The murder trial of Michael P. McCarthy, the man accused of murdering a baby in the Boston area, begins today with opening statements in Suffolk County Superior Court.
A woman out walking her dog found the child’s body in a trash bag on Deer Island in Winthrop, Mass., in June 2015. The girl was known as “Baby Doe” on billboards and posters until she was identified months later as Bella Bond. Computer-enhanced images of what she probably looked like alive were showcased around the Boston area while authorities struggled to identify her.
The girl’s mother, Rachelle Bond, pleaded guilty to helping dispose of her daughter’s body. She will testify against her ex-boyfriend McCarthy as part of a plea agreement.
McCarthy has claimed he had no involvement with the little girl’s disappearance. He claims that when he stopped seeing Bella, the girl’s mother told him the little girl was taken away by child services officials, just has her other two children had.
Joseph Amoroso, Bella’s father, plans to attend the trial. He was living in Florida when the girl disappeared.
Prosecutors say McCarthy killed the baby and stored her body in a refrigerator in the apartment he shared with the mother. Later, the girl’s body was thrown into the water from a South Boston beach. It eventually washed ashore.
Prosecutors also say Rachelle Bond saw McCarthy punch the little girl over and over again one night when she wouldn’t go to sleep. He punched Bella until she died, prosecutors say, though Bond claims she only thought the girl was injured.
Rachelle Bond also claims McCarthy told her the baby was a “demon” and that it was “her time to die.”
Prospective jurors were questioned about the defendant being “interested in demons or Satan.”
Opening statements are slated for Tuesday morning. Later, the jury is expected to take a tour of critical crime scene areas.
[Ed. Note: This story was updated on May 31st to change the headline.]
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