Mother charged in murder of 6‑year‑old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez halts CBS News Texas jail interview

For the first time since her arrest,  Cindy Rodriguez Singh  – the North Texas mother charged with murdering her 6‑year‑old son – agreed to speak with CBS News Texas. 

It happened on the same day the Tarrant County Medical Examiner confirmed that recently discovered remains belonged to her child, ending a months‑long search.

But within seconds of sitting down inside the Tarrant County Jail on Friday, the conversation took an unexpected turn.

Rodriguez Singh appeared behind the thick visitation glass, just feet away, seemingly prepared to talk. But as we were setting up a microphone, she abruptly said she wanted her attorney present.

"My attorney… my attorney should be present," she told me.

When I asked whether she had spoken with him, she said she had – "a few days ago, before all this."

Neither jail staff nor our team had been told she required her attorney to be in the room, so we immediately began trying to reach him.

Attempts to reach her attorney

For the next 45 minutes, phones rang across the jail and in our newsroom as everyone tried to reach her attorney, Bob Gill.

I left him a voicemail: "Cindy Singh has told us she would like to speak with us, and as we were gathering, she said she wanted you in the room. Everyone is trying to get a hold of you to honor that request."

But without Gill's confirmation, it became unclear whether she would continue the interview.

A definitive answer

Less than an hour after my first face‑to‑face encounter with her, Gill finally returned the call.

His message was brief: "I am not going to authorize you to talk to her."

He confirmed that while Rodriguez Singh had expressed interest in speaking, he would not permit the interview, with or without his presence.

We honored that decision.

A day of new developments

The attempted interview came on the same day the Tarrant County Medical Examiner positively identified the remains of her son, ending a months‑long search and confirming the community's worst fears.

What Rodriguez Singh hoped to say – whether to defend herself, explain her actions, or offer any insight into the case – remains unknown.

Officials call discovery years in the making

The interview attempt followed Everman Police Chief Al Brooks' announcement on Thursday that the remains were found during a renewed search of the Wisteria Drive property.

Brooks said the discovery is the result of a years‑long investigation in which law enforcement "refused to give up on Noel." Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells echoed that message, saying investigators "will not stop working for justice for him.

Rodriguez Singh was charged with capital murder last year after investigators concluded Noel had not been seen since October 2022 – months before his family reported him missing in March 2023.

Mother ruled incompetent for trial

Earlier this year, a judge ruled her incompetent to stand trial, and she is awaiting transfer to a state hospital for treatment. She has remained in custody since being returned to Texas after leaving the country with her husband and six other children in 2023.  

Noel's disappearance triggered a wide‑ranging investigation that included multiple searches of the family's former home. Cadaver dogs had previously alerted to the scent of human remains in the backyard, but earlier searches did not uncover a body.

Renewed search brings major development

This week's renewed search - led by the FBI, Everman police, and the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office - involved heavy machinery, hand‑digging, and forensic sifting.

Officials have not disclosed what new information led them back to the property or what specifically prompted the latest excavation.

Friday's attempted interview came at a pivotal moment in a case that has drawn national attention and raised painful questions about how a child could disappear without notice for months.