Arraignment Postponed for Corona Father Charged in 8-Year-Old Noah McIntosh’s Death

The arraignment for a Corona man charged with murder in his 8-year-old son’s death has been postponed a day amid the ongoing search for the child’s remains, authorities said. Bryce McIntosh, 32, was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon but he did not receive medical clearance to be transported to court, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. He’s now scheduled to appear Wednesday morning.

He faces one count of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of torture in the killing of his son, Noah McIntosh. The boy’s mother, 36-year-old Jillian Godfrey, has been charged with willful child cruelty. She’s scheduled to be arraigned on Monday. While officials have not found Noah’s body, Corona police Chief George Johnston has said evidence leaves “no doubt that Noah is the victim of a homicide.” Investigators believe he died between March 3 and 4 in Riverside County, according to the criminal complaint against his father. Bryce McIntosh allegedly bought four gallons of muriatic acid, a bottle of drain opener, bolt cutters and two pairs of long-cuffed gloves from a Home Depot on March 4, the day Godfrey said she dropped off her son at his father’s home, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant. Godfrey initially claimed that was the last time she saw Noah, but she later changed the date to March 2, officials said. The mother said she witnessed the father take the child inside the bathroom, and that she heard Noah asking him why he was hurting him, according to authorities. Noah was still in the bathroom by the time she left the home that day, she told police. The evening of March 12, Godfrey asked Corona police to conduct a welfare check on Noah. When officers responded to McIntosh’s home on Temescal Valley Road, the father allegedly refused to answer and did not pick up their calls. The next day, authorities obtained a warrant to search his home and vehicle and seize his electronic devices. Internet searches for “the normal heart rate for 8 year old,” “exactly how sodium hydroxide works” and “can you buy sulfuric acid” turned up, Detective Mario Hernandez wrote in the declaration for a warrant. McIntosh’s 10-year-old daughter was also interviewed by police, who said the girl described helping her father hold Noah’s legs down as the boy was handcuffed in a bathtub filled with cold water. Police reported finding handcuffs at McIntosh’s home. Godfrey was taken into custody as authorities investigate her involvement, according to police report. Douglas Godfrey, the boy’s grandfather, said he raised the 8-year-old for the majority of his life until around 1 1/2 years ago, when Jillian Godfrey let Noah and his sister stay at McIntosh’s Corona apartment. “My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, but she didn’t do anything,” he said. He reported McIntosh to Child Protective Services when Noah told his grandfather about being abused, but the agency told him they did not find any evidence. “A lot of people failed us, and I’m gonna put myself right there with them,” the grandfather said. “I failed him too.”