Autopsy results released on Monday have revealed that a two-year-old Florida boy found dead in the jaws of an alligator last month was drowned by his father before the animal encountered him, according to police.
The cause of death for Taylen Mosley was confirmed by the local coroner's office, said a statement from police in St Petersburg. The toddler's body was discovered in the mouth of an alligator in Lake Maggiore on 31 March, shortly after his mother, 20-year-old Pashun Jeffery, was found dead in the family's apartment.
Police allege that Taylen's father, Thomas Mosley, 21, stabbed Jeffery more than 100 times after a birthday party on 29 March. Later that night, Mosley arrived at his mother's house with cuts to his arms and hands, consistent with injuries common to knife-wielding attackers, according to a police affidavit.
After authorities found Jeffery's body, Taylen was reported missing. Detectives located his body in the alligator's mouth, and law enforcement officers shot the animal to retrieve the boy's remains intact, said St Petersburg police chief Anthony Holloway.
Thomas Mosley has been booked on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his son and the boy's mother. He could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted.
