CARBONDALE - An elaborate hoax that has left the Daily Egyptian reeling took another bizarre twist Friday when it was learned a Detroit-based Baptist church was also duped into believing the story about Kodee Kennings, the only child of Dan Kennings, a soldier serving in Iraq.

Less than 24 hours after the story broke that the Daily Egyptian and its staff had been taken in by the ruse, the biggest question left to be answered concerns the motive of Jaimie Reynolds, who portrayed Colleen Hastings, the guardian of Kodee.

And nobody in Southern Illinois would like the question "why" answered any more than Patrick Trovillion, a registered nurse and a Vienna native who was recruited by Reynolds and told that he was playing the role of Sgt. Dan Kennings in a documentary.

"Yeah, I'd sure like to know the motive behind all of this and know why this entire story was concocted," Trovillion said. "I don't have anything to be embarrassed about; I didn't do anything wrong. I thought it was something that sounded like fun. I was in drama in high school and this was portrayed as something that was going to be positive and give people an idea of how the troops were doing in Iraq. I would never do anything to disgrace the military or a soldier. In the end ¦ I was scammed. She's (Reynolds) a con artist."

Trovillion said he met Reynolds through a relative and believed that she was doing the project as part of a project she was working on at SIUC, where she was studying radio and television production.

Trovillion said he was first paid $100 to go to the Daily Egyptian, where he met students and thanked them for their support.

As an example of how detailed the hoax became, Trovillion produced a script Reynolds had provided for him entitled "Sandbox Prayers" that had details about the life of the character he was playing and also a thick stack of documents about the role his character played in the war in Iraq.

He said Reynolds also took him to a local hair salon, where he was given a military haircut. She also provided him with military clothing that included boots and a shirt with the name "Kennings" on the pocket, he said.

Trovillion said he asked Reynolds numerous times when the footage would available for him to see, but each request was met with a variety of excuses.

When asked if there were ever any cameras visible while the alleged filming was taking place, Trovillion said he was told the cameras and microphones were hidden.

"There was always an excuse, but I trusted her and I believed she was on the up and up," Trovillion said. "So, I continued to give her the benefit of the doubt. As far as the cameras, we were told that they were out of sight because we were not professionals and that was the best way to help us act natural."

Trovillion said along with the single trip to the Daily Egyptian, Reynolds also took numerous photos of him and Kodee at a rural area in Johnson County.

He also detailed a trip only three months ago when he traveled with Reynolds and the child playing the part of Kodee to a Detroit church that had befriended many American soldiers in Iraq. Trovillion said Reynolds instructed him to "stay in character" during the entire service.

"This was a huge church and we were seated in the front row and the pastor introduced me as Dan Kennings, so I thought they all knew that this was part of the documentary," Trovillion said. "I mean these people were hugging me and telling me they loved me and I just went along with it; I thought they were just playing the part. I even got in the car and told Jaime (Reynolds) 'those people were good ¦ they were just awesome.' I even got up in front of the congregation and gave a little speech. This church was very supportive of Dan and they knew Kodee."

Reynolds said he didn't know if the church gave any money to Reynolds on the trip but said she paid him $400 to make the overnight trip to Detroit. Attempts to reach the pastor of the church were unsuccessful.

Trovillion said he has not spoken with Reynolds in "a few months" but said he began to have serious doubts about the validity of the project after he contacted the youth pastor at the Detroit church.

"I told her who I was and she acted like she didn't recognize my name," said Trovillion. "I told her that I was the guy that had played the part of Dan Kennings and she said 'Is this some kind of sick joke?' I didn't know what to say and after what I've learned in the last few days I still don't know what to say. She (Reynolds) didn't just scam me and Kodee and the Daily Egyptian - she scammed the pastor and the entire congregation of that church."

After the story unraveled it was learned that Kodee is really Caitlin Hadley, a 10-year-old who lives with her parents, Rich and Tawnya Hadley, in Montpelier, Ind. Rich Hadley is pastor of the Montpelier Church of the Nazarene.

In a telephone interview Friday, Tawnya Hadley said she was close friends with Reynolds and also thought her child was taking part in a documentary. Hadley said she is "crushed" by the turn of events.

"We were friends; that is what makes this so hard," Hadley said. "I don't know if she befriended me to use my daughter or what to believe. We are just in shock about this. It's just unbelievable the scope of this and how far it reaches."

Hadley said she has not spoken with Reynolds since the story broke.

"And I don't want to talk to her," she added. "She took advantage of our friendship and she betrayed us."

Hadley also cleared up one other question mark about the role her daughter played.

"She didn't write any of those letters that went to the college newspaper and she didn't call the newspaper office either," Hadley said. "She was with us in Indiana except for a couple of weekends when she went with Jaime."

Trovillion and Hadley said the story is now in the glare of the national spotlight. Trovillion said he was contacted Friday morning by NBC asking him to appear for an interview with Katie Couric. Hadley said cable giant CNN was sending a television crew to her Montpelier home Friday night to film a segment about the hoax that began at the Daily Egyptian.

writeon1@shawneelink.net

618-625-2006