Las Vegas murder case involving boy found in freezer focuses on home videos
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A surveillance system inside a home where a man is accused of killing a 4-year-old and storing his body in a freezer did not record any video, according to prosecutors, but the defense argues video may exist and could help them.
Brandon Toseland, 37, faces a murder charge in the death of Mason Dominguez. Police arrested Toseland on Feb. 22, 2022, after Mason’s mother was able to sneak messages into her 7-year-old daughter’s shoe. Toseland is charged with 12 felonies, including murder, child abuse, kidnapping, and battery domestic violence.
In court last year, Toseland’s attorneys said the home had five security cameras, which recorded to a server. They asked Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny to force prosecutors to hand over all video surveillance in their client’s case, but prosecutors said Cox Communications, which administered the system, said there was no footage.
In their motion to dismiss, Toseland’s attorney argues the video footage, if it exists, could help in the defense of their client, specifically regarding the kidnapping charge.
Metro police made two attempts at recovering video from the server, prosecutors wrote in court documents. During the first attempt, the device displayed the message: “Camera connection failed.”
Prosecutors said investigators later determined the device itself did not store any video but was relayed to a Cox server, documents said. Cox responded to a search warrant for video from December 2021 to the day after Toseland’s arrest, saying there was no video footage available.
“To suggest that detectives failed to collect evidence, knowing full well that the device was collected and that multiple attempts were made to find potentially relevant evidence, is misleading at best,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Fleck wrote in court documents Wednesday.
Toseland’s attorneys said they have “compelling evidence that the entire Cox system was funded and operational at the time of the defendant’s arrest in February 2022,” documents said. They added a panel on the server was removed, allegedly damaging it.
Mason’s mother said she and her two children moved into Toseland’s home in March 2021. The home is located on Saddle Brook Park Drive, near the intersection of Carey Avenue and Lamb Boulevard in the northeast valley. Toseland’s two children from a previous relationship also lived in the home, but were not there all the time due to their mother having shared custody, documents said.
Mason’s mother told police and a grand jury that she was frequently handcuffed or locked in a room after learning her son was deceased. Toseland never revealed to Mason’s mother that the boy’s body was in a freezer in the garage, she said.
Dominguez’s body was discovered inside Toseland’s northeast valley garage concealed in a trash bag in the freezer. Detectives believe Mason had been there for at least 10 weeks and that a large hole in the backyard may be a potential grave, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported.
Prosecutors said they are considering the death penalty should Toseland be convicted. Toseland has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Kierny was scheduled to hear arguments about the home security system and any other video on Feb. 13.
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