Was Mom of Murdered ‘Baby Doe’ Under Boyfriend’s Spell?

Prosecutors say Michael McCarthy killed Bella Bond and her mother can prove it. The defense says she can’t be trusted after living with her dead daughter.

BOSTON—Cool damp air blew through an open window in Room 906 of Suffolk Superior Courthouse, quietly clanking the ball-chain hanging from a curtain against the wall. More chilling though was the case lawyers were questioning prospective jurors to try.

This is the trial of a murdered 2-year-old girl, found by a woman walking her dog on the shore of Boston’s Deer Island two years ago. The girl’s identity and her death were a mystery and she became known as “Baby Doe” while police plastered her computer-generated image across the city, which then spread around the world. On a billboard, Baby Doe’s soft brown eyes pleaded to commuters, “Remember me?”

Three months later, Baby Doe was identified as Bella Bond and her mother’s boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, was arrested for murdering her, supposedly claiming later that he believed the girl was possessed.

“If you found out [the defendant] was interested in demons or Satan would that make him unworthy of your belief,” asked defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro. Could you believe the mother’s testimony, if she “waited several months to report the death,” asked assistant district attorney, David Deakin. “Would they expect scientific evidence to resolve all outstanding issues?” he asked again.

McCarthy, 37, is being tried in the same courtroom where just over four weeks ago, Aaron Hernandez, was acquitted of a double homicide, only to kill himself in his prison days later.
Prosecutors allege Bella’s body was first stored in a refrigerator for weeks before it was thrown into the water from a South Boston beach and washed ashore. The state also revealed in court documents, that someone witnessed Bella’s caregivers lock her in the closet, claiming she was a demon.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/05/25/was-mom-of-murdered-baby-doe-under-boyfriends-spell