Corona man indicted for the murder of 8-year-old son

A Corona man accused of killing his 8-year-old son after numerous acts of abuse that involved restraining the child and plunging him into hot and cold water was under indictment today for murder and other charges that could lead prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

The indictment against 34-year-old Bryce Daniel McIntosh was unsealed following criminal grand jury proceedings convened last month at the request of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Along with first-degree murder, the jury added a special-circumstance allegation of torture and a count of child cruelty.

McIntosh, who is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, is scheduled to appear for a trial-setting conference on Feb. 18 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

District Attorney Mike Hestrin sought the grand jury's review because the case was repeatedly delayed in moving toward a preliminary hearing, which is the typical course for determining whether charges against a defendant are warranted.

Prosecutors had previously filed the same felony counts against McIntosh in a March 2019 criminal complaint. With the indictment, there was no longer need of a preliminary hearing, and scheduling for trial can go forward.

Hestrin had not decided whether to seek capital punishment, for which the defendant would be eligible if jurors find true the torture allegation.

McIntosh's ex-wife, 38-year-old Jillian Marie Godfrey, pleaded guilty in October to two counts of child endangerment. She was free on her own recognizance and due back in court in January for sentencing, though the hearing is expected to be postponed.

According to Corona police, Godfrey and McIntosh lived in separate apartments at 4637 Temescal Canyon Road, but they were sometimes together with their son and daughter.

An arrest warrant affidavit filed by Detective Mario Hernandez alleged
that Godfrey waited until March 12, 2019, to report her son missing, even
though she had not seen him for 10 days by that time.

According to the detective, the woman had documented instances of alleged abuse, including "Bryce admitting to putting Noah in hot water, Noah being placed in cold water for approximately 2 1/2 hours, Noah being put in a tub of cold water for over six hours and ... Noah in Bryce's bathroom with his feet tied up."

Godfrey told investigators that the last time she saw her son, McIntosh had taken Noah into the bathroom of his apartment, and the boy asked his father "why he was hurting him,'' according to the affidavit.

McIntosh refused to speak with detectives, according to Hernandez. A search warrant was obtained and served at the defendant's apartment on March 13, 2019, resulting in his initial arrest for alleged child abuse.

Investigators seized McIntosh's computers and mobile phone. They found handcuffs, zip ties, yellow towels "with stains" and purple latex gloves, according to the affidavit. After accessing data on the defendant's phone, detectives discovered that McIntosh had searched online for information 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.

He said detectives confirmed McIntosh had purchased muriatic acid, drain opener, sulfuric acid and gloves from two different home improvement stores. Data extracted from McIntosh's mobile phone also showed that he made a trip on March 4 to remote Wilson Valley Road in Aguanga -- more than 50 miles from his home -- as well as to Squaw Mountain Road in Temescal Valley the next day, according to court papers.

Corona police officers and FBI agents visited those locations. At the first one, they found a trash can, paper with "Noah M." written on it, purple latex gloves, a plastic bag with blood residue, parts from a kitchen blender, empty bottles of drain cleaner, blankets and yellow towels, Hernandez said.

To this day, the child's intact body has yet to be found. McIntosh has no documented prior felony convictions.