The Celina Cass murder four years ago has become one of New Hampshire’s most haunting cold cases, and some relatives of the slain girl worry cops don’t care enough anymore about solving the crime mystery.
The pretty 11-year-old vanished from her room on July 25, 2011 and, after an exhaustive search, was found dead in the Connecticut River a week later in what was then ruled a homicide.
Many were subsequently questioned, including 22-year-old Kevin Mullaney -- the son of an ex-boyfriend of the child’s mother who also lived in Celina’s home and has a criminal past -- and the girl’s own stepfather, a man with a history of psychiatric problems and domestic violence.
But no one was ever charged.
In the years since Celina Cass was killed and her body heartlessly dumped, the trail to the murderer has grown cold, despite assurances by the state’s senior assistant Attorney General Jane Young that the case is still open.
“This remains a very active and ongoing investigation, despite that fact that four years have passed since Celina's murder,” attorney Young told the Associated Press this week, even though the victim’s paternal grandmother Marcia Laro said she hasn’t heard from authorities in “well over a year.”
“She was such a sweet little girl,” the still-heartbroken Laro added. "When she came to visit she was always bubbly and liked to play games, and always had to brush my dog. She was so cute. Always talked about school.”
If it’s true Celina Cass’s killing has been allowed to languish unsolved, then that’s sad and inexcusable, because there is no statute of limitations on murder. Therefore, nothing but disinterest could stop officials from continuing to pursue the matter.
The happy fifth-grader with a penchant for basketball lived with her mother Luisia Cass and Cass’s second husband Wendell Noyes at the time of her suspicious disappearance and death, and both parents dramatically parted ways as a result.
Four years to the day, it’s not really clear where either of them are now…
