The family members of the two-year-old boy who was tragically found inside the mouth of an alligator have broken their silence.
Police first declared two-year-old Taylen Mosley missing after his mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, was found with stab wounds in her home on March 30.
The search for the toddler concluded after his body was discovered in the alligator's mouth on April 1 around 10 miles away from his mother's home, per Daily Mail.
St. Petersburg police Chief Anthony Holloway disclosed that cops were investigating the area of Dell Holmes Park when the reptile was seen with "an object in its mouth" in Lake Maggiore. They fired at the animal, who then dropped Taylen's body.
However, by the time law enforcement killed the animal and got the boy's body out, he had succumbed to his injuries.
"We didn’t want to find him this way, but at least we can bring some closure to that family now," Holloway said. "We are sorry it has had to end this way."
The mother's great aunt, Theo Brickhouse-Sails, has opened up about the twin tragedies and shared that she felt something was wrong when her calls ended up going to voicemail.
"And nobody answered. And just kept going to voicemail, and my gut told me something was wrong," she told WFLA, revealing that she drove to St Petersburg and knocked on her great-niece's door, only to discover a path of blood leading from the door to the car outside.
"I would have never, in a million years, when this week started, ever thought that something like this would happen," she continued. "We were supposed to have taken Taylen Saturday."
Brickhouse-Sails has stated that she wants people to remember the mom and son as "two kids who absolutely loved each other," adding: "Adjusting without them in life is going to be hard."
Taylen's father, Thomas Mosley, 21, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, for his son and for Jeffery, who passed away from "multiple" stab wounds.
He had immediately been named a person of interest after he checked himself into a local hospital with "cuts to his hands into his arms," and without his son, as reported by The New York Post.
Officials did not state whether Mosley's injuries were self-defense, but Holloway divulged that "nothing in our investigation leads us to believe that he is a victim".
A GoFundMe has now been set up with funeral costs for the victims and in the description, it described Jeffrey as a single mom who worked at CVS and was "dedicated" to making "a better life for her son".
"Taylen was a sweet and happy toddler and loved his mom. During Pashun's work breaks, she would FaceTime so that she could spend every moment possible with him. During the day, Taylen would grab anyone's phone and pretend to call his mom. To see them together and their love for each other was a blessing," the fundraiser reads.
Mosley is scheduled to appear in court on April 11.
Our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time.
