CORONA (CNS) - The father of an 8-year-old boy who has been missing for more than four weeks was charged Thursday with first-degree murder, with police saying that while the boy's body hasn't been found, evidence has been found leading them to believe the child is dead.
Noah McIntosh's father, 32-year-old Bryce Daniel McIntosh, and mother, 36-year-old Jillian Marie Godfrey, both of Corona, have been behind bars since March 13. Both were charged with felony child endangerment were originally set to return to court April 8.
Corona police said Thursday they presented a renewed investigation to the District Attorney's Office recommending that Bryce McIntosh be charged with
murder, saying they located trace evidence indicating that Noah is dead. District Attorney Mike Hestrin confirmed that McIntosh had been charged with murder, along with a special circumstance allegation of torture, opening him to a possible death sentence.
Godfrey was not charged with murder, Hestrin said.
Detectives have combed hills near the apartment complex in the 4500 block of Temescal Canyon Road where Noah was last seen, and where both his
parents live separately.
Items have been seized from Bryce McIntosh's apartment, but officials were mum about the contents and their relevance to the investigation.
Both defendants are being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in downtown Riverside -- McIntosh in lieu of $1 million bail, and Godfrey on
$500,000 bail.
Godfrey reportedly contacted police when McIntosh refused to let her see Noah earlier this month.
The woman's father told reporters he believed McIntosh was responsible for Noah's disappearance and feared that the defendant's ``terrible
temper'' may have led to something sinister.
Police spokesman Sgt. Chad Fountain said that despite ``numerous attempts'' to make contact with McIntosh, the defendant refused to speak with police two weeks ago.
Officers served a search warrant at the location on March 13 and found
the defendant inside the apartment with his 11-year-old daughter, whose
identity was not released, but there was no sign of Noah, Fountain said.
He said based on the initial investigation, detectives determined
there was sufficient evidence to justify arresting the parents for alleged
child abuse.
A picture of the missing boy can be found at
https://www.facebook.com/CoronaPD/ .
CNS-03-28-2019 10:19