A family member of the late mother, Pashun Jeffrey, and her slain Florida toddler Taylen Mosley, whose body was found intact inside an alligator’s mouth, has revealed how she found a trail of blood outside the family’s home.
Theo Brickhouse-Sails told area news outlet WFLA that she “never, in a million years” would have expected such a gruesome tragedy before going on to say she first became concerned for the young mother, who is her great-niece, when she failed to get in touch with her the last week.
Relative Of Slain Young Mother & Toddler Son Says She Followed A Trail Of Blood Outside Family’s Home
“The phone went to voicemail,” Brickhouse-Sails said. “And nobody answered. And just kept going to voicemail, and my gut told me something was wrong.”
Brickhouse-Sails says she hurried over to the 20-year-old mother’s St. Petersburg home while on her lunch break and didn’t get an answer after knocking on the door.
However, she did find a trail of blood outside, leading from the front door to a parked car nearby.
Rest in peace, Taylen Mosley and Pashun Jeffrey. pic.twitter.com/wh7tdg7Afu
— JB Biunno #HeyJB (@WFLAJB) April 1, 2023
Jeffrey Fatally Stabbed Over 100 Times, 2-Year-Old Son Found Dead Inside Alligator’s Mouth
Investigators were called to the scene last Thursday and located Pashun Jeffrey inside the bathroom with over 100 stab wounds on her body, which authorities called “a very violent crime scene.”
Responding officers could not find Jeffrey’s young son, Taylen, prompting a frantic search that ended horrifyingly the following day after his body was found inside an alligator’s mouth at a lake close to the boy’s home.
“I would have never, in a million years, when this week started, ever thought that something like this would happen,” Brickhouse-Sails said.
Additionally, Brickhouse-Sails shared her “biggest worry” regarding her family members’ deaths.
“I worried about them suffering. That’s my biggest worry was that how they suffered. And when I close my eyes at night, that’s all I see was the suffering of both of them. And I pray to God that they didn’t suffer long.”
Jeffrey’s boyfriend and the boy’s father, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley, has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in their deaths and was ordered held without bond, The Shade Room previously reported.
According to an affidavit, a bloody fingerprint on a cleaning bottle and a bloody Gucci shoe print inside Jeffrey’s apartment ultimately linked Mosley to the gruesome crime scene.
RELATED: Father Charged With Murder After His Two-Year-Old Son Was Found Dead In An Alligator’s Mouth
Thomas Mosley has been booked.
Police say Thomas murdered his wife and son, and then his son’s body was found in the mouth of an alligator by police.#TaylenMosley #PashunJeffrey #breakingnews #truecrime pic.twitter.com/Dw135U3qmi
— Bobby Ellison (@BobbyEllisonKY) April 1, 2023
Timeline Of The Crime: From Initial Wellness Check To Gruesome Murders
An arrest affidavit obtained by Buzzfeed News says Pashun’s family visited her and Taylen at their apartment for Thomas’ birthday celebration on Wednesday (March 29). The Pinellas County arrest record indicates Thomas Mosley’s 21st birthday was the same day.
The 20-year-old mother and toddler were last seen alive at about 5:20 p.m., per St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway. Though neighbors reported hearing loud noises from the apartment at about 8:30 p.m., no one called the police.
At her family’s request, police conducted a wellness check on Pashun on Thursday. However, they found a bloody homicide scene and the missing toddler. Described as a “very violent” scene by officials, Pashun’s body had over “100 wounds.” Following the discovery, officials issued an alert for Taylen.
As officials combed the surrounding areas, officers spotted an alligator inside Lake Maggiore holding something in its mouth. Police shot the alligator, killing it and forcing it to loosen its jaws. After retrieving the body, they identified the child as Taylen Mosley.
Another woman and her son taken away too soon in a senseless act of domestic violence. I am sure Pashun Jeffrey was already scared for her and her son’s life. The cycle must be broken. What would cause a man to do something like this?! I will never understand. #TaylenMosley pic.twitter.com/gXhoQj8mut
— Rose (@901Lulu) April 1, 2023
Child’s Father Became A Suspect After Checking Himself Into Hospital Wednesday Night
Officials transported him to the medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of death. Police made the discovery near Dell Holmes Park, about 13 miles from where the child lived with his mother.
The child’s father became a suspect after checking himself into a hospital on Wednesday night, per the police chief.
Thomas’ wounds — cuts on his hands and arms — correlated to a knife slipping during an attack, per the arrest affidavit. He reportedly refused to speak to investigators in the hospital and requested a lawyer.
Investigators believe the father left Pashun’s apartment at about 8:42 p.m. and threw or placed the toddler in the lake. Then, he went to his mother’s house about ten blocks away before checking into the hospital.
