Mason Dominguez was killed by Brandon Toseland in Las Vegas and ended up in the fridge, police say

ONE Las Vegas man accused of killing girlfriend’s son allegedly hid the 4-year-old’s body in a garbage bag at the bottom of a fake cardboard car freezer for nearly three months, authorities said.

The grizzly revelation is just one of a series of new details released Thursday about the murder of Mason Dominguez, a preschool student whose mother told police he had been missing since December. His death It was only revealed after Dominguez’s seven-year-old sister gave her elementary school teacher an ominous letter from their mother, who said she had done her wrong, which eventually led to the police’s discovery. body appeared.

On Tuesday, Brandon Toseland, 35, was charged with public murder and two counts of kidnapping in the case. He is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center following Thursday’s trial in which his defense attorney requested a mental health assessment. His attorney has said he plans to plead not guilty.

A spokesman for the Dominguez family told The Daily Beast that rather than a one-off act of violence, the murder occurred after being physically and emotionally abused by Toseland.

Stephen Stubbs, an attorney who is speaking on behalf of the mother and asked to remain anonymous, told The Daily Beast: “They are absolutely traumatized. “They are safe now, but they have endured months of abuse…. They are trying to heal and resolve this and help the police in any way they can for some justice. “

The abuse allegation is detailed in the Toseland arrest report, obtained by The Daily Beast, which notes that police were first made aware of the incident after receiving a call from the Clark County School District on Wednesday. Three. The report also provides new insight into the circumstances immediately preceding the 4-year-old’s death.

“The details of the call say that a CCSD student received multiple notes from her mother…. reported that they have been detained against their will and are requesting police assistance,” the report reads. “Furthermore, the call has been updated, there may be a missing minor.”

About an hour later, police said, they began conducting surveillance of the home and saw Toseland and Dominguez’s mother leave the residence and board a white Nissan Sedan. Toseland was immediately detained and the woman, who was identified as the mother of the children, was interviewed.

The report says the mother told police she last saw her son on December 11, when he was “sick”.

“She wanted to help Mason, but her boyfriend of 11 months, Brandon Toseland, told her she couldn’t,” the arrest report alleges. “He then took her son, Mason Dominguez… into the master bedroom and blocked the door, preventing her from entering.”

The mother added that Toseland refused to let her see her son “for a considerable amount of time.” In a separate interview with police, the report said, Dominguez’s mother said that Toseland later told her that “Mason had passed away” and that “it was an accident, saying that when Mason was found on the road, it was an accident.” bed, he was full of vomit and not breathing. ”

“Brandon attempted CPR but was unable to resuscitate Mason,” the report read. “He also advised the deceased Mason, and [his mother] won’t be allowed to see his body because [Toseland] will lose his freedom. “

The arrest report states that “no attempt to call the police or paramedics was made.”

Dominguez’s mother also told police that Toseland would tie her up so she wouldn’t move, prevent her from entering the garage, take her cell phone and even make her feel like “she not free to leave the house,” the report said.

“Also, if they left the residence, he would handcuff her in the car, preventing her freedom of movement,” the report added. “This claim was further substantiated when the handcuffs were observed on the vehicle.”

Authorities say all of this information led officers to arrest Toseland on two counts of kidnapping before they realized it was a murder investigation. When they eventually received a search warrant, however, detectives found that a freezer in the garage “was full of hoods, fans, and [an] air filter around the freezer. ”

“During a search of the freezer, Mason’s body was found inside a garbage bag, which was hidden at the bottom of fake cardboard and under a variety of foods,” the report said.

During Toseland’s first court appearance in Las Vegas Court of Justice on Wednesday, prosecutor Tim Fettig revealed that the child had “visible injuries”. The Clark County coroner’s office will release an official cause of death for the child once an autopsy is completed.

On Thursday, Toseland defender Scott Coffee, told reporters that while his client intends to plead not guilty, they want to make sure they get a qualification assessment before proceeding.

“That’s the first thing we’re going to look at, to see if he can continue” with the court proceedings, Coffee said, adding that he has yet to review the evidence against him. its customers. Coffee did not immediately respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.

Stubbs told The Daily Beast that despite the traumatic experience, Dominguez’s family is safe and is working to plan a private ceremony for the 4-year-old, who is to be memorialized in a online campaign like “happy, sweet, smart, [and] very extroverted. ”

Ariel Lopez, who identifies herself as a relative of the child and a GoFundMe, wrote: “To know we’ll never see Mason in pain again,” wrote. The campaign, she added, is to raise money to buy the 4-year-old a burial ground next to his father, who passed away a year ago.