After death of toddler Taylen Mosley, St. Petersburg police asked to change Florida law

To law enforcement officials, slain toddler Taylen Mosley’s loved one’s request seemed simple: They wanted to have his body for his funeral. So they asked the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner’s Office for the body after his autopsy.

In doing so, they found a gap in existing Florida law.

When a person dies, their next of kin has control over what happens to the person’s body. The current law, passed in 2022, does provide an exemption if a spouse is arrested in connection to their partner’s death, but that exception doesn’t apply to all next-of-kin situations.

The toddler’s next of kin was his father, Thomas Mosley — the man accused of killing Taylen and the boy’s mother. This meant that for those grieving to put Taylen in his small “Toy Story”-themed casket for his funeral, the man accused of killing him had to give the go-ahead.

St. Petersburg police weren’t aware of this “loophole” until the Mosley case, legal division manager Laura Roe said in a phone interview with the Tampa Bay Times. And upon hearing what happened, Roe said she wanted to push for a change.

“We were absolutely shocked,” Roe said. “We felt that was very unjust.”

A medical examiner’s office representative had to go to the jail where Mosley is being held to get permission to release Taylen’s body to his loved ones before the April 7 funeral. Mosley agreed, and Roe told the Times that during that conversation Mosley said, “I have no son.”

Authorities say Pashun Jeffery, 20, and her son with Mosley were last seen March 29, when Jeffery hosted a 21st birthday party for Thomas Mosley. According to court documents, Mosley, who was staying with Jeffery and their son, later stabbed Jeffery more than 100 times.

Jeffery’s body was found in her apartment on March 30. Taylen was not there. A search for the toddler lasted more than a day before Taylen’s body was found in the mouth of an alligator near Lake Maggiore — more than 10 miles away from where Jeffery was killed.

On April 24, police said the medical examiner’s office had determined Taylen’s cause of death to be drowning. A grand jury indicted Mosley on two counts of first-degree murder and prosecutors filed notice of their intention to seek the death penalty in the deaths of Taylen and Jeffery, according to court documents filed April 27. Mosley entered a “not guilty” plea to the two murder charges on Friday, court records show.

Soon after Mosley granted permission for Taylen’s body to be released for the funeral, Roe got in touch with Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg.

“I was extremely saddened about the facts,” Rouson said in a Wednesday call with the Times. “But extremely challenged to do what I could do.”

Rouson said the existing law causes “double victimization” for the family. They have to grieve their slain loved one and then return to the accused killer in order to be granted rights to the body, he said.

He also didn’t know about the gap in Florida’s law before Roe contacted him, and Rouson said it was “hidden in plain sight.”

“Tragically, facts sometimes bring that to light,” Rouson said.

Roe said she wrote the first draft of an amendment in early April, and she and Rouson worked together to edit the language. Rouson proposed the final amendment later that month, and it was tacked onto HB 233 on April 25.

The bill, referred to as Curtis’ Law, requires police investigating the death of a minor to provide families with information, including a way to contact officials and get status updates on the case.

The bill passed unanimously in both chambers, with the Senate voting on Wednesday. It is now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk.

“Rarely are there opportunities in the district to close a loophole so quickly,” Rouson said. “Gods lined up in the universe of legislative action and we were able to do something.”

Rouson said he expects DeSantis to sign the bill.

“We couldn’t ignore that the law would require the medical examiner to get permission from the killer about his victim’s body,” Roe said.

Under the new bill, the next-of-kin responsibilities would have fallen to Taylen’s grandparents. His maternal and paternal grandparents would then have to settle who would make decisions, Roe said.

Rouson has not gotten to meet Taylen and Jeffery’s loved ones yet, he said. He hopes to soon, and to give them all a hug.