Missing Boy's Mother Indicted on Capital Murder Charge

A fugitive Texas mother has been indicted on capital murder charges after her son, Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, 6, vanished for a year, and she, her husband, and their six children are believed to have fled to India.  

Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, 37, was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury on Monday afternoon on one charge of capital murder, two charges of injury to a child, and one charge of abandoning a child without the intent to return.  

Noel, who suffered from mental and physical disabilities, was reported missing on March 20 but was last seen in Everman, Texas, in November 2022 and is now presumed dead.  

Investigators said cadaver dogs 'alerted' to a discarded rug and topsoil underneath a recently poured porch at the home the family rented on Wisteria Drive during a search in April.  

The 'alert' indicated that human remains were once present at some time, police said, but no significant findings have been announced, and attempts to locate and recover the boy's body have not been successful.

Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who suffered from mental and physical disabilities, was reported missing on March 20 but was last seen in Everman, Texas, in November 2022 and is now presumed dead

'That's what they've been working on tirelessly for the past six months is trying to identify any other potential outcomes for this child,' Everman Chief of Police CW Spencer said. 

 'All of which have been ruled out, leaving us down to one simple conclusion, that he was murdered,' he said. 

Spencer said Noel was being used by his mother Cindy Rodriguez-Singh to receive government benefits. He was last seen 'unhealthy and malnourished' in October 2022 for the birth of twin siblings.

His mother allegedly referred to the boy as 'evil' and 'possessed' or 'having a demon in him,' and feared he may hurt the newborn twins. 

Rodriguez-Singh and the boy's stepfather Arshdeep Singh, flew with their six other kids from Dallas-Fort Worth to India two days after he was reported missing. But Noel, who has disabilities including a lung condition, wasn't with them.

Spencer said that if the boy's stepfather is found, additional charges will be filed against him as well. 

According to authorities, Noel was last seen by a medical professional in July 2022. He then missed several doctor appointments which prompted the government to send warning letters that the benefits Rodriguez-Singh received would end. 

Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, 37, was indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury on Monday afternoon on one charge of capital murder, two charges of injury to a child, and one charge of abandoning a child without the intent to return  

Rodriguez-Singh then allegedly asked another mother to borrow her child to pose as Noel at the doctor and said he had COVID. 

She was known by relatives to be abusive and neglectful to Noel, Spencer said. One relative saw her strike Noel for drinking water because she did not want him to wet his diaper. Other relatives said she withheld water and food often because she disliked changing him.

A relative later told police that Rodriguez-Singh told her mother that she sold Noel to someone at a 'Fiesta Market' store, according to a copy of the search warrant obtained by the Star-Telegram. 

Spencer has since said there is no evidence to support the rumors that the child was sold and added that they believe the mother made the comments to mislead the investigation. 

In the search warrant, Rodriguez-Singh did not say when the alleged transaction of her child took place but said that the woman she sold Noel to threatened to report her to CPS if she tried to get him back. 

The search warrant also revealed that Noel's uncle Cantarino Rodriguez told Everman police he witnessed Rodriguez-Singh, who is his sister, abusing the child. 

The uncle said the last time he saw Noel was about a year ago. He confronted Rodriguez-Singh when he saw her strike the boy with her car keys after he drank water because she did not want him to wet his diaper.

Authorities conducted a wellness check at the family's home on Wisteria Drive on March 20, where Rodriguez-Singh told police that the boy was with his biological father in Mexico.

Police said at the time, they did not have a reason to believe she was lying, but said she started avoiding them.

Spencer has since given the update that Homeland Security verified there is no record of Noel crossing the border into Mexico. He also said the biological father is cooperating with the investigation and has not seen Noel.

Rodriguez-Singh then obtained travel visas for herself, her husband, and their six other children - everyone except Noel - and on March 22, flew to India by way of Turkey, continuing to avoid police questioning. 

A search warrant was later conducted at the family's home which was a converted shed in the backyard of a home owned by Charles Parson. The family also used a couple of rooms inside the main house.

The mother and stepfather are fugitives and authorities are working to extradite them back to the U.S., Spencer said.

The FBI, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Alliance for Children and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are all involved in the investigation. 

'The last thing I want is to have a six year old boy die at the hands of his mother,' Spencer said. 'That's not what I want, but that's the facts that we're faced with here and that's what we're looking at.'

There have been successful criminal prosecutions without a body, criminal defense attorney Russell Wilson told NBC. 

'We're very familiar with autopsies, and those usually provide a wealth of information in the manner and means of how a death occurred,' said Wilson. 'But it doesn't mean you can't proceed on a case without it.'