Police in Florida found a missing two-year-old boy in the mouth of an alligator Friday after his mother was allegedly stabbed to death in a St. Petersburg apartment.

Pashun Jeffrey, 20, was found stabbed to death in her St. Petersburg apartment Thursday, March 30, after her mother contacted authorities to perform a wellness check when she couldn’t reach her, CBS News reported. After finding that her two-year-old son Taylen Mosley was missing from the residence, St. Petersburg police enlisted the public’s help in a desperate search to find the boy.

The FBI and Florida Department of Law Enforcement joined the public and local authorities in a widespread search for Mosley. The search ended March 31 when detectives spotted an alligator in a recreational area with “something in its mouth,” a release from the St. Petersburg Police Department reads.

“As the detectives got closer they fired one round to the alligator,” St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway stated, according to CBS News.

“The alligator was killed in order to retrieve the body, confirmed as that of Taylen Mosley. The medical examiner will determine what caused his death,” the release from the police department reads. (RELATED: Authorities Say 80-Year-Old Woman Fell Into Pond, ‘Grabbed’ By Alligators)

Jeffrey and Mosley were last seen alive by family members early Wednesday evening. Later that night, neighbors reportedly heard a commotion in the apartment but did not call police. That same evening, 21-year-old Thomas Mosley, the boy’s father, arrived at his mother’s home, suffering from cuts to his arms and hands, CBS News reported. He allegedly checked himself into a local hospital.

Thomas Mosley has been charged with two counts of first degree murder and has refused to speak with investigators, according to The Associated Press.