathroom floor Thursday, had been stabbed more than 100 times after hosting a birthday party for her son’s father, according to arrest records released late Saturday night.

The records provide the latest details in the arrest of Thomas Mosley in connection with the deaths of Jeffery and their 2-year-old son, Taylen Mosley, whose body was later found in the mouth of an alligator.

Family gathered in Jeffery’s St. Petersburg apartment Wednesday afternoon to celebrate Thomas Mosley’s 21st birthday, records show. Jeffery had been living there about a month and Mosley had been staying for a few weeks.

Guests left around 5:15 p.m., leaving the toddler and his parents in the home. A few hours later, a neighbor heard a noise from the apartment, but police said the sound wasn’t notable and it was not reported.

Thomas Mosley left the apartment around 8:42 p.m. that evening and traveled to the Lake Maggiore area, south of downtown St. Petersburg, according to newly released arrest records.

He arrived at his mother’s St. Petersburg house — which is about 10 blocks from the lake — just past 9 p.m. with “severe lacerations” to his hands and arms. He was later admitted to St. Anthony’s Hospital.

The wounds were “consistent with injuries caused by slippage during a knife attack,” according to the records.

Meanwhile, Jeffery’s family grew worried when she couldn’t be reached for a daily FaceTime call on Thursday morning.

They arrived at the Lincoln Shores apartment and found blood on the sidewalk outside the apartment, according to the arrest affidavit. They called management, police said, who unlocked the door and found a “very violent crime scene.”

Jeffery was found dead in the apartment, but her son was not there.

Also at the crime scene was a bloody cleaning bottle under a bed, according to arrest records.

The fingerprint on the bottle was later identified as Mosley’s. There was also a bloody shoe print with a Gucci emblem on the bathroom floor, according to arrest documents.

Police issued an Amber Alert for Taylen and deployed drones and a helicopter in the search for the toddler.

A bloodhound from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit was brought to the scene. A flatbed truck took an apartment complex trash dumpster to be examined for possible evidence.

The investigation led police Friday to search for Taylen at Dell Holmes Park, a sprawling city park with trails, a fishing pier and putting green on the northwest side of Lake Maggiore.

When someone reported seeing something in an alligator’s mouth, police shot the animal to retrieve Taylen’s body.

Thomas Mosley was charged with two counts of murder and booked at the Pinellas County Jail Friday without bond. At the time, Mosley was neither employed nor in school and he showed indications of mental health issues, according to arrest records.

Jeffery, a native of St. Petersburg, attended Benito Middle School, Boca Ciega High School and Northeast High, where she was an honor student, her family said on a GoFundMe page.

On the page, Jeffery is pictured in a graduation gown, beaming as she held Taylen in one hand and her diploma in the other.

She “knew being a single mom would be challenging, but she was determined to provide for her son,” her mother, Lakita Denson, and aunt Theo Brickhouse wrote. She worked at a St. Petersburg CVS, her mother and aunt said, often FaceTiming her son during shift breaks to soak up as much time with him as possible.

“We will miss her smile, joyous laughter, and commentary on life,” the family wrote. “Taylen was a sweet and happy toddler and loved his mom.” They’d originally set up the GoFundMe page to raise money for search efforts but said they will now use the money for memorial expenses.

“To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing,” the family wrote.