Preschool boy’s body found in freezer; mother’s boyfriend held on kidnapping, murder charges

LAS VEGAS — Authorities on Tuesday discovered the body of a preschool-age boy in a garage freezer of a Las Vegas home after a sibling passed a note to an elementary school teacher about the younger child’s unknown whereabouts.

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Police are characterizing the death as a “domestic-related homicide of a child,” KLAS reported.

According to police, an elementary school-age child gave a note to their teacher from the child’s mother stating that she was being held against her will and that she did not know where her younger child was, KVVU-TV reported.

Clark County School District Police Department officers called Las Vegas police, and homicide was advised, Lt. Ray Spencer told the TV station.

Patrol officers surveilled the home and saw a man and woman exiting at about 10 a.m., KLAS reported.

The man, who was not the father of either child and was described as a Hispanic male in his late thirties, was detained but not immediately identified, KVVU-TV reported.

Spencer confirmed to the TV station that the mother told investigators that she last saw her younger child on Dec 11 and believed he was dead. She said that her boyfriend, with whom she lived, had been abusing her and did not allow her to leave the house or go into the garage.

After obtaining a search warrant, homicide detectives found the young boy’s body at about 4:30 p.m. in a garage freezer, and investigators believe he has been dead since early December, KLAS reported.

Kidnapping charges against the mother’s boyfriend are expected to be amended to include an open murder charge, Spencer told KVVU-TV.

The older sibling has been placed with family, KLAS confirmed.

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