The mother was not allowed to enter the garage where the freezer was.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on February 25, 2022. It has since been updated.
Trigger Warning: This story contains details of abuse and murder that may be disturbing to readers.
A 35-year-old man named Brandon Toseland was arrested by the police in Las Vegas after the body of a boy was found in a freezer in the garage.
According to PEOPLE, online court records show that Toseland was charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police have yet to release the victim's name or age, but now, homicide detectives are handling the case after the boy's body was discovered on February 24, 2022.
The gruesome discovery was allegedly made after the victim's sister handed a note to her elementary school teacher. In the note, the children's mother wrote that her boyfriend was holding her against her will inside their home, according to Las Vegas homicide Lt. Ray Spencer, per USA Today.
35-year-old Brandon Toseland faced a judge this morning after a four year old boy’s body was found in a freezer yesterday. He’s facing two counts of kidnapping, and the judge says there will be murder charges as well. pic.twitter.com/A6arwbVQRD
— Nkiruka Azuka (@NkirukaAzuka) February 23, 2022
"She stated that she didn't know where her younger child was," Spencer said of the note's contents, "and that she believed he was deceased."
Once the teacher read the contents of the note, she alerted authorities around 8 in the morning, prompting a team of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers to begin surveilling the family's home in northeast Las Vegas.
Around 10 am, the children's mother and her boyfriend, Toseland, were seen leaving the house inside a vehicle. Immediately, cops pulled the car over and detained Toseland while the woman was interviewed by the cops and she told them she hadn't seen her son since December 11, 2021.
She also allegedly accused Toseland of months of physical abuse. "She said she was not allowed to leave the house alone or go into the garage," according to Spencer.
A toddler's remains were found on February 22 during a kidnapping investigation near Carey and Lamb. Brandon Toseland, 35, was charged in the child's death. Click here for more: https://t.co/ovQSDXBmC8 pic.twitter.com/7lyHkI5lBK
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) February 23, 2022
Shortly after, Toseland—who is not the father of the children—was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.
In the meantime, Spencer and his team searched the home after securing a search warrant Tuesday afternoon and found the boy's body in the freezer, which was in the garage, where the woman said she was not allowed to enter.
Spencer, who called the case "such a tragic situation," did not release details Tuesday about how the boy may have died. He also said Toseland will likely face a murder charge when he's arraigned.
Toseland has yet to enter pleas to the kidnapping charges and information on his lawyer was not available.
Police are investigating the death of 4-year-old Mason Dominguez.
— Sasha Loftis (@SashaLoftis) February 24, 2022
They say he was found in a freezer in this home’s garage. His mother’s boyfriend, Brandon Toseland, was arrested in connection with his death.
Neighbors are set to hold a vigil in his honor tonight. @8NewsNow pic.twitter.com/kkOBoBRa8h
Spencer then said that detectives would be looking into whether the mother was involved in the boy's death. "But it’s still early on," Spencer said, "and there are a lot of questions that we still have to answer about what occurred over the last three months."
The woman's daughter was placed in the care of relatives on Tuesday.
Toseland has a history of arrests in Las Vegas dating back to at least 2005 on charges including domestic battery and disorderly conduct, court records show.
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Cover Image Source: Twitter | Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
