Did DCF Fail Baby Doe? State Criticized For Not Recognizing Dead Child
Now that “Baby Doe” has been identified, and arrests have been made, criticism is being directed to the Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families. The Daily Beast asks an important question. How could the state not recognize the child whose remains were discovered earlier this year?
Massachusetts’ DCF had been involved with the mother of Bella Bond a handful of times. In fact, not only had the state investigated the woman regarding Bella at least twice, they had also removed two previous children from her custody. In other words, the Department of Children and Families were more than merely acquainted with Rachelle Bond — the mother of the child once known in the media as “Baby Doe.”
Over the course of at least 85 days, generated images of the then-unidentified child littered media headlines, billboards, and flyers across the United States — especially in the state of Massachusetts. Meanwhile, nobody from DCF ever came forward, even after having so many experiences in dealing with Rachelle Bond. Though, it should be noted that DCF isn’t the only collective of people who did not come forward over the course of time that Bella Bond remained unidentified. Neighbors who had admittedly noticed that Bella was missing from her mother’s custody did not connect the generated images with the little girl — even though the images closely resemble the little girl. Because of the mother’s history with DCF, neighbors apparently assumed that the child had been taken from her custody.
The Sentinel & Enterprise reports that the biological father of “Baby Doe” is standing in support of Rachelle Bond, even though she had allegedly acted as an accessory to her boyfriend after the child was slain. Other reports have revealed that Bond’s boyfriend punched the little girl to death before storing her body in their refrigerator for approximately one month. At some point after the child was kept in a refrigerator, her body was wrapped in a black garbage bag, and she was discarded along the Boston shoreline, where she was ultimately discovered.
Criticism against DCF is also sweeping across social media, with some people calling for “Bella’s Law,” which could require parents to become part of a national database if they’ve ever been part of the DCF system as negligent or abusive parents. Others are declaring that the entire system and the people who surrounded Bella Bond completely failed her. Do you think these people are right, or do you stand behind Bella’s biological father in supporting Rachelle Bond?
[Photo: Facebook/Bella Bond]
