Man says he was duped into playing part in student newspaper hoax

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Patrick Trovillion got a military-style haircut, was outfitted in fatigues, and studied a script detailing the character he was to play in what he thought was a documentary about a father torn away from his young daughter by his deployment in Iraq.

But Trovillion says his acting paled in comparison to that of the woman he says tricked him into thinking he was starring in a film. Instead, it was part of a bizarre hoax that hoodwinked the Southern Illinois University student newspaper and its readers with heartrending stories of an 8-year-old girl's anguish at seeing her dad go to war.

The Daily Egyptian for more than a year published letters from little "Kodee Kennings." The paper issued a complete retraction and apology on Friday after investigations by the Egyptian and the Chicago Tribune determined that a Sgt. Dan Kennings with the Army's 101st Airborne didn't exist.

Trovillion said he was tricked into acting as the girl's father by Jaimie Reynolds, a 2004 SIU graduate who is now accused of concocting the ruse. He said Reynolds told him he was appearing in a legitimate movie.

Both Trovillion and Caitlin Hadley, a 10-year-old from Montpelier, Ind., who played Kodee, said Reynolds tricked them into believing they were being taped by hidden cameras.

"I'd sure like to know the motive behind all of this and know why this entire story was concocted," Trovillion told the Southern Illinoisan.

The Jackson County state's attorney's office did not return messages Saturday asking whether the hoax could result in criminal charges.

Reynolds admitted the hoax to the Tribune this week, saying she conspired with Daily Egyptian reporter Michael Brenner to help his career -- something he denies.

"If I was lying I would have had to lie to pretty much every single relative I have for two years. I just can't do that," Brenner said Saturday.

Reynolds could not be reached for comment Saturday; a public phone listing for her Marion home could not be found.

Trovillion, a registered nurse from Vienna, said Reynolds paid him $100 to meet with Daily Egyptian staff members and $400 to make an overnight trip to Detroit, where he spoke to members of a Baptist church.

"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," Trovillion said of the church visit.

The girl's mother, Tawnya Hadley, told the Southern Illinoisan that she was close friends with Reynolds and thought her daughter was taking part in a legitimate TV project.

"I don't know if she befriended me to use my daughter or what to believe," Hadley said. "We are just in shock about this."