Baby Doe’s mother arrested, man charged

Associated Press

BOSTON

A mother was arrested and her boyfriend was charged with murder in the death of a little girl whose body was found inside a trash bag on a Boston Harbor island this summer and who became known as Baby Doe, a prosecutor said Friday after a monthslong campaign to learn the girl’s identity.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said that he authorized the murder charge for the boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, and that the mother, Rachelle Bond, was under arrest for accessory to murder after the fact.

The girl became known as Baby Doe as investigators trying to find out who she was and how she died launched a massive social media campaign including a composite sketch of her, showing her chubby cheeks and brown eyes. Her real name was Bella Bond, prosecutors said Friday.

“At just shy of 3 years old, Bella Bond was a true innocent,” Conley said at a news conference announcing the charges.

“This child, whose very name means beauty, was murdered,” he said.

After Baby Doe’s body was found in June, police immediately appealed to the public for help. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, using photos of her remains, created a composite image of what she might have looked like when she was alive. Within two weeks, the image had reached an estimated 47 million people on Facebook.

Photos of Bella posted on her mother’s Facebook page looked strikingly similar to the composite image.

Conley didn’t comment on a possible motive behind the girl’s death.

“That’s always a perplexing matter for us,” he said. “Why does anyone kill a 2-year-old child? What could she have done?”

State House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Bond and McCarthy were blaming each other for the death.