California man indicted for torture, murder of missing 8-year-old son
12/15/2020 11:52 am PST
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (TCD) --
A grand jury has indicted a California man for the torture and murder of his 8-year-old son, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office announced Friday, Dec. 11.
Noah McIntosh's body has not been found. Authorities believe he was killed between March 3-4, 2019.
Jillian Godfrey called police to check on her 8-year-old son Noah at the boy's father's apartment in the city of Corona on March 12, 2019. She said Noah had been missing for days after she had dropped the boy off at Bryce McIntosh's apartment.
When officers arrived at his home, Bryce McIntosh would not answer the door and didn't pick up calls from police. A day later investigators obtained a warrant, searched the father's home and vehicle, and seized his electronic devices.
McIntosh's online search history included "the normal heart rate for 8 year old," "exactly how sodium hydroxide works" and "Can you buy sulfuric acid."
Corona officers and FBI agents determined that McIntosh's cellphone had been in an area of southwest Riverside County in early March 2019. Authorities searched the area and found a paper with the words “Noah M” on it, a trash can, latex gloves, empty bottles of drain cleaner and a plastic trash bag with residue inside consistent with blood. Sheriff's K-9s alerted to the inside of the trash can and the plastic bag. Another search conducted in the Temescal Canyon area located other items of evidence.
Plumbers who were part of the search of McIntosh's apartment told investigators the bathtub drain trap was "cleaner than a normal trap should been given the age of the building," the D.A.'s Office said.
Filed court documents allege Bryce McIntosh purchased two pairs of long-cuffed gloves, 24-inch bolt cutters, four gallons of muriatic acid and a bottle of drain opener from a Home Depot store on March 4, the day the child's mother said she last saw him.
KTLA-TV reported the suspect's 10-year-old daughter told investigators she knew Noah was missing "because her daddy told her" and described physical abuse to Noah that involved the child being handcuffed in a bathtub with cold water and described "helping her daddy at times by holding Noah's legs down."
TRUE CRIME DAILY: Noah McIntosh case coverage - TCD
Bryce McIntosh, 34, is charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance allegation of torture, and one count of willful child cruelty. The special circumstance allegation makes McIntosh eligible for the death penalty. A trial readiness conference is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2021.
Noah's mother, Jillian Godfrey, 38, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of child endangerment in December 2019 in connection with Noah's death.
A detective said Godfrey changed her story later on in an interview, saying she last saw Noah on March 2, and not March 4. Godfrey reportedly said she saw McIntosh take Noah into a bathroom on March 2 and heard the child ask the father why he was hurting him, according to a detective. She said when she left McIntosh's home that day, the child was still in the bathroom. Authorities also searched the mother's phone and found notes where Godfrey was documenting the father's abuse, according to detectives.
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