Corona Dad Charged With Murdering 8-Year-Old Son: Indictment

SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A Nov. 19 grand jury indictment was unsealed Friday in the case against Bryce McIntosh, 34, of Corona for the alleged murder of his 8-year-old son, Noah.

The grand jury charged McIntosh 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, although Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin has not decided whether to pursue it.

The DA’s office had already filed the same charges against McIntosh but, due to numerous delays in the case, a decision was made to present it to a Riverside County criminal grand jury. By California law, a finding by a judge at a preliminary hearing or an indictment by a grand jury are equally acceptable to hold a defendant over for trial, according to the DA's office.

On March 12, 2019, Corona police were called by Noah’s mother, Jillian Marie Godfrey, to check on her son at McIntosh’s Corona apartment. She relayed to police that McIntosh told her Noah had been missing for several days but he had not been reported missing to police.

An arrest warrant affidavit filed by Corona police Detective Mario Hernandez suggested Noah went missing on March 2, 2019. During the investigation, police discovered McIntosh had been abusing Noah, which included the boy being handcuffed and held in hot and cold water for hours at a time, according to the DA's office.

Corona police, assisted by the FBI, used McIntosh’s cell phone data to track his whereabouts in the days leading up to and after Noah's disappearance. The data showed McIntosh was in Aguanga in 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, according to the DA's office.

Riverside County sheriff’s Human Remain Detection canines alerted deputies to the inside of the trash can and the plastic bag.

Another search was conducted in the Temescal Canyon area of Riverside County where other
items of evidence were located.

A search warrant was served at McIntosh’s apartment on March 13, 2019, during which authorities used a plumbing service to garner evidence for the case. Authorities were told the drain trap in the bathtub was cleaner than a normal trap should have been given the age of the building, according to the DA's office.

Investigators seized McIntosh's computers and mobile phone. They also found handcuffs, zip ties, yellow towels "with stains" and purple latex gloves, according to the affidavit.

After accessing the data on the defendant's phone, detectives discovered that McIntosh had sought information via the internet on "normal heart rate for 8 year old," "how exactly sodium hydroxide works," "sodium hydroxide to water," "what exactly is sulfuric acid," "what does sulfuric acid do to aluminum" and "what kind of plastic can stand (muriatic) acid," Hernandez wrote.

According to police, detectives confirmed McIntosh purchased the following items from a Corona Home Depot on March 4: long-cuffed gloves, 24-inch bolt cutters, four gallons of muriatic acid and a 128-ounce bottle of drain opener. Later that same day, the defendant also purchased from a Lowe's Home Improvement Center in Corona a 32-gallon trash can and a 32-ounce bottle of sulfuric acid drain opener, according to court papers.

Following the March 13, 2019 search warrant service, McIntosh was arrested. He remains jailed at Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta with no bail set for him.

McIntosh is due back in court Feb. 18.

Godfrey, now 38, was also arrested on March 13, 2019, on suspicion of child endangerment. She remained out of custody Friday, but is due in court next month, according to jail records.