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Charges Dropped Against NH Man Accused Of Killing 11-Year-Old Stepdaughter

LANCASTER, N.H. (AP) — Charges have been dropped against a New Hampshire man accused of killing his 11-year-old stepdaughter five years ago.

A court in Lancaster ruled Monday that fifty-two-year-old Wendell Noyes was not competent to stand trial and that his competency can't be restored. According to one evaluator, his mental illness creates a potentially serious likelihood of danger to others.

Noyes is accused of killing Celina Cass by submerging her body in the Connecticut River, where she was found six days after she was reported missing in July 2011. Her disappearance led to a search by federal, state and local law enforcement in the town of Stewartstown, a mile from the Canadian border.

Noyes was arrested in June at the state psychiatric hospital, where he had been hospitalized for about six months.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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