Mom of slain girl, 11, long suspected ex-husband

Celina’s paternal grandmother, Marcia Laro, told the New Hampshire Union Leader that the family had hoped for an arrest for years.

On Monday, nearly five years after her body was found in the Connecticut River, N.H. prosecutors have arrested the former stepfather of 11-year-old Celina Cass and charged him with her murder.

Cass disappeared July 25, 2011, from her home at 863 Washington St./Route 3.

Noyes had been initially questioned by police about Cass’ murder, but he was uncooperative and later checked himself into a mental hospital. She was found approximately half a mile away from her Stewartstown, New Hampshire home.

Ever since, Cass says she has imagined her daughter telling her not to give up on her.

“It was just the feeling we had”, Laro said in a telephone interview from her Columbia, N.H., home.

Monday’s statement from prosecutors did not indicate what evidence had surfaced that led to Noyes’s arrest, nor did they disclose a possible motive for the slaying.

“It is not uncommon to have a case open that long to go unsolved, but to have charges come forward is a testament to both the Attorney General’s Office and the state police”, said Wilson. Adam Laro, Celina’s biological father, said back in 2011 that he paid a visit to Celina and was upset to find Celina and her sister sleeping in a basement.

“He loved those girls – he was a nice guy, and he still is”, she said.

Louisia Cass is the mother of Celina Cass and the former wife of 52-year-old Wendell Noyes, who was charged Monday with second-degree murder in Celina’s death.

“I want him to rot so bad”, Cass said. In February, a major crimes squad truck was seen parked outside Noyes’ trailer. She divorced Wendell Noyes after nine months of marriage and said she yearned for closure that only an arrest could bring.

“I still think there is more to it”, he said. “I expect we’ll learn more once it gets to court”.

Appearing via video conference from the county jail, Noyes did not speak at the arraignment other than to indicate he understood the charge.

She told News 9 on Monday that she didn’t believe her son killed Celina. He was also hospitalized several times after Celina’s disappearance. He is now in prison on an unrelated weapons forgery conviction.