12-12-2011, 04:49 PM
A Christmas tree will decorate Celina Cass' grave as her grieving loved ones await word on who will be called to account for the summer slaying of their sweet 11-year-old North Country girl.
Her mother, Louisia Noyes, visited the grave last week to see the newly placed donated tombstone with Celina's face exquisitely etched in black granite.
“It's hard, very hard,” Noyes said in a telephone interview. “I want my baby home for Christmas, and she won't be.”
Noyes plans to carry a small, decorated Christmas tree to Celina's grave sometime today.
“She deserves to have a Christmas tree,” Noyes said.
Tonight at 7, Noyes plans to attend a Worldwide Candle Lighting at the Armstrong-Charron Funeral Home in Groveton to remember Celina and all children who have died in the area and around the world.
A massive, weeklong search ended in the discovery of Celina's body wrapped in a blanket Aug. 1, submerged in the Connecticut River not far from her West Stewartstown home.
It's been a tumultuous time for Noyes and her other daughter, Kayla, coping with their loss and not knowing for sure who killed Celina. Stressed finances have added to her burden, as Noyes is starting over in Lemington, Vt., after splitting from her husband, Wendell Noyes.
Noyes still works full time at Lads and Ladybugs Consignment shop in Colebrook. She is looking for another apartment after a disagreement with her landlord.
“I don't know how much more I can take,” Noyes said, emotion in her voice.
Trying to come up with enough money for Kayla's upcoming 14th birthday and to make a decent Christmas for her family weigh heavily on her mind. The usual bills still have to be paid.
“I don't think we're going to have a Christmas,” Noyes said. “There's no money.”
Noyes does appreciate the emotional support provided by friends and the community.
Jeannine Brady, who owns the consignment shop, encourages friends to send Christmas cards to Louisia in care of the shop, at 154 Main St., Colebrook NH 03576, or to email her at Brady's email [email protected].
The support means a lot to her friend and employee, Brady said.
“Louisia continues to be a victim, and she is struggling to make ends meet financially. She is trying the best she can to provide a happy environment for her other daughter,” Brady said.
Noyes shares her apartment with former boyfriend, Mark Mullaney, an unemployed cook, and his adult son, Kevin Mullaney, who lived with the Noyes family in West Stewartstown at the time of Celina's death.
Brady said Noyes feels protected having Mark Mullaney with her.
“I don't think anybody can imagine how difficult it is for Louisia unless they have lost their own child,” Brady said.
“Louisia struggles every day with the fact that Celina's gone. Louisia wants desperately to have what she can't have — and that is to have her back.”
Last week, Noyes placed pink and purple silk flowers on her daughter's grave, at Northumberland Cemetery. Celina's final resting place is next to that of her maternal grandparents, just a few yards from the Connecticut River.
“Last Christmas, we loved to go shopping,” Noyes said. “(Celina) picked out her own present, a Ninento BS video game she liked to play.”
Wonderful memories, including Celina singing last year at a school program patterned on the “American Idol'' TV show, help sustain her.
Brady said Noyes and area people are frustrated there have been no arrests, but she believes authorities are following new leads.
“There are new developments,” Brady said, “but none that can be discussed. Unfortunately for Louisia, a lot of things that develop involve people that she knows.”
In the meantime, local children continue to place small gifts at a makeshift memorial near where Celina was found. Someone put a pumpkin there for Halloween.
“The children are continuing to think about her,” Brady said.
Wendell Noyes, who could not be reached for comment, was often seen walking around Colebrook after police impounded his truck shortly after Celina's murder, Brady said. But Noyes has nothing to do with him, she said.
Senior Assistant Attorney Jane Young wouldn't say whether Mr. Noyes' truck is still being held by the state. Young won't say what caused Celina's death, just that it was a homicide.
On Wednesday, Young met with investigators in Twin Mountain, as she does every few weeks.
“Investigators work on this case consistently,” Young said. “We have information coming in from different sources and determine what steps we will take.”
A $30,000 reward is still pending for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Celina's death.
Noyes said she thinks she knows who killed Celina, but can't prove it.
“I want them to catch the person who did this to my baby girl,” Noyes said.
And when the killer is caught, Noyes wants the state to bring a capital murder charge.
“I just want the person who did this to be punished,” Noyes said.
“I want the death penalty.”
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20111...0/NEWS0603