After Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez’s remains were identified, his former foster mother, Yvonne Brooks, says she is still grappling with the heartbreak and wants justice.
GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — A woman who says she briefly fostered Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez and his sister years before he disappeared under his mother’s care says the little boy left an unforgettable impact on her family and that she is still struggling to process last week’s discovery of his remains in Everman.
Yvonne Brooks told WFAA she cared for Noel and his older sister for about three months before the children were moved to another foster home to be reunited with their other siblings.
“He came in smiling, and we fell in love with him as soon as he walked through the door,” Brooks said. “He just lit up the room.”
Brooks said Noel was affectionate, energetic and constantly smiling. She believes her home was the first foster home he was placed in after being temporarily removed from his mother’s custody back in 2020.
“He would follow us around the house, tap us on our leg, say ‘mama, mama,’” Brooks recalled. “He gave hugs, and he’d squeeze you tight. He was so affectionate. He was really sweet.”
She said Noel especially loved walks outside and picking flowers. She never once heard him cry.
“Every time we went walking, he had to pick some flowers,” Brooks said with a laugh.
Brooks said her family quickly became attached to the boy, and she asked caseworkers if he could remain in her home permanently.
“I begged my case worker, can he just stay?” Brooks said. “’Cause he was a great kid.”
But Noel and his sister were later moved to another foster placement with their siblings. Brooks said her daughter was heartbroken.
“My daughter loved Noel. That was her baby,” she said. “I’ve kept a lot of kids, but Noel was her baby.”
Years later, Brooks said she immediately recognized Noel when his disappearance made headlines in 2023.
“I woke my husband up and said, ‘Baby, there goes Noel,’” Brooks said. “We were following the case ever since then.”
As the investigation stretched on, Brooks said she feared the worst.
“Time went on and on, and I was like, yes, I think something happened,” she said. “He didn’t deserve whatever happened, because he was a sweet kid.”
Last week, authorities confirmed remains found buried in the backyard of the family’s former Everman home were Noel’s. His mother, Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, has been charged with capital murder in connection with his death. Prosecutors are currently working to restore her competency to stand trial.
Brooks said learning that Noel had been buried there for years was devastating.
“That was the hardest part,” she said. “He was found, but he’d been there all this time, and no one even knew.”
“I never stopped wondering,” Brooks added. “I was hoping that it wasn’t his body. I did want closure, but I was hoping it wasn’t him. But it was.”
She said she still struggles to comprehend the allegations surrounding Noel’s death and the amount of time it took to find his body.
“I was in shock. I was upset because he was there the whole time, all these years, and they just now found him,” Brooks said. “That poor baby was there. He shouldn’t have been there that long.”
Now, she says she wants accountability for everyone involved.
“I hope they get justice for what happened,” Brooks said. “Who did it? Who is involved in it? I think everybody should pay for their part in it.”
Brooks also believes Noel’s siblings may eventually help or have already helped investigators understand what happened.
“I think one of the kids will eventually say something,” Brooks said. “I think they saw something, because they were too close.”
Despite the years that have passed, Brooks said the memory she carries most is still Noel’s joy.
“He had the laugh that would make you laugh,” she said. “Make you just smile and give him a hug.”
And she hopes people remember the little boy she knew, not the tragedy surrounding his death.
“Know that he wasn’t this monster,” Brooks said. “This was a sweet little kid.”