BOSTON, Sept. 21, 2015—The mother of 2-year-old Bella Bond was held on $1 million dollars’ cash bail as an accessory after the fact to her murder, and the woman’s boyfriend was ordered held without bail for the murder itself, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Dorchester Municipal Court Judge Thomas Kaplanes imposed the bail orders at the arraignments of MICHAEL PATRICK McCARTHY (D.O.B. 5/29/80) of Quincy and RACHELLE DEE BOND (D.O.B. 7/25/75) of Dorchester on the request of Assistant District Attorney David Deakin, chief of the DA’s Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau.

Bella Bond became known to the world as “Baby Doe” after her lifeless, unidentified body was found in a trash bag on the western shore of Deer Island on the afternoon of June 25. A woman noticed the bag when her dog spotted and began pawing at it; when she opened it, Deakin said, she saw the limb of a small child inside.

When detectives opened the bag, the found the child’s body dressed in white leggings with black polka dots and no top. Also in the bag were two blankets, one a black-and-white zebra print fleece blanket. Preliminary interviews at the scene suggested that the bag had been on the beach for at least 24 hours before it was opened.

The discovery sparked a months-long, international search for the child’s identity. Members of the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit – a team of State Police detectives assigned to Conley’s office who investigate deaths in Chelsea, Revere, Winthrop, and certain locations inside Boston – received thousands of tips through dedicated phone and text lines, conducted and coordinated hundreds of well-being checks, and consulted with specialists in various forensic disciplines to learn her name.

A composite image created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children based on photos of Bella’s body was viewed more than 50 million times, shattering previous social media page-view records for both Massachusetts State Police and Conley’s office.

Those efforts came to fruition late last week after a man whom Deakin described as a “lifelong friend” of McCarthy encountered Bond, who told him that she had quit drugs. The friend, who was under the impression that Bond’s daughter was in state custody, said that was great news because she could “get Bella back.”

At this point, Deakin said, Bond “broke down” and said she would never see Bella again because “Michael McCarthy killed her and I’m an accessory after the fact.”

The friend texted McCarthy, urging McCarthy to “tell me it’s not true.” McCarthy allegedly responded by repeating the claim that Bella was in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.

The friend at this point texted a relative asking her to look up the child known as “Baby Doe” and soon saw the NCMEC composite image – which he had not previously seen – and noticed the striking resemblance. At about this time, the relative contacted Boston Police homicide detectives and relayed the tip with Bella’s identity and the suspicion that McCarthy was responsible.

State police detectives met with the friend, who explained that he had moved in with Bond and McCarthy for about a week several months prior and was “appalled” at how they treated the child, yelling at her and locking her in a closet. Also, he said, McCarthy had become interested in the occult and believed he could see demons and ghosts – and that Bella was possessed by one.

Detectives interviewed Bond, who allegedly stated that Bella was being unruly one night in late May and would not go to sleep. McCarthy went into her room to calm her down. When Bond went in to check on them, she allegedly said, she observed McCarthy with his hand on Bella’s abdomen. Her face was swollen and red.

“She was a demon anyway,” McCarthy allegedly said. “It was her time to die.”

McCarthy allegedly threatened that he or his friends would kill Bond if she went to the police. He allegedly placed Bella’s body in a trash bag and placed it in the refrigerator and later brought a large quantity of heroin into the home, some of which he injected into Bond’s neck. They remained intoxicated for several days, she said. At some point, she said, McCarthy placed the trash bag with Bella’s body inside a duffel bag and brought it to his car. He then drove to a location in the Seaport District, where he weighted it down and placed it in the water.

When confronted by detectives, McCarthy for his part allegedly maintained that Bella was in DCF custody.

Deakin told the court that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had previously ruled out natural causes and disease in Bella Bond’s death but had not ruled out suffocation or asphyxiation, which can leave no signs of physical trauma.

Kara Hayes is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. McCarthy is represented by attorney Jonathan Shapiro. Bond is represented by attorney Janice Bassil. Both are expected back in court on Oct. 20.

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