Baby Doe Update: Mother Arrested, What Motive Is Behind Bella’s Murder? [Video]
Those involved in the murder of Baby Doe have been arrested.
Baby Doe, the little girl found dead in a trash bag in Boston earlier this summer, has finally been identified as Bella Bond. Thought to be around 4-years-old, it is now known that Bella was just under three. Bella’s mother and her mother’s boyfriend have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Rachelle Bond, Bella’s mother, and Michael Patrick McCarthy, the mother’s boyfriend, were arrested earlier this week in connection with the baby’s death. Originally, McCarthy was arrested for murder, while the mother was arrested as an accessory after the fact. The two blamed each other for the baby’s murder.
According to CNN, Michael McCarthy allegedly punched the baby girl in the stomach repeatedly. Why would he do such a thing? McCarthy thought Bella was possessed. It is not yet known if this abuse was the cause of Bella’s death.
WCVB5 in Boston reports that it was the baby’s mother who told police that McCarthy punched the toddler in the stomach.
Although the mother claims McCarthy thought the baby was possessed, police are still looking for a true motive. In fact, the motive as well as the cause of death are still being investigated, as Bella’s body showed no signs of trauma. Regarding a motive, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley declined to speculate, reports the Associated Press.
“Why does anyone kill a 2-year-old child? What could she have done?”
Police worked for months to find the identity of Baby Doe, even going so far as to post a composite photo, created from her remains by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, on billboards in the Boston area.
Billboard seen in MA in past 3 months, re: appeal to the public to help ID Baby Doe. Case has made natnl. headlines. pic.twitter.com/lANJwxzjVt
— Elizabeth Cherneff (@echerneff) September 18, 2015
The composite photo of Baby Doe so closely resembles Bella Bond it’s difficult to believe that it took so long for someone to recognize her and come forward with information.
We are learning more about about #BabyDoe / #BellaBond‘s short life: http://t.co/riK1w1Pxn3pic.twitter.com/XnKm0B0E85
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 19, 2015
CBS Boston spoke with the sister of Bella’s mother, Tamera Bond, who claims that though she followed the story of Baby Doe, she never realized it could be her niece. Tamera said the baby’s mother has a history of drugs as well as a “volatile and angry” disposition. When she saw Bella in January, Tamera could tell that Bella’s mother wasn’t treating her right, but she says she never saw any physical abuse by the mother.
Bella’s mother has previously had two older children removed from her custody, and the Department of Children and Families investigated the mother for neglect of Bella both in 2012 and 2013.
Do you think the fact that the baby’s mother has been arrested only as an accessory after the fact brings justice to Bella? Do you think the mother is guilty?
[Image via Study2Survive]
