Death Of Celina Cass Continues To Haunt New Hampshire Town
WEST STEWARTSTOWN, N.H. (CBS) - The death of Celina Cass is a mystery that has haunted a small town for nearly four months.
There have been no arrests in her death.
In the months since 11-year-old was pulled from the Connecticut River, a memorial has taken shape.
Pumpkins, flowers, even a note from Celina's mother reading, "I'm so lost without my baby girl."
WBZ-TV's Lauren Leamanczyk reports
"It was surreal. It was a dream. You were just waiting to wake up and you never did."
Keeping up this memorial has helped Debbie Whelen, Amanda Chapple and their kids cope.
But only an arrest will truly the ease the minds of people who loved Celina.
'There's no answers so obviously there's going to be theories and rumors and it's tearing people apart."
One of those people is Wendell Noyes, Celina's step-dad, the last person to see her alive. In the wake of the killing many pointed the finger at him.
He walked away when we asked him about those allegations.
But he did talk with WBZ off camera about the night Celina died. He says she was on the computer when he went to bed with her mother. The door was left unlocked for a 23-year-old man who also lived in the house. He says he wants to know who killed Celina as much as everyone else does.
Investigators won't name or rule out any suspects. Among family and friends, frustration is growing. And so is the belief that whoever killed Celina is someone they know. Someone who lived among them.
"As a community we all know whatever happened at this dam where Celina died or where Celina was thrown in the water led them right back to that home and nowhere else."
WBZ spoke with the lead prosecutor on the case. She says the investigation is focused and intense. The state police has put 4,000 man hours into the case, but still no one will say if they are close to an arrest.
