Child Found Dead in Garage Freezer After Victim’s Sister Gave Note to Teacher Asking for Help

A young boy was found dead Tuesday in a garage freezer after an elementary school teacher was given a distressing note from his sister expressing uncertainty regarding the victim’s whereabouts, Reno Gazette-Journalreports.

According to Las Vegas homicide Lt. Ray Spencer, the note was written by their mother, who stated she was not only being held inside their home against her will by her boyfriend Brandon Toseland, but didn’t know where her son was, or if he was even alive. “She stated that she didn’t know where her younger child was,” Spencer said, “and that she believed he was deceased.”

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a call about the note shortly after 8 a.m., and within two hours, officers pulled over a vehicle with Toseland and the mother inside after the two were seen leaving their home. Toseland was taken into custody while the unidentified mother of two was questioned by authorities. She said that he was abusive towards her, and prevented her from going to certain parts of the house. “She said she was not allowed to leave the house alone or go into the garage,” Spencer said.

Toseland, who isn’t the father of the two children, was charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping. Police conducted a search of the residence and went into the garage where the boy’s body was discovered. The mother said she hadn’t seen her son since Dec. 11, 2021, which authorities said was around the time he was killed. Toseland is now facing an open murder charge.

The victim’s sister has been taken to another family.