Episode 120: The Murder of Celina Cass
52-year-old Wendell Noyes
Celina Cass was born on January 2nd, 2000, and loved dancing, swimming, doing yoga at her school and catch and release fly fishing. Celina attended the Stewartstown Community School in New Hampshire and played basketball for the Canaan School in Vermont. She loved to dress up and spend time with her family and friends and was lovingly referred to as a momma’s girl.
On July 25th, 2011, 11-year-old Celina Cass disappeared from her family's apartment at 863 Washington St., West Stewartstown, New Hampshire, where she lived with her mom Luisa Cass, 47-year-old stepfather Wendell Noyes, 13-year-old sister Kayla and 22-year-old Kevin Mullaney, the son of her mom’s former boyfriend. She was last seen playing on the computer and watching TV in her family's living room. She was reported missing the next morning when she wasn’t in her bed.
The town was very small, easily about 800 people, and it wasn’t far from the Vermont and Canadian border. A massive search of over 100 police officers and members of law enforcement, crowds of people, search and rescue dogs, and involvement from the FBI quickly was underway. A $25,000 reward was also posted.
Six days later on August 1st, a passerby walking along the Connecticut River saw a body in the water and called police. The body was found at a well-known fishing spot that was near a public service company dam and a train trestle. The body was wrapped in a thick comforter and had been weighed down with a 50 pound sandbag, and upon removing it from the water it was determined to be Celina. She was found just a half mile from her home, partially clothed and still wearing her pajamas. Medical examiners quickly ruled her death a homicide.
Several months later, Kevin ended up being arrested for unrelated charges but had been subpoenaed along with Wendell Noyes by a Coos County grand jury in relation to Celina’s murder. Wendell appeared before the grand jury in 2012 but neither of the two men were charged in relation to Celina’s murder or her disappearance.
On June 20th, 2016, it was revealed by the New Hampshire Attorney General's office that Wendell had been arrested. Luisa stated to reporters after his arrest, “I hope he rots." Celina’s cause of death was determined to be water submersion in the Connecticut River.
After his arrest, it was recalled that the areas Wendell brought searchers to look for Celina were essentially a “big circle” around where she was actually found. After she had disappeared, it was discovered that a sandbag resembling the one found with Celina’s body had been missing from his truck. A man who had been incarcerated with Wendell in 2015 told police that Wendell confessed to having killed Celina, saying that he and “another man” had been having sex with her and “had to get rid of her” because they were scared that she was pregnant.
The defense team made claims that it was not Wendell but Kevin Mullaney who killed Celina. They cited evidence that Celina’s underwear and pajama bottoms were found stuffed in a tire in the back of Kevin’s truck, as well as a pair of boxer shorts that were muddy and sandy with his semen on them being found in Celina’s laundry basket.
In February of 2017, the state attorney general’s office dropped the murder charges against Wendell as they felt he was not competent to stand trial. He was instead committed to a state psychiatric hospital for a minimum of five years for treatment. If doctors at the hospital reevaluated him and felt that he was now fit to stand trial the murder charges could be refiled. Every five years there will be a hearing to determine whether Wendell remains a danger to himself and/or others.
Image sources:
nbcnews.com - “Celina Cass: Arrest Made in 2011 Case of Missing 11-Year-Old Girl Found Murdered”
wmur.com - “Charges dismissed against stepfather accused of killing Celina Cass”