LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A man arrested after a boy's body was found in a freezer at a home in east Las Vegas has made his first appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court.
35-year-old Brandon Toseland faces two charges of first-degree kidnapping and one charge of open murder.
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The prosecutor said that the child's body had been found with obvious physical injuries and that the autopsy on the body was taking place today. The coroner's office will release the child's cause of death at a later date.
Police believe the young boy's body had been in the freezer since early December.
Authorities learned of the crime on Tuesday after the boy's older sister handed a note to her teacher. It was written by the boy's mother.
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The note said the mom was being held against her will, and she wasn't sure if her son was alive as she hadn't seen him since December. That led investigators to a home on Saddle Brook Park Drive, near Carey Avenue and Lamb Boulevard.
Police found the body inside a freezer in the garage at the home and arrested Toseland, the mother's boyfriend.
The woman told detectives Toseland abused her and that she was not allowed to leave the house alone or enter the garage.
Neighbors told 13 Action News they had no idea something so sinister was going on right next door.
Toseland has another court appearance tomorrow related to the open murder charge and one on Feb. 28 for the kidnapping charges.
Anyone with any information asked to call authorities at 702-828-3521 or email homicide@lvmpd.com.
To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or submit a tip online at crimestoppersofnv.com.
