BOSTON (WHDH) — Jurors in the Bella Bond murder trial will continue their deliberations Wednesday after the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments on Tuesday.
Prosecutors said Michael McCarthy punched his girlfriend’s daughter to death and then stuffed her body in a trash bag with weights to weigh it down.
Prosecutors said McCarthy then dumped her body in Boston Harbor, shortly before she washed up on the beach on Deer Island. Before she was identified, she was known only as “Baby Doe” and sparked a nationwide campaign in hopes of figuring out who she was.
“The defendant killed that child and dumped her body and if you find him not guilty, he will be getting away with murder,” said prosecutor David Deakin.
Bella’s mother, Rachelle Bond, brokered a plea deal. She pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and testified against McCarthy against the trial and in exchange will likely get out of jail when the trial is over. Bond testified that she saw McCarthy punch her daughter and said McCarthy told her Bella was a demon and it was her time to die.
In his closing argument, defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro said Bond is the one who killed her daughter. Shapiro went on to say there is no forensic evidence that ties McCarthy to Bella’s murder.
“The monster came for that little girl and it was her mother,” said Shapiro. “His DNA was not there, his fingerprints were not there, his hair was not there.”
Before the jury began deliberating, Judge Janet Sanders said jurors can find McCarthy guilty even if they think he did not act alone.
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