Prosecutors consider death penalty in killing of 4-year-old boy
Prosecutors are in the process of deciding if they will pursue the death penalty against a Las Vegas man accused of killing his girlfriend’s 4-year-old son.
Brandon Toseland, 35, was indicted Thursday on murder and child abuse charges in the death of Mason Dominguez, whose body was found Feb. 22 in a freezer at Toseland’s northeast valley home. On Friday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Fleck told District Court Judge Tierra Jones that the case will be reviewed by the death penalty committee to determine if prosecutors will pursue capital punishment.
Prosecutors have 30 days from Friday to file formal documents if they intend to seek the death penalty.
“It will not likely happen for three weeks given our schedules, so we will probably be right up to the deadline,” Fleck said.
During a court hearing Thursday, Fleck said Mason had suffered a “constellation of internal injuries” to his small intestine caused by blunt force trauma to his abdomen. He also suffered cuts, bruising to his torso, abdomen and extremities, and was found with a bite mark on his left arm.
Mason’s mother, Dahsia Maldonado, had told police that her son became ill in December but that Toseland would not let her take Mason to the hospital.
Toseland was arrested after Maldonado wrote a note that her daughter brought to school officials, stating that Maldonado suspected Mason was dead after she had not seen him since Dec. 11, and that she and her daughter were being held captive.
Police also found a hole in Toseland’s backyard, where they suspect he planned to bury Mason’s body, according to Metropolitan Police Department homicide Lt. Ray Spencer.
In a wrongful death case Maldonado filed against Toseland in March, the woman said she was often handcuffed to the car when she and Toseland would leave the home, and that she was usually locked away from her daughter.
A grand jury returned an indictment against Toseland on Thursday, charging him with 10 counts, including murder, child abuse, kidnapping and domestic battery involving strangulation.
He remained in the Clark County Detention Center on Friday without bail. Toseland is scheduled to appear in court again on April 15.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
