Missing Texas Boy’s Stepfather Stole $10,000 Before Leaving for India: Police
Everman Police said the stepfather of a missing boy who is presumed dead is facing another felony after they say he stole $10,000 in cash from his employer before leaving for India with his wife and her six children last month.
Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, a 6-year-old boy from Everman, appeared malnourished and unhealthy in October 2022, the last time family members said they saw him alive. Following a tip, Everman Police began looking into Noel's welfare in March and within days police said his mother and stepfather had left the country.
Everman Chief of Police CW Spencer said during a news conference Tuesday that investigators have now added a felony charge of theft for Arshdeep Singh, the missing boy's stepfather. According to Spencer, Arshdeep worked delivering products to convenience stores and in the hours before leaving the country last month he allegedly forged documents to hide the theft of $10,000 in cash from his employer.
Spencer said investigators looking into a large deposit alerted the company to the altered document and missing money.
The one-way airline tickets to India for Arshdeep and the boy's mother, Cindy Singh, and her six children, were bought with a credit card the day before they left the country, Spencer said.
On Tuesday, Spencer ran down a list of facts he said investigators have uncovered so far in their investigation. Those are listed below:
Noel was never enrolled in school, though he had been tested and qualified for early entry and therapy.
The boy's family said Noel was abused and neglected regularly, and that food and water were withheld because Cindy didn't like his dirty diapers.
The boy's family said Noel was struck in the face with keys for drinking water.
Cindy referred to Noel as evil, possessed, or having a demon in him.
Noel began missing doctor appointments after July 2022.
Cindy asked to borrow a friend's child to attend a doctor's appointment so she could retain benefits.
Noel was described as unhealthy and malnourished the last time he was seen.
Cindy told different stories about his whereabouts, including that she sold him to a lady in a grocery parking lot.
His biological father and aunt in Mexico have never met him.
No data has been found that shows the family made trips to the Texas-Mexico border or that he had been sold.
Cindy told her family to lie to the police about seeing Noel recently.
The family lived in squalor but chose to spend the majority of a tax return on a concrete patio for a home they don't own.
The contractor who poured the porch said Cindy was in a hurry and was indecisive and that she asked for it to be thicker in a certain area.
Noel's stepfather Arshdeep disposed of a single indoor/outdoor carpet in a dumpster the night before they left the country but left behind other trash in their rented home.
Multiple cadaver dogs "alerted" to the indoor/outdoor carpet recovered by investigators as well as the dirt underneath the new patio, indicating the one-time presence of human remains. Police said there was no physical material found large enough to test.
Arshdeep stole $10,000 from his employer hours before the family left for India.
Electronic visas were obtained one day after a welfare check.
The family bought one-way tickets to India and left the country shortly after police began to question the whereabouts of Noel.
Meanwhile, officials have not provided any new information in the search for the boy's mother and stepfather. Spencer said they are reliant upon federal partners to work with international partners to locate and extradite Cindy and Arshdeep Singh.
In addition to the new felony charge filed for Arshdeep, the couple is also charged with felony child abandonment and endangerment in the missing boy's case.
Source: NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
