BOSTON, June 28, 2017—The man who murdered 2-year-old Bella Bond was sentenced to life in prison today, with a judge ordering that he spend at least two decades behind bars before he is eligible for parole, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

MICHAEL PATRICK McCARTHY (D.O.B. 5/29/80) was convicted Monday of second-degree murder for killing the girl in June of 2015 in the Maxwell Street apartment he shared with Bella and her mother, RACHELLE DEE BOND (D.O.B. 7/25/75). Evidence and testimony introduced during the three-week trial established that he caused the child’s death and placed her body in a trash bag, which he then placed in a duffle bag he weighted down and dumped into Boston Harbor. The trash bag washed ashore some three weeks later.

McCarthy had been indicted for first-degree murder. Under Massachusetts law, jurors in such a case may also consider second-degree murder. McCarthy’s jury was additionally instructed on the elements of involuntary manslaughter but rejected that option.

Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term with parole eligibility after a period of 15 to 25 years as determined by the sentencing judge. Assistant District Attorney David Deakin, chief of the DA’s Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau, had recommended an eligibility date of 25 years, arguing that the crime was aggravated by the victim’s age and vulnerability, as well as the defendant’s position of trust.

“There are no mitigating factors,” Deakin said.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders set McCarthy’s parole eligibility at 20 years. From the bench, she noted the “very fair and professional” presentation of evidence and the fact that jurors – whom prosecutors and defense counsel individually questioned prior to their impanelment – “carefully sifted through” that evidence during five days of deliberations.

During about three weeks of trial, Deakin and Sachse proved that McCarthy was living with Bella and her mother, RACHELLE DEE BOND (D.O.B. 7/25/75), in an apartment on Maxwell Street in the weeks leading up to June 2015. Both adults were struggling with heroin addiction, the evidence showed.

On an evening in early June, the evidence showed, Bella was resisting going to sleep, and McCarthy entered her room to put her to bed. Rachelle Bond testified that she became concerned at some point, looked in the room, and saw McCarthy beating her. Bella’s face was discolored and she was not breathing; Rachelle Bond soon realized she was dead. Though the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner could not determine the exact cause of her death after weeks submerged under water, pathologists ruled out all forms of natural death and deemed her death a homicide.

Evidence established that McCarthy placed the 2-year-old girl’s body in a trash bag and, in the days that followed, drove to a to a family member’s business, where he obtained several free weights from a set stored there; placed them in a duffle bag with the trash bag containing Bella’s body; and travelled to an area in South Boston near the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal where McCarthy had hung out as a teen. He dumped the duffle bag in the water.

On June 24, 2015, the trash bag – now free of the duffle bag – washed up on the western shore of Deer Island. A woman walking her dog discovered the child inside, which led to a sprawling investigation to identify her and determine the cause of her death. A composite image generated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was shared millions of times, shattering records for State Police and the Suffolk DA’s social media pages.

Bella was identified through a tip from a person known to both McCarthy and Bond. On Sept. 18, 2015, both were taken into custody – McCarthy for murder and Bond as an accessory after the fact. The Suffolk County Grand Jury would later indict McCarthy for first-degree murder and Bond for being an accessory and for larceny as a result of her continued use of state benefits intended for her daughter.

There was no evidence introduced through any witness to indicate that Rachelle Bond had played a part in Bella Bond’s homicide. She pleaded guilty to all charges on Feb. 10 and is expected to face sentencing on July 12.

Assistant District Attorney Helle Sachse of the DA’s Appellate Division second-seated Deakin at trial. Appellate ADA Amanda Teo assisted during the pretrial stages. Kara Hayes was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. The case was investigated by State Police detectives assigned to the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit with Winthrop Police detectives.

 

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.