Texas mom charged with capital murder a year after son she called 'evil' went missing

EVERMAN, Texas (TCD) -- A mother was indicted on murder and several other charges for allegedly killing her 6-year-old son, who has been missing for a year.

In a Monday, Oct. 30, press conference, Everman Police Chief C.W. Spencer announced a Tarrant County grand jury charged Cindy Rodriguez-Singh with one count of capital murder, two counts of injury of a child, and one count of abandoning without the intent to return in connection with Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez’s disappearance and death. Spencer said the indictment will "significantly support" efforts to extradite Rodriguez-Singh back to Texas from India.

Rodriguez-Alvarez went missing exactly one year ago.

On March 20, 2023, Everman Police officers responded to a home on the 3700 block of Wisteria Drive to conduct a welfare check on the children who lived at the home, including Rodriguez-Alvarez. Officers spoke with Rodriguez-Singh, and she allegedly said Rodriguez-Alvarez was staying with some family in Mexico, but Everman Police said that was "misinformation."

Two days later, Rodriguez-Singh, her husband, and six children boarded a flight to India. Rodriguez-Alvarez, however, was not present.

Police learned several days after the family left that Rodriguez-Singh paid for new concrete to be poured on the porch at their home. Investigators were able to obtain a search warrant and looked through the concrete and soil but did not find anything.

An arrest warrant was issued March 31 for Rodriguez-Singh and her husband, Arshdeep Singh, for abandoning or endangering a child.

In an April update, Everman Police announced detectives were shifting from an endangered missing person case to a death investigation.

Police said Rodriguez-Singh was "known by relatives to be abusive and neglectful to Noel," which included allegedly beating the boy with keys because he drank water. She allegedly withheld food and water because "Cindy did not like changing Noel’s dirty diapers."

On July 21, 2022, Rodriguez-Alvarez attended a speech therapy appointment. He missed several other appointments after that, which caused the Texas Department of State Health Services to reach out to Rodriguez-Singh to warn her she could lose government benefits for the boy. Everman Police said Rodriguez-Singh allegedly asked a friend’s son to pretend to be Rodriguez-Alvarez at the doctor’s office.

He was still alive in October because he was reportedly seen at the hospital after Rodriguez-Singh gave birth to twins. Following the birth, Rodriguez-Singh allegedly referred to Rodriguez-Alvarez as "evil" and "possessed." She also reportedly believed he had a demon living inside him.

The next month, in November, Rodriguez-Singh reportedly got photos and applied for passports for her six children, except for Rodriguez-Alvarez. When people asked about Rodriguez-Alvarez’s whereabouts, she allegedly said he was in Mexico with his biological father, in Mexico with his aunt, or that she sold him to a woman in a market parking lot.

Investigators determined Rodriguez-Alvarez had not been trafficked or sold.

In honor of Rodriguez-Alvarez’s memory, the city of Everman passed a resolution to name a new playground after him. They opted to take out his mother’s name from the title and named the park Noel Angel Alvarez Playground.

Spencer said at the Oct. 30 press conference, "The last thing I want is to have a 6-year-old boy die at the hands of his mother. 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."

MORE:

• 10.30.2023 Update on Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez - City of Everman
• Everman Police Update on Missing Child, Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, 3/31/2023 - Everman Police Department
• Police say missing Texas 6-year-old who mom allegedly called 'evil' is most likely dead, 4/7/2023 - TCD
• Media Release, 4/6/2023 - Everman Police Department
• Noel Angel Alvarez Playground, 5/17/2023 - Everman Emergency Services