A 2-year-old boy missing since his mother was murdered was found Friday in an alligator’s mouth in Florida, local authorities said.
As reported by WAFL, the hunt for a missing toddler came to a tragic end Friday after officers deployed dive teams in nearby retention ponds, where they ultimately found the boy’s body.
Officers said they fired a round at the alligator — killing it — and forcing it to drop the child’s body.
Police did not say whether they believe Taylen Mosley died before or after he ended up in the St. Petersburg lake.
“We were able to retrieve Taylen’s body intact,” Police Chief Anthony Holloway said.
Taylen’s mother, Pashun Jeffery, 20, was found stabbed to death at home on Wednesday, and her little boy was nowhere to be found.
The father of Taylen Mosley, 2, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder: for the child and for the stabbing death of the boy’s mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery.