Last week, a 4-year-old boy’s body was found in a freezer after his 7-year-old sister slipped several notes to her teacher about what was going on in her home. The notes had come from her mother, who was being held captive by her boyfriend in the home. This brave act by both the mother and the sister is what lead to the body found in a freezer, their rescue, and the perpetrator’s arrest. Read on to find out more about this tragic story of kidnapping, abuse, and murder, which—due to the bravery of the mother and sister—offers some hope for their futures.
A Preschool Child’s Body Found in a Freezer
After a 7-year-old female snuck several notes to her elementary school teacher, the Las Vegas, Nevada police department began a kidnapping investigation, looking for 4-year-old Mason Dominguez. The notes, written by the mother, informed the teacher that she was being held captive by her live-in boyfriend, 35-year-old Brandon Lee Toseland. The notes also said “she didn’t know where her younger child was and that she believed he was deceased,” according to the LVMPD.
The teacher told the elementary school administrators who contacted the local police, and they immediately began to surveille the home. Later that same day, police followed the couple after they left their home and pulled them over. They arrested Brandon Toseland on two counts of first-degree kidnapping, and obtained a search warrant of the home. During the execution of the search warrant the found a body in a freezer in the garage, which they identified as 4-year-old Mason Dominguez. This lead to the re-booking of Toseland for murder.
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
The mother told police that she had not seen Mason since December 11, 2021, and that she had not had access to her daughter except when the two of them were in a locked room together or the mother was bound or handcuffed. Reportedly, Toseland had held her captive for months, in addition to physically, emotionally, and sexually abusing her.
The mother’s attorney said, “There was never an opportunity to take her daughter and run.”
Toseland had been a friend of her former husband and father of the two children, but he had passed away in January of 2021 due to an unspecified respiratory illness.
After his passing, in March of 2021 the mother and her two children moved into Toseland’s home. The mother’s attorney said Toseland “slowly and methodically” groomed them and began cutting them off from the outside world by cutting off the mother’s access to her phone, her social media, and her family. He also set up surveillance cameras to watch the mother and her children.
The mother had even been cut off from her job as a phlebotomist when her workplace got a text message informing them that she was quitting.
Watch the story here:
So how did the mother get the messages to her daughter’s teacher?