As investigators work to identify remains found in Everman, prosecutors outline the next steps in the stalled capital murder case.
EVERMAN, Texas — Three years after 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez vanished, investigators say a breakthrough may bring them closer to answers in a child disappearance case that gained international attention.
Human remains were discovered this Wednesday afternoon in the backyard of the Everman home where Noel once lived with his family, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office confirmed.
Investigators are still working to officially identify the remains, officials said during a press conference Thursday morning.
“I want to begin by acknowledging the weight of this moment for our community,” Everman Police Chief Al Brooks said during the press conference.
“Human remains were discovered,” Brooks said. “The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office is working toward an official identification.”
The discovery comes as Noel’s mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, remains jailed on a capital murder charge and will undergo competency treatment after being deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Newly obtained letters Rodriguez-Singh wrote from jail to a judge offer a glimpse into her state of mind while in custody.
“Why am I being placed in the state hospital,” one letter reads. “I’m not a psycho person.”
In another, Rodriguez-Singh wrote, “They’re treating me very very bad, and I cried for the pain they’re making me go through.”
She also wrote, “I get threats every day,” and, “God knows I’m not a bad person.”
Before one court appearance, Rodriguez-Singh wrote, “it might be the last day of jail tomorrow. God will be with me.”
Authorities extradited Rodriguez-Singh back to the United States last year after investigators said she fled to India with her husband and other children shortly after an Amber Alert for Noel was issued in 2023. Noel was not with them when they fled the country.
Investigators later said the boy, who had special needs, had not been seen for months before the family left the country.
The case drew national attention as crews searched the Everman property in 2023. Video from that search showed cadaver dogs alerting in the backyard near a concrete patio investigators said Rodriguez-Singh had installed before leaving the country.
This week, investigators returned to that same area and uncovered human remains.
“What you’re seeing today is a result of a years long investigation where diligent investigators refused to give up on Noel,” Brooks said.
Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells called the discovery “an important step towards the pursuit of justice for Noel.”
“Our focus remains on the successful prosecution of Cindy Rodriguez,” Sorrells said. “We owe it to Noel.”
Former prosecutor Jennifer Falk, who spent more than 20 years handling child abuse cases, said the discovery could significantly strengthen the state’s case if the remains are confirmed to be Noel’s.
“Huge,” Falk said. “When the state is prosecuting for capital murder, they don’t have to have the remains, but it sure does make their job a lot easier.”
“It gives the jury a more clear picture,” Falk added.
Falk said the next phase of the case will focus heavily on forensic testing and Rodriguez-Singh’s competency treatment.
“The immediate step from the recovery is to send off all of the remains to a whole bunch of specialists,” Falk said. “Further DNA testing and other forensic testing.”
At the same time, she said doctors will continue working to restore Rodriguez-Singh’s competency so the criminal case can move forward.
Rodriguez-Singh is awaiting transfer to a state mental health facility in an effort to regain competency to stand trial. Falk said it’s common for people to regain competency.
“Just because someone isn’t competent today doesn’t mean that they’ll be incompetent tomorrow or a week or month from now,” Falk said.
Falk said investigators and prosecutors will ultimately want answers not only about how Noel died, but why.
“Absolutely, because that’s gonna be the jury’s first question,” Falk said. “They wanna know what happened. They wanna know why it happened.”
If the remains are officially identified as Noel’s, Falk said forensic experts will examine the remains for evidence of injuries that may explain his death.
“Experts can come in and review the bones and say his neck bones were broken, evidence of strangulation,” Falk said. “Alternatively, arm bone was broken. If there was any injury to his skull, that’s evidence of blunt force trauma that could explain what happened, how he was murdered.”
“Ultimately the why the jury’s gonna wanna know for sure,” she said.
Falk also said investigators’ decision to conduct another excavation at the property suggests authorities may have developed new information behind the scenes.
“It’s so out of the blue that they would go back to this home, do another excavation,” Falk said. “That really gives me all the flags for they know something.”
For now, investigators caution that official identification of the remains could take days or even weeks.
As the forensic work continues and Rodriguez-Singh remains in custody, Falk said the central question remains unchanged.
“Everyone’s waiting,” she said. “The next question we’re all waiting for is, is this Noel?”`