Celina Cass 11-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom

[gwen]

Thanks, bbeba.

Predictable that now that they are found the poor child that he chooses to get help.

[Isanah]

Of course I know that mental illness can be treated, however he just does not seem the type person I would want living with my children. JMO

I agree, I wouldn't either.

[bbeba103]

Thanks, bbeba.

Predictable that now that they are found the poor child that he chooses to get help.

You're welcome Gwen, this story keeps taking a lot of twists as the days go by.
Suddenly after her body is found he now hospitalized, how bizzare is that.

[CSI]

You're welcome Gwen, this story keeps taking a lot of twists as the days go by.
Suddenly after her body is found he now hospitalized, how bizzare is that.

I am wondering if that is because either he was somehow responsible or he knows who did.

[bbeba103]

I am wondering if that is because either he was somehow responsible or he knows who did.

It could go either way CSI nothing makes sense.
What I find odd Celina's mother has been pretty private since
This happened, I would have thought she would have been in front of
Of the cameras asking for Celina's safe return.

But later it was reported the investigators asked the mother not to speak, another interesting fact the father wasn't contacted when Celina went missing, and still til this day he hasn't spoken to his ex-wife.

The fact that a neighbor called the cops to report Celina missing is another interesting part of this case..

[CSI]

Last quote does not exists!

Do you know the status of the 13yo sister? I wonder if she was put in a safe place till they figure out what happened.

[gwen]

Heart woes plague father as plans for Cass funeral finalized

STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. — The unsolved death of 11-year-old Celina Cass — whose body will be laid out in a pink casket, her favorite color — is “killing her father,” who was bedridden yesterday with exhaustion and severe heart problems, according to the girl’s grandmother.

“Today was not good,” Marcia Laro, the mother of Celina’s dad, Adam Laro, told the Herald yesterday. “His heart is critical. He was supposed to have open-heart surgery, but he’s too weak for it. . . . His health is very bad.”

Adam Laro suffered congestive heart failure and spent more than a week in a coma prior to Celina’s disappearance the night of July 25. He left the hospital last week and made a public plea for her return — against doctors’ advice, his family said.

Celina will be placed in a pink casket, and her body will be cremated, said Marcia Laro, who declined to say when the private service will be held.

“She loved pink — it was her favorite color,” she said.

Investigators found Celina’s body in the Connecticut River on Monday, nearly a week after a neighbor reported her missing.

Authorities have not said whether they consider the girl’s death a homicide, only that they have deemed it suspicious. They have seized two pickup trucks — one belonging to her stepfather, Wendell Noyes, the other, neighbors say, driven by another man who lived in the home — and are interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence and awaiting toxicology results, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said.

A crime-scene photographer yesterday snapped pictures of Celina’s home, a multi-family house that Robbie Kimball, the owner of nearby Wayne’s Lanes and Jo’s Grill, called “a party stable.”

“They had people that were in and out of there all the time,” Kimball said. “It was the get-together hangout.”

Floyd Richardson of Somerville, who is listed as a co-owner of the home, disputed that take.

“It’s a nice, quiet house,” he said. “The inside’s beautiful, the outside’s a mess.”

Natasha Newell, who works with Cel-- ina’s mother, Louisa Noyes, said other relatives, including Louisa’s ex-boyfriend’s son, her sister and her aunt, also lived in the house. It was sealed with crime-scene tape after Celina’s disappearance, reopened Saturday, then sealed once again after her body was found.

The owner of a motel in nearby Canaan, Vt., told the Herald that Wendell Noyes collapsed after checking in with his sister Tuesday. They stayed for about an hour and left, and the sister returned alone Wednesday morning, he said.

“She just gave me the keys and said he won’t be staying here anymore,” motel owner Richard Latendresse said.

Posters showing Celina’s picture are still affixed to telephone poles and car windows in this tiny, picturesque mountain town, located precisely halfway between the equator and the North Pole.

Cass’s image stood out because of her tall, 5-foot-5 frame and her snaggle-toothed smile. Marcia Laro said Celina’s teeth went askew three or four years ago, when friends horsing around accidentally pulled a string that was attached to her front tooth. Celina was set to have braces put on this week, she said.

Townspeople are forging ahead for this weekend’s annual Stewartstown Days festival. Some had petitioned the organizers to name the event in Celina’s memory, but they declined, Kimball said.

“The kids should have one day where they don’t have to think about her,” Kimball said. “One day to themselves without grieving. Give them a day and let them enjoy themselves.”

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/region ... rticleFull

[bbeba103]

Do you know the status of the 13yo sister? I wonder if she was put in a safe place till they figure out what happened.

Kayla Celina's older sister was staying with her mother this we stated by Celina's biological father in a phone interview he did.

He did get to see his daughter after his release from the hospital and said his daughter was dealing with the disappearance of Celina just like any 13 year old child would.

[bbeba103]

Celina Cass Death: Police Suspect Foul Play, Search Home Again

August 5, 2011 5:02 AM EDT

Investigators trying to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance and death of 11-year-old Celina Cass searched her New Hampshire home again--looking for clues that could show how she died.

An autopsy failed to provide conclusive evidence of how she died, and the investigators were waiting for toxicology results.

According to a Fox News report, the new search at her home may not provide all answers surrounding her death. But the report said that after an initial search, officers could conclude that foul play was suspected, judging from what they saw at the home.

Celina disappeared in the night of July 25. The next morning she was gone and the local police and the FBI launched a massive search operation to find her. Her body was fished out from the Connecticut River, near a hydroelectric dam between Stewartstown and the town of Canaan, Vt. on Aug. 1.

Celina's stepfather Wendell Noyes, who was the last person to see her alive, said she had been playing on the computer.

Police said there was no trace of any force being used, and her friends said Celina was unlikely to go with a stranger on her own volition.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Noyes checked himself into a mental institution on Thursday. A day before, investigators seized a pickup truck used by him as they searched for clues related to her death.

Celina was living with her older sister, mother and stepfather. Ever since her body was found in the river near her home, Celina's stepfather has been in public eye because of what has been described as bizarre behavior. He rolled on the ground face down, and an ambulance reportedly took him to the hospital. He was discharged on Monday, and was seen picking up cigarettes from a shop in town the next day.

It emerged that Noyes had a troubled past and that he had been medically discharged from the Air Force owing to mental illness.

He also had been arrested in 2003 for threatening an ex-girlfriend and was involuntarily institutionalized. But in this case, he was declared unfit to stand trial owing to his mental illness. However, the judge had noted that his mental illness posed "a potentially serious likelihood of danger to himself and others."

Police questioned Noyes in connection with the death of the child, but they have not named anyone as a "suspect" or "person of interest."

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/192933/ ... father.htm

[bbeba103]

Father of Celina Cass seriously ill over daughter's death while neighbour said her home was more like a 'party stable'

Adam Laro bedridden with exhaustion and severe heart problems

Death still being treated as suspicious though no one arrested

Police seized two vehicles -one belonging to her step father

Last updated at 9:16 PM on 5th August 2011

The father of 11-year-old Celina Cass, whose body was found this week, is bedridden with exhaustion and severe heart problems.

The unsolved death of Adam Laro's daughter is said to be 'killing him' while detectives continue to investigate her 'suspicious' death after autopsy results were inconclusive. Meanwhile a neighbour of the family, who live in the small town of Stewartstown, said Celina's home was more like a 'party stable' with people coming in and out all the time.

Robbie Kimball, the owner of nearby Wayne’s Lanes and Jo’s Grill, said: 'They had people that were in and out of there all the time. It was the get-together hangout.'

Celina went missing from the bedroom of her home almost two weeks ago and a large-scale search was underway until her body was recovered in the Connecticut River on Monday.

According to relatives she will be placed in a pink casket and cremated soon.

Her grandmother, Marcia Laro, told the Boston Herald that Celina's father's health is deteriorating because of her unsolved death.

She said: 'Today was not good. His heart is critical. He was supposed to have open-heart surgery, but he’s too weak for it...His health is very bad.'

Adam Laro suffered congestive heart failure and spent more than a week in a coma prior to Celina’s disappearance the night of July 25.

He left the hospital last week and made a public plea for her return -against doctors’ advice.

Police have seized two pick-up trucks in their investigation -one belonging to her stepfather Wendell Noyes, who has a history of mental illness, and the other driven by another man who lives at her home.

Natasha Newell, who works with Celina’s mother Louisa Noyes, said other relatives, including Louisa’s ex-boyfriend’s son, her sister and her aunt, also lived in the house.

Community residents were saddened that the autopsy wasn't able to provide them with any closure.

'I don't even know what to say. I thought the community needed some answers, and I thought we were going to get them tonight,' said Debbie Whelan, whose daughter, a friend of Celina's, was sobbing after watching a news report on a TV monitor.

The lack of answers was 'scary,' said Shannon Towle, who owns a convenience store across the street from the house where Celina lived with her mother, sister, stepfather and a man named Kevin Mullaney, said by neighbors to be the son of a former boyfriend of her mother, Louisa Noyes.

'We still don't know what happened, and that's terrifying,' Towle said.

Celina's death has been deemed suspicious, based on what divers found, and investigators were treating the case as a criminal investigation.

After the news conference, teenagers gathered in a town park, where candles were lit in Celina's memory.

'Someone has to light the way for Celina,' said Kayla Baglio, 18.

'It's to let her know no matter what, people are going to be here for her.'

On Tuesday, investigators combed the area along the river, which divides Vermont and New Hampshire, above where Celina's body was found.

A crime scene technician said they were doing computer-aided diagramming to give them a precise electronic image of the area.

At the peak of the search for Celina, more than 100 federal, state and local law enforcement officers descended upon the town of 800 residents, searching a mile-wide area around her home, including woods and ponds.

Because of the town's remote location, law enforcement officers went so far as to have a cellphone tower erected to assist in communications.


Five hundred tips were received and the FBI offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to her and to the arrest and prosecution of anyone responsible for her disappearance.

On Monday, the intense search came to an abrupt end when New Hampshire Fish and Game Department divers found her body near a hydroelectric dam that spans the Connecticut River between Stewartstown and Canaan.

Investigators on Tuesday combed the area along the river, which divides Vermont and New Hampshire, above where Celina's body was found. A crime scene technician said they were doing computer-aided diagramming to give them a precise electronic image of the area.

Celina's stepfather, Wendell Noyes, who reportedly was hospitalized hours before her body was recovered from the river, returned to the community Tuesday.

Witnesses said Noyes was taken away by ambulance Monday after lying down with his face in his arms outside a home where he had been staying in Stewartstown.

Hospital officials declined to say whether he was a patient.

Shannon Towle, owner of Towle's Mini-Mart, said she sold him cigarettes Tuesday morning.

In the first days after Celina disappeared, Noyes had described her as a quiet girl who would not have left home on her own, but he had declined to comment further.

Residents considered cancelling their annual children's fair in light of the fifth-grader's death but instead decided to go forward with the weekend event and to dedicate it to her memory.

'It's still a scary place for our children,' Patricia Grover, who's on the organising committee for Stewartstown Days said.

He added: 'They need something that's on a little happier note for them.'

After her body was discovered, several of the 11-year-old's relatives could be seen at her home crying and roads were blocked off with reporters also asked to leave.

Meanwhile, Celina's stepfather was hospitalised after he was said to have taken a 'funny turn' on the driveway of the family home earlier today after talking to reporters.

Wendell Noyes, who was reportedly involuntarily committed to a mental institution and diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2003, was seen repeatedly lying face down and rolling around in the driveway.

He was said to be receiving treatment for his mental illness.

Celina, who lived with her mother and stepfather, was last seen on Monday night playing on her computer. The next morning, she was gone.

Residents described Celina as a sweet, friendly child. One of Celina's best friends, 11-year-old Makayla Riendeau, said Celina loves her mother and likes her stepfather and wouldn't run away.

She said Celina is very athletic, is a stickler about getting her school work done on time and loves having friends over to her house.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ds-newsxml

[bbeba103]

Disturbing new facts emerge in Celina Cass suspicious death

08/07/2011 7:27 PM

New information is emerging about past arrests and convictions of family members and others in the disappearance and death of 11-year-old Celina Cass , who went missing from her West Stewartstown, NH home, on Monday, July 25 as reported by the Boston Herald , The Boston Globe , the Daily Mail , WMUR-TV , CBS News , and other sources in articles published on Sunday, August 7, 2011.

According to a report by WMUR-TV the fifth grader's body was wrapped in a blanket when New Hampshire Fish and Game divers located it in the Connecticut River near a hydroelectric dam less than half a mile from her home a week later on Monday, August 1, 2011 at 10:30 a.m. EDT , causing authorities to immediately label her death as suspicious.

Senior assistant New Hampshire state attorney general Jane Young reported that the results of the autopsy done on the child's body in Concord, NH on Tuesday, August 2 were inconclusive as to the cause of death, and officials are waiting for additional findings from toxicology testing , which could take several more weeks to complete.

More troubling has been the information revealed about those living in the family's home at 863 Washington Street, in West Stewartstown , as seen in the attached slide show and video clip.
More troubling has been the information revealed about those living in the family's home at 863 Washington Street, in West Stewartstown , as seen in the attached slide show and video clip .

The British newspaper, the Daily Mail has reported that neighbors have called the home a "party stable" for the fact that people were coming and leaving at all hours, and that it was a popular place to hang out.

Besides Celina's mother Louisa Noyes , other persons living in the house included the child's stepfather, Wendell Noyes , Kevin Mullaney , the son of Louisa's ex-boyfriend, Celina's sister, and her aunt.

According to court documents, Mr. Noyes, age 47 , was arrested in 2003 for breaking into a former girlfriend's home and threatening to throw her down a flight of stairs. After that incident, he was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. An order signed by a probate judge indicated he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia .

It has been reported that Wendell Noyes collapsed near his home on Monday morning, August 1 , prior to the discovery of Celina's body, and after being rushed to a hospital, admitted himself to a psychiatric ward, although he has since been released. It is also said that he has not been cooperating with authorities who are investigating Celina's death.

Of additional concern, according to the State of Vermont Registry of Sexual Offenders , and an alert by a reader, Mr. Noyes' brother, 37-year-old Gordon Edward Noyes , who lives just one mile from him, across the Connecticut River in Canaan, VT , is a registered sex offender who was convicted on January 31, 2005 for lewd and lascivious behavior with a child, an offense under Vermont Criminal Code, Section 2602.

Another person living with the family, Kevin Mullaney , pleaded guilty to stealing five cars and trucks in 2007 and was sentenced to 1-1/2 to 3 years in prison and a consecutive term of four months in jail.

Police have impounded two vehicles, a red pickup truck belonging to him, as well as a silver Ford F-150 quad-cab pickup truck that was also parked at the family residence, and is believed to be owned by Mr. Noyes. Forensic investigators will probably be searching for DNA and fiber trace evidence in these vehicles.

None of these individuals have been charged in the death of Celina Cass. While casting suspicions, past arrests and criminal records are not proof of wrongdoing or guilt in a potential murder investigation.

However, Walter Laro , 67, Cass's grandfather, who lives in nearby Columbia, NH , is pressing to have such questions answered, and those guilty punished, if Celina's death was caused at the hands of another person. He was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying, "I don't want no Casey Anthony" , referring to the case of the Florida woman recently acquitted of murdering her daughter, which outraged the public.

Celina's biological father, Adam Laro , who was in the hospital awaiting open heart surgery when Celina went missing, is suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF), a condition that has been made worse by the grief and stress brought on by his child's death.

The body of Celina Cass has been cremated and placed in a pink container, significant and touching, as pink was the girl's favorite color. Funeral plans have been kept private, but a public memorial is set for Monday evening, August 8.

http://m.examiner.com/examiner/pm_60959 ... d=qTe561vo

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I am not sure what to make of this family they seem very odd to me, Celina's mother never made a plea to her community for the safe return of Celina, before her body was found.

Yet she is riding in float for a yearly parade that takes place they festivity was changed to remember Celina as a tribute, but to be on a float I just can't understand this. Celina's grandmother was also on the float, and so was 13 year kayla Celina's older sister tossing candy to those who attended the parade.

In my opinion their would be no way in hell would anyone force me to be part of such event knowing my daughter's body was found in a river, and the killer/killers have yet to be caught.

And the family continues to ask their community for donations...

[bbeba103]

Friends and family bid farewell to Celina Cass

August 09, 2011 04:00 AM EDT

The close friends and immediate family of Celina Cass paid tribute to the 11-year-old at a funeral service held in Lancaster, N.H. on Monday, one week after her body was found in a river near her home. Although the circumstances of her death are still shrouded in mystery, there is little doubt the fifth grader was a victim of foul play.

Mourners cited her friendly, kind spirit and lauded her athletic skills on the basketball court. Her body was laid to rest in a grave as of yet unmarked by a headstone, but clearly identifiable by the tribute items laid there in remembrance. Mostly flowers and trinkets shaded by the color pink, her favorite.

The emotional ceremony for Celina Cass united the local community in grief as questions are still being asked about how and why the young girl died. Authorities are very tight-lipped about the details, but it is known her body was wrapped in a blanket, so it is very unlikely Cass intended to harm herself. She was missing for more than a week, having last been seen in her bedroom on the evening of July 25. The next morning her family was alarmed to realize she was missing, probably throughout the night.

A massive local search initially turned up no sign of the missing girl, further deepening the mystery and adding to the alarm. The tragic discovery of her body in the river, while bringing a sense of relief, also caught the attention of the entire nation and the case has become a sensational crime story clouded by uncertainty and grief.

grief. As the case unfolds, more details will be announced, but speculation centers on her stepfather, Wendell Noyes, who has a history of mental illness and has since checked himself in to a mental health clinic. Other details have emerged which indicate Celina Cass may have endured a difficult home life, surrounded by strangers who should not have been allowed near the girl. It's a terrible tragedy that the story is ending this way. Friends and family are saying she was a special, gifted young lady, quick to smile and offer friendship.

It's terrible when such a bright young girl is lost and a real tragedy that there may have been people in her life who would cause harm to such an innocent person.

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.acti ... 4979855668

[bbeba103]

Celina Cass death draws more than a dozen investigators

Published Aug 12, 2011 at 3:00 am (Updated Aug 11, 2011)

More than a dozen state and federal investigators actively probe the suspicious death of a northern New Hampshire girl whose body was recovered from the Connecticut River Aug. 1 after an extensive seven-day search.

“We are working this case diligently in order to determine the facts and circumstances around her suspicious death,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane E. Young said Thursday.

Celina Cass, 11, was last reported seen alive inside the West Stewartstown home she shared with her mother, stepfather and sister on July 25. Divers recovered her body about a half-mile from her home on Aug. 1.

The Medical Examiner’s ruling on cause and manner of her death are pending results of toxicological tests and further criminal investigation.

Prosecutors called her death suspicious based on the condition of the body in and out of the water. Several media have reported the body was wrapped in a blanket when divers found it near a hydroelectric dam.

To date, no one has been taken into custody, Young said.

State police from New Hampshire and Vermont, the FBI, investigators and attorneys with the state Attorney General’s Office, state forensic laboratory technicians and specially-trained computer forensic experts are among those working on the case, Young said.

Investigators have reviewed and categorized an estimated 539 leads received so far on the case, Young said.

“New information continues to come in as recently as the last few hours,” she said.

Young urged anyone with information to contact New Hampshire State Police at Troop F barracks at 603-846-3333.

Toxicological testing on blood samples are being analyzed by a Pennsylvania laboratory. Young said it may be weeks before those tests are complete.

http://www.unionleader.com/article/2011 ... /708129989

[bbeba103]

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Cass investigators to announce reward at Thursday press conference

The state Attorney General’s Office will announce a reward and reward fund for information about the death of Celina Cass last month.

Attorney General Michael Delaney said there will be a press conference at the Attorney General’s Office in Concord at 10 a.m. on Thursday to release information about the reward, as well as a fund set up to increase the reward.

Cass, 11, was last seen at a computer in her West Stewartstown home on July 25. After a massive manhunt that included law enforcement from New Hampshire, Vermont, Canada and a specialized FBI unit for missing children, police found Cass’ body near a hydro-dam in the Connecticut River on Aug. 1.

A preliminary autopsy did not determine Cass’ cause or manner of death, according to Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, but investigators launched a criminal probe after finding her body in the river, about a half-mile from her home.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/929 ... rsday.html

[bbeba103]

Attorney General's Office schedules press briefing regarding suspicious death of Celina Cass

Wednesday, August 17, 2011 8:46 pm

A press briefing has been scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. at the N.H. Attorney General's Office in Concord regarding a reward and a reward fund for information about the suspicious death of Celina Cass.

Celina, an 11-year-old from West Stewartstown, was last seen Monday evening, July 25, in her bedroom.

Her body was recovered one week later, on Aug. 1, from a dam on the Connecticut River, just a quarter-mile from her family's home.

Results of an autopsy that was subsequently conducted were inconclusive.

LINK
edited by Fashionista

[bbeba103]

No toxicology results yet in Cass death 5:00 PM West Stewartstown, New Hampshire -August 31, 2011

There are still no answers as to how an 11-year-old girl in New Hampshire's north country died.

Celina Cass' body was pulled from the Connecticut River about a month ago.

Officials had hoped to have the toxicology results back last week to determine the cause of death, but that didn't happen.

They say it is not unusual for toxicology results to take up to eight weeks.

http://tiny.cc/z2yzo

[bbeba103]

NH AG: Cass case declared a homicide

September 22, 2011

CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire authorities say they have determined a cause death for an 11-year-old West Stewartstown girl whose body was found in a river last month, but they aren't making it public while the investigation continues.

The attorney general's office said Thursday that Celina Cass's death has been ruled a homicide, and that based on further investigation and toxicology tests, a cause of death also has been determined. But authorities aren't releasing the information, saying it could harm the integrity of the investigation.

Cass was reported missing July 26. Her body was found a week later in the Connecticut River.

A reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermon ... cass_case/

[bbeba103]

New Hampshire Authorities Say 11-Year-Old Celina Cass Was Murdered Published September 22, 2011

WEST STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. – An 11-year-old girl whose body was found in a river last month was murdered, New Hampshire authorities said Thursday.

Investigators said they also know what caused the death of Celina Cass. But they aren't making it public, because they say doing so could harm the integrity of the investigation.

"The investigation into the facts and circumstances of Celina Cass's murder remains active," Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young said in a statement.

Celina was reported missing July 26. Her body was found a week later in the Connecticut River, not far from her West Stewartstown home.

A reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest. No suspects have been named.

Young said Thursday that the cause of death was determined through information gleaned from the investigation and from toxicologytests.

snipped...

A family friend confirmed that Luisia Cass has separated from Celina's stepfather, Wendell Noyes. He has a history of psychiatricissuesand hasbeenin and out of hospitals since Celina disappeared.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/09/22/ne ... latestnews

[bbeba103]

NH town's skepticism grows in Celina Cass case

Associated Press September 25, 2011

STEWARTSTOWN, N.H.—In the small New Hampshire town where a missing 11-year-old girl's body was found two months ago, time has stoked more than intrigue and uneasiness. Cynicism and suspicion are setting in.

The state attorney general's office this week declared Celina Cass' death a homicide but did not reveal how she was killed. The declaration of homicide came as no surprise to residents.

"I think everybody knew that for weeks," schools Superintendent Robert Mills said Friday. The mood in town is one of "eager anticipation" that someone will be brought to justice so the healing can begin.

But even that hope is fading.

"Either they've got enough evidence or they don't," said Shannon Towle, owner of the convenience store and gas station that are the hub of Stewartstown. "And I don't think they do."

Celina's body was pulled from the Connecticut River within walking distance from her home on Aug. 1, a week after she disappeared.

The grim discovery ended an intensive search by more than 100 investigators who turned a local school into their base camp and temporarily brought cell phone service to this burg across the Connecticut from Vermont and a mile from Canada.

The passage of two months should not suggest the case is at a dead end, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, who heads the investigation, said Friday.

"Unfortunately, it's not unusual," she said. "We are continuing to work this as diligently today as the day we found her."

The FBI remains involved, tips continue to come in and interviews are ongoing. A reward fund for information leading to the prosecution of the killer has topped $30,000.

"There are a number of cases that are solved quickly," Young said. "But in this case we continue to ask for the public's help -- anyone who may have seen anything, heard anything."

Celina's mother, Luisia, and 13-year-old sister, Kayla, were briefed for two hours by investigators Thursday on details of the investigation. They declined to comment when they left the Coos County Attorney's office in Lancaster.

Since the discovery of Celina's body, Luisia Cass has separated from her husband of a year, Wendell Noyes, who has a history of psychological problems.

Noyes, 47, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was committed to a state psychiatric hospital in 2003 after breaking into the home of an ex-girlfriend and threatening to harm her. He has been in and out of hospitals since Celina disappeared.

Luisia hasn't filed for divorce only because she cannot afford the court fees, said the woman's friend and employer, Jeannine Brady.

Brady said she saw Noyes smash a picture of Celina with his fist at a hotel in Canaan, Vt., where the family was staying while police searched their Stewartstown apartment.

Police have not named any potential suspects in the girl's disappearance. Efforts by The Associated Press to locate a phone number for Noyes have been unsuccessful, and his family members have declined in the past to comment.

On the night of July 25, Celina watched her favorite television show, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," with her mother, Brady said. Luisia kissed her goodnight around 9 p.m. as Celina toyed with a computer in the living room of their apartment.

Celina's 13-year-old sister, Kayla, with whom she shared a room, was sleeping over at a friend's house that night.

Luisia and Kayla wear crosses containing some of Celina's ashes; the rest of the ashes are buried with her maternal grandmother in Groveton.

They have moved to an apartment in Vermont, not far from where Kayla attends school in Canaan. Like everyone else who knew Celina, they wait for answers.

"The community needs some finality," Brady said. "It's unnerving."

LINK
edited by Fashionista

[bbeba103]

Celina's Stepfather: 'I Had Nothing To Do With It'

Noyes Describes Night Girl Last Seen Alive

POSTED: 4:39 pm EDT October 11, 2011 UPDATED: 6:18 pm EDT October 11, 2011

WEST STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. -- On Aug. 1, the body of 11-year-old Celina Cass was pulled out of the Connecticut River, a week to the day after her stepfather, Wendell Noyes, 48, called his new wife at work to tell her she was missing.

"When I got up that morning, there was, well, she usually sleeps on the couch," said Wendell Noyes in an exclusive interview with News 9.

Noyes and Luisia Cass were married in October 2010 and moved into a rental duplex on Washington Street in West Stewartstown. The night that Celina disappeared, Noyes said, he went to bed around 9 p.m. with Luisia Cass. His mother was also staying at the house, and he said he saw Celina on the family computer before he went upstairs.

"We left the door unlocked that night for somebody else to pop in. And, I don't know," Noyes told WMUR's Amy Coveno.

Officials seized Noyes' truck, cellphone and computer as evidence in the ongoing investigation. Noyes now lives alone, confirming that his wife has asked him to stay away. Noyes still wears his wedding ring and said he still cares for Luisia Cass.

"I had nothing to do with it. We left the door unlocked, and somebody else was in the apartment after we went upstairs," Noyes said on Monday.

Officials said autopsy results did not offer conclusive information as to how Celina died. Toxicology results remain sealed. No arrests have been made or people of interest identified in the case.

http://www.wmur.com/r/29453906/detail.html

[bbeba103]

Celina Cass’ mother disputes husband’s story

Friday, October 14, 2011

COLEBROOK, N.H. — Celina Cass’ heartbroken mother is disputing her estranged husband’s account of the night the slain 11-year-old vanished, saying he wasn’t in bed early but instead was up drinking with friends at their West Stewartstown home.

“He was visiting on the porch with two friends. They were drinking on the porch. They were socializing,” Louisia Noyes said yesterday of Celina’s stepfather, Wendell Noyes. Louisia Noyes told a TV interviewer last month that she and her husband had split up since Celina’s killing.

Wendell Noyes — who has not been identified as a suspect in the homicide probe — said in his earlier TV interview he had nothing to do with Celina’s murder and believed an intruder was to blame.

COLEBROOK, N.H. — Celina Cass’ heartbroken mother is disputing her estranged husband’s account of the night the slain 11-year-old vanished, saying he wasn’t in bed early but instead was up drinking with friends at their West Stewartstown home.

“He was visiting on the porch with two friends. They were drinking on the porch. They were socializing,” Louisia Noyes said yesterday of Celina’s stepfather, Wendell Noyes. Louisia Noyes told a TV interviewer last month that she and her husband had split up since Celina’s killing.

Wendell Noyes — who has not been identified as a suspect in the homicide probe — said in his earlier TV interview he had nothing to do with Celina’s murder and believed an intruder was to blame.

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[gwen]

Another very sad case. A shame that the mother did not realize what kind of guy he was before having him around her children, but that seems to happen often.

[bbeba103]

Cass Houseguest Describes Night Girl Disappeared

Man Says He Didn't See Celina When He Arrived At House

POSTED: 5:53 pm EDT October 19, 2011
UPDATED: 6:19 pm EDT October 19, 2011

WEST STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. -- A man believed to have been the last one to enter a home where an 11-year-old girl was later reported missing is offering new information about the timeline that night.

It has been two and a half months since the body of Celina Cass was pulled from the Connecticut River in West Stewartstown. The circumstances surrounding her death remain a mystery, and authorities have not identified any people of interest, but her death has been ruled a homicide.

At the time of Celina's disappearance, Kevin Mullaney was living at the home. There has been a lot of speculation why a newlywed couple with two young daughters would allow a 23-year-old man to live in their home.

Mullaney said Celina's mother, Louisia Cass, is like a mother to him and raised him for a few years after his own mother died from cancer. Mullaney said Celina was like a sister to him.

After more than 40 hours of interrogation by police, Mullaney said he could talk to News 9 about the night Celina disappeared.

When News 9's Amy Coveno caught up with Mullaney, he was watching television with his father, Mark, and Louisia Cass in the new duplex they share across the river in Vermont. News 9 asked him about the night Celina disappeared. He said he arrived at the home at midnight.

"All the vehicles were in the driveway as normal," he said. "The door was open. Everybody's sleeping. The lights are off. I just turned on the light, made a couple of sandwiches, watched TV and went to bed."

Mullaney said he went upstairs about 1 a.m. and was out the door by 6:15 a.m. for a job he had in Canaan, Vt.

He said none of the cars in the driveway appeared to have moved at all overnight. He said he didn't see Celina at all that night or in the morning.

News 9 asked him about whether Celina was sleeping on the couch.

"If she's by herself, she does," he said. "Like, if her sister's not there, she sleeps upstairs because she's afraid of the dark. I figured both of them were there because Celina's not upstairs."

But Celina's sister, Kayla, wasn't home that night. She was at a sleepover with a friend, something Mullaney said he didn't learn until later.

In the early stages of the investigation, Mullaney confirmed, he was treated like a suspect. His red pickup truck was taken in for forensic testing.

"Polygraph tests, DNA tests, pictures," he said. "There were a million and one questions."

Mullaney said he agreed to a full-body photograph. He said he was told investigators were looking for signs of a struggle, such as scrapes or bruises.

News 9 earlier interviewed Louisia Cass' estranged husband, Wendell Noyes. While Mullaney agreed with Noyes that the front door was left unlocked for Mullaney that night -- as Noyes told News 9 -- Mullaney and Louisia Cass disputed Noye's statement about when he went to bed that night.

"I was at a friend's house, and we were just driving around, and I saw (Noyes) there, and we just kept driving around and went back to (my friend's) house," Mullaney said. "Then, a few hours later, I go home."

When News 9 spoke to Noyes about Mullaney's account, he maintained that he went to bed at 9 p.m. with Louisia Cass.

Investigators returned Mullaney's truck weeks ago, and he said he hasn't really heard from investigators since the end of August. But Mullaney said everything is different now.

"It sucks," he said. "There's no answers."

The condition of Celina's body was so grave that her mother was urged to not look at her daughter before she was buried. Wednesday night at 11 p.m., Louisia Cass takes News 9 to where she goes to feel close to her daughter.

http://www.wmur.com/r/29533218/detail.html

[bbeba103]

Happier times of Celina at her mother's wedding...





LINK
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[bbeba103]

Family, community want justice for Celina Cass



Oct 25, 2011 9:50pm

(NECN: Lauren Collins, West Stewartstown, NH) - A teary eyed Louisia Cass pleads, "I want justice. I want the person that did this to my daughter."

The question of who killed Celina Cass cripples her mother and lingers over her tiny hometown.

"In our town we used to be able to walk to the stores by ourselves. We were able to go outside on the streets and play," says Celina's friend Christie Baglio. "But now none of our parents will let us do that."

There is little comfort for Celina's friends and family. Not even Louisa knows how her 11 year old daughter died.

"I haven't gotten any answers," she says, shaking her head in the back office of the consignment store where she works.

"Pointing fingers, rumors. It's pointless until you actually know who did it," says Celina's step-brother, who is speaking publicly about the case for the first time about his frustration that nobody's come forward with information that could help break the case.

He last saw Celina the day before she disappeared.

"She was sitting down in her pajamas watching TV on the couch. I was visiting with my dad," says Nick Noyes who doesn't speak with his dad much anymore.

Wendell Noyes had a mental break down hours before Celina's body was found. Authorities took his truck, cell phone and computer. He doesn't have any of those anymore.

Wendell closed the door on us when we found him last week at his mother's house in Canaan, Vermont but told us off camera he's waiting for answers like everyone else. He's moving away from the area and is no longer living with Louisia.

Louisia says finding out what happened to Celina won't change the fact that she's gone forever. but not knowing leaves her mind to reel about all of the possibilities including the idea that she missed an opportunity to protect her youngest child.

"I get dirty looks sometimes from some people. I don't know. I don't know what they're thinking. But I have to live every day without my baby," she says.

Authorities have spoken with everyone who was in the house when Celina disappeared - Louisia, Wendell, family friend Kevin Mullaney and Wendell's mother. Even today, detectives are never far from the scene.

Nick Noyes says that he, like most people we talked with in town, discounts the idea that a stranger murdered his step-sister.

"I think it was somebody that was close, in that house," he says. "I think somebody in that house knows what happened."

Celina's friends don't spend as much time wondering about what happened as they do trying to make sure she's always remembered. They keep a memorial at the dam where she was found:

"A couple of us wrote message on balloons with no helium in them and just let them go in the water and they all floated up stream," says Christie as her younger sister Isabella explains, "they all floated towards celina's body like she was grabbing them. So didn't the balloons that we let go in the air."

They believe Celina is and always will be with them and Louisia in a simple plea.

"That person or persons need to come forward. They took my baby away from me."

There is a $30,000 reward in the case but it has yet to bring forward the information investigators need to make an arrest.

LINK
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