Murder charge added after 4-year-old Las Vegas boy found dead in freezer
The Las Vegas man who allegedly held his girlfriend hostage and killed her 4-year-old son has now been charged with murder.
The open murder charge was added to Brandon Toseland’s rap sheet late Wednesday after the body of Mason Dominguez was found inside the family’s garage freezer.
Mason’s body was stuffed into a trash bag and hidden under a false cardboard bottom and “multiple food items,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily News. Around the freezer were odor absorption bags, fans and an air filtration unit.
Toseland, 35, was arrested Tuesday after Mason’s older sister gave a note to her elementary school teacher from her mother, claiming she was being held hostage and had no idea where Mason was.
Las Vegas boy, 4, found dead in freezer after sister hands note to teacher
In an interview with police, Mason’s mother, who has not been publicly identified, claimed that she told Toseland on Dec. 11 that the young boy was sick. But Toseland wouldn’t let her get help, she told detectives, and instead took Mason into the master bedroom and barricaded the door.
Days later, Toseland told her he “could not show Mason’s body because his freedom would be taken away,” according to the arrest affidavit. When she was finally allowed back into the bedroom, a suitcase was missing.
Eventually, Toseland told her that Mason was dead, she told police, and that it was an accident. Toseland claimed he had found the boy unresponsive and covered in vomit on the bed, and that he tried to resuscitate him but was unsuccessful.
Police said Toseland failed to get any medical attention to save Mason’s life, resulting in “negligent maltreatment of a child causing death.”
In the ensuing days, the mother said she was allowed to move about the house again, but was barred from the garage. Toseland allegedly took her cell phone and handcuffed her to the car when the pair left the house.
Detectives noted handcuffs in the car when they arrested Toseland and found both his cell phone and the mother’s.
A cause of death for Mason is pending an autopsy.
Toseland has also been charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping.
A GoFundMe started by relatives described Mason as “happy, sweet, intelligent, very outgoing.”
“He’s super loved by his aunts, uncles & cousins. His dad loved him so much, he made him super happy that he looked & acted just like him,” the fundraiser reads. “We had always hoped we would be able to see him again , at least once... just to give him a hug ? A kiss & tell him we love him ... To know Mason was loved.”
