Step-Father of Celina Cass Arrested on Murder Charge

CONCORD, NH – The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has made an arrest in a nearly five-year-old murder case in northern New Hampshire, according to a press statement.

Wendell Noyes, the stepfather of 11-year-old Celina Cass, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge. He will be arraigned in Berlin District Court on June 21.

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

According to a press statement from the NH AG’s Office and the New Hampshire State Police, investigators believe that Noyes “submerged (Cass') body in the Connecticut River” some time between when she went missing from her home in West Stewartstown on July 26, 2011, and when her body was discovered in the river, near a dam, about a half mile from her home, on Aug. 1, 2011.

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No other information is available about the arrest at press time.

According to the investigation at the time, Cass was last reported seen at her Washington Street home in West Stewartstown, on July 25. She was reported missing the next day.

New Hampshire State Police issued an alert on July 27, 2011, asking for the public's help finding her.

After a nationwide search for the girl, investigators found her body six days later in the Connecticut River.

State police and others, including toxicologists in Pennsylvania, studied evidence gathered in the case but were unable to pinpoint a killer or motive. Some drew a connection to a previous case out of Exeter in 1984, involving the disappearance of Tammy Belanger.

Investigators built a timeline of the case, including the days, weeks and months before she was missing, in an effort to find out who might be responsible for her death. An autopsy at the time failed to rule the cause of death, but her passing was later ruled a homicide by investigators. Officials have been silent about the case for a long time.

Tens of thousands of dollars in reward money was offered by the FBI and anonymous donors for the arrest and prosecution of any individuals involved in the girl’s disappearance, but the reward was altered slightly to focus on those involved in Cass’ death. Weeks after her body was found, investigators had received more than 600 tips.

Two months after her disappearance, Louis Cass, Celina's mom, spoke out about the case, asking for the public's help with the investigation.

According to WMUR-TV, in February, the state police crimes unit visited Noyes' house but didn't speak about why it was were there or what it found.

NH Patch will update this story when more information becomes available.