A Massachusetts man has been convicted of second-degree murder Monday in the 2015 death of 2-year-old “Baby Doe,” after her remains washed up on the shores of a Boston Harbor island, sparking a month-long investigation to identify her.

Michael P. McCarthy, 37, was charged in the killing of Bella Bond, the daughter of his former girlfriend Rachelle Bond. A computer-generated image of the girl was shared by millions on social media after she was dubbed Baby Doe by investigators who were trying to identify her.

MASSACHUSETTS MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING ‘BABY DOE’ WON’T TESTIFY

The widely shared image showed a chubby-cheeked, brown-eyed girl. Her body was found inside a trash bag on Deer Island in Winthrop on June 25, 2015 by a woman walking a dog.

BREAKING: Mom’s Boyfriend Convicted of Murdering ‘Baby Doe,’ 2, Whose Remains Were Found Along Mass. Shoreline https://t.co/8Z5a8AYXvX — People Magazine (@people) June 26, 2017

The Suffolk County Superior Court jury had been deliberating since June 20.

Prosecutors had charged McCarthy with first-degree murder, but the judge said jurors could also consider two lesser charges – second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, Boston 25 News reported. Under a second-degree murder conviction, a person is eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison.

McCarthy will be sentenced Wednesday.

Bond and McCarthy were arrested in Sept. 2015 after Bond told a friend McCarthy had killed her daughter.

Bond pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact for helping McCarthy dispose of the girl's body. Under a plea deal with prosecutors, Bond is expected to be released after McCarthy's trial, serving less than two years in jail.

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McCarthy’s lawyer claimed Bond was the real killer. He called her a “monster” who made up a “web of lies” to put the blame on McCarthy.

Both Bond and McCarthy were heroin addicts. A friend testified that McCarthy would lock the toddler in a closet to discipline her. Prosecutors alleged that McCarthy murdered Bella because he thought she was possessed by evil spirits. He had allegedly been obsessed with the occult for years.

"He said it was her time to die, she was a demon," Bond said.

Bond testified that on the night Bella died, she walked into the girl’s bedroom and saw McCarthy leaning over her and punching her. She said she saw McCarthy punch her in the abdomen so hard she bounced off the mattress.

McCarthy's lawyer aggressively cross-examined Bond about why she didn't call police or report her daughter's death to anyone. She claimed McCarthy threatened to kill her.

The defense also said prosecutors "made a deal with the devil" in offering Bond time-served in exchange for her testimony against McCarthy.

Click for more from Boston 25 News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>Michael McCarthy, the man accused of killing 2-year-old Bella Bond, has been found guilty of second-degree murder by a Suffolk Superior Court jury.

Monday marked the fifth day of deliberations for the jury, which had the choice between saying McCarthy was not guilty, guilty of murder in the first degree, guilty of murder in the second degree or guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

McCarthy, 37, was found guilty of second-degree murder, meaning the killing was not premeditated.

Bella’s body was found on the beach of Deer Island in June 2015, having washed ashore wrapped in a trash bag. For months she was known only as “Baby Doe” as investigators worked on identifying the toddler, following hundreds of tips that poured in from across the region.

She was finally identified in September 2015 after Michael Sprinsky, a former friend of McCarthy, told state police that Bella’s mother, Rachelle Bond, confessed the incident to him, according to the Boston Globe.

McCarthy pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. His defense attorney told jurors during the trial that Bella’s mother — who McCarthy was dating at the time — is actually responsible for the toddler’s death.

Bond struck a plea deal allowing her to escape additional prison time in exchange for her testimony in the trial. Bond pleaded guilty in February to being an accessory after the fact to murder, as well as to larceny for the state welfare checks she received after Bella died.

Bond testified that McCarthy punched Bella, hitting her hard enough that she bounced off of her bed.

"He said it was her time to die, she was a demon," Bond, 41, testified.

During the trial, Sprinsky also testified that McCarthy said he believed the little girl was possessed by demons “all the time.”

Megan Fewtrell, who identified herself as Bella's godmother, told reporters she was "very happy" with the verdict.

"I'm feeling justice for Bella," she said.

Second-degree murder carries a life sentence with a chance of parole after 15 years. McCarthy will be sentenced Wednesday and Bond will be sentenced Thursday to an expected term of time followed by probation, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.</s>BOSTON (WHDH/AP) – The mother of a 2-year-old girl who became known as Baby Doe after her remains washed up on Winthrop’s Deer Island is expected to remain behind bars for two more weeks.

RELATED: Michael McCarthy convicted of 2nd-degree murder in death of Bella Bond

Rachelle Bond was to be sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty in February to being an accessory after the fact in the death of her daughter, Bella Bond. Instead, the judge reset the date for July 12 because no beds were available for Bond at inpatient substance abuse treatment facilities.

The judge also said no one objected to the prosecution’s request that Bond be sentenced to time served and probation.

Bond and her ex-boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, were arrested in September 2015 in Bella’s killing that year.

McCarthy was convicted Monday of second-degree murder and faces sentencing Wednesday.</s>The man accused of killing Bella Bond is guilty of murder in the second degree, a jury decided Monday morning.

Michael McCarthy could have been found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter.

The conviction means that the jury doesn't believe there was extreme atrocity or cruelty in the murder, but it was still deliberate and he intended to kill Bella Bond.

Bella Bond's body was found two years ago, washed ashore Deer Island. She was identified until September 2015, and state police arrested McCarthy for murder and Rachelle Bond, Bella's mother, on the charge of accessory after the fact. As part of a plea deal, she will get time served and two years of probation. She had to testify against her former boyfriend.

With a second-degree murder conviction, McCarthy will face life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 15 years. McCarthy will be sentenced June 28 at 10 a.m., the judge announced. 



When the jury announced the verdict, McCarthy had no reaction. Others in the courtroom were emotional.



"Second-degree murder means justice for Bella. Finally justice for Bella," said Meghan Fewtrell, Bella's godmother.

Fewtrell also said she thinks that Bella's mother, Rachelle Bond, should be serving more time for her "parading around" and "lies." As part of a plea deal, Bond will get time served and probation.

"She let me down, she let Bella down, and the person she turned into, I don't know her anymore," said Fewtrell.

Fewtrell said she hopes to make "Bella's Law" which would have tougher punishments for those charged with accessory after the fact.

Bella was smart, beautiful, loved life and cats, Fewtrell remembered following the verdict.

"She loved going to the beach, she didn't like sand touching her toes though," she said.

Michael Sprinsky, a former friend of McCarthy's who helped crack the case for police, was also emotional remembering the 2-year-old. He testified against McCarthy in the trial, and admitted to having a lot of guilt around the case.

"It was very very very hard... but I managed to do the right thing and get clean in the process. Bella saved my life," said Sprinsky.

Though McCarthy used to be Sprinsky's best friend, Sprinsky said he was relieved with the verdict.

"He's a sick psychopath who got what he deserved," he said.

When it comes to Bond, Sprinsky said he wasn't happy with the plea deal she struck.

"Karma will take care of that itself," said Sprinsky.

Jonathan Shapiro, McCarthy's attorney, said they will appeal the decision.

"An innocent man is going to prison for the rest of his life for a crime she committed," said Shapiro.

However, District Attorney Dan Conley said that they were able to corroborate all of Bond's side of the story from the beginning. Conley did not have positive things to say about her behavior.

"She acted reprehensibly," he said.

Conley said that it was clear Bond loved her little girl, but let her down through her drug use.

"To everyone who says drug dealing is a victimless, harmless crime, I point to this case,” said Conley.

He thanked the police officers, assistant district attorneys and witness advocate that worked on the case over the last two years, giving Bella a voice.

Conley said that Bond will be sentenced in a week or two, and she will be held accountable, noting she's spent nearly two years in prison so far.

What happened during the trial

The trial last just over three weeks, with testimony from Bond, Sprinsky, Joe Amoroso, Bella’s biological father, neighbors and state troopers.

The testimony detailed the time leading up to and following Bella’s murder. The 2-year-old girl was killed in June 2015 and her body was dumped in the Boston Harbor.

The state argued that McCarthy killed Bella, their key witness being Bond. She testified in court that McCarthy punched Bella to death one night when Bella wasn’t wanting to go to bed. He allegedly said, “it was her time to die, there was a demon in her.” Bond and others testified that McCarthy was into the occult, demons, astrology and reiki.

Related: ‘A deal with the devil': Will jury believe Bella Bond's mother?

McCarthy’s attorney alleged that Bond was actually the murderer, and that’s why she hid it from everyone she knew, including Bella’s father, Amoroso. The state contends that Bond was scared of McCarthy and she said he threatened to kill her. The jury did not believe that argument. 



Another key witness was Michael Sprinsky, McCarthy’s former friend who had stayed at Bond’s Maxwell Street apartment in early 2015. He testified that Bond met up with him at a gas station and told him about Bella’s death. He said he was shocked. The state presented text he sent to McCarthy.



“She told me everything. Can't stop puking. You killed Bella, bro,” he texted to McCarthy.



During the cross examination, Sprinsky said he didn’t think that Bond was afraid of McCarthy. However, he also admitted telling Bond after learning of Bella’s death, "You better run because he’s crazy."</s>(CNN) — The man convicted Monday of killing Bella Bond now faces an automatic life sentence for the 2-year-old’s death.

Michael McCarthy was found guilty of second-degree murder for the death of Bella, whose remains were found two years ago in a trash bag near Boston.

In Massachusetts, a conviction for second-degree murder carries an automatic sentence of life in prison.

Suffolk County prosecutors said McCarthy, the then-boyfriend of Bella’s mother Rachelle Bond, killed Bella, put the toddler’s body in a trash bag and dumped it into the water near Deer Island.

After the verdict, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley thanked the jurors.

“An innocent life was not merely snuffed out, but callously discarded,” Conley said.

But McCarthy’s defense attorneys said the murder charge was largely based on the word of Rachelle Bond, a “scheming, manipulative woman” who lied about her daughter’s death to cover up her own responsibility.

Rachelle Bond has pleaded guilty to charges including being an accessory after the fact to murder. As part of a deal with prosecutors, she testified during the trial and will be sentenced to probation.

After McCarthy’s conviction Monday, his defense attorney maintained that Bond was the true killer.

“An innocent man is going to prison for the rest of his life for a crime that she committed,” defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro said.

Shapiro said he plans to appeal McCarthy’s conviction.

The disturbing saga began two years ago when an unidentified toddler’s partially decomposed body was found in a trash bag off the shoreline of Deer Island in Boston.

Authorities launched an extensive effort to try to identify the girl, known as “Baby Doe,” and commissioned a forensic artist to draw a composite image of her. The image was shared widely and led to thousands of tips, but the child’s identity remained a mystery for months.

The case broke open in September 2015, when Rachelle Bond admitted to a friend that her daughter Bella was dead, and that the girl had not been taken away by the Department of Children and Families, as she had told others. The friend then recognized Baby Doe as Bella Bond, and called police with the information.

That led to the arrest of McCarthy. Bond was also charged for helping dispose of Bella’s body — and for taking government benefits for her daughter after her death.

The trial lasted about three weeks. During closing statements, prosecutors said that the path that led to the courtroom was the devastating world of heroin addiction that had plagued the lives of McCarthy, Rachelle Bond, and those around them.

“It’s primarily heroin that led us all here,” Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney David Deakin said in closing arguments.</s>Michael McCarthy was found guilty of second-degree murder Monday in the death of 2-year-old Bella Bond, whose remains were found in a trash bag two years ago near Boston.

Suffolk County prosecutors argued McCarthy, the then-boyfriend of Bella’s mother Rachelle Bond, killed Bella and then put her body in a trash bag and dumped it into the water near Shore Island.

McCarthy’s defense attorneys said the charge was largely based on the word of Rachelle Bond, a “scheming, manipulative woman” who lied about her daughter’s death to cover up her own responsibility.

Rachelle Bond has pleaded guilty to charges including being an accessory after the fact to murder. As part of a deal with prosecutors, she testified during the trial and will be sentenced to probation.

The disturbing saga began two years ago when an unidentified toddler’s partially decomposed body was found in a trash bag off the shoreline of Deer Island in Boston.

Authorities launched an extensive effort to try to identify the girl, known as “Baby Doe,” and commissioned a forensic artist to draw a composite image of her. The image was shared widely and led to thousands of tips, but the child’s identity remained a mystery for months.

The case broke open in September 2015, when Rachelle Bond admitted to a friend that her daughter Bella was dead, and that the girl had not been taken away by the Department of Children and Families, as she had told others. The friend then recognized Baby Doe as Bella Bond, and called police with the information.

That led to the arrest of McCarthy. Bond was also charged for helping dispose of Bella’s body — and for taking government benefits for her daughter after her death.

The trial lasted about three weeks. During closing statements, prosecutors said that the path that led to the courtroom was the devastating world of heroin addiction that had plagued the lives of McCarthy, Rachelle Bond, and those around them.

“It’s primarily heroin that led us all here,” Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney David Deakin said in closing statements.</s>BOSTON (AP) —A verdict has been reached in the trial of the man charged with killing Bella Bond.

Michael McCarthy is guilty of murder in the second degree.

The jury deliberated for six days before reaching a verdict shortly after reconvening Monday morning.

Michael McCarthy is accused of killing the daughter of his ex-girlfriend Rachelle Bond in 2015.

McCarthy’s lawyer told jurors during closing arguments that the girl’s mother is the real killer and created a “web of lies” to blame him.

A prosecutor conceded Rachelle Bond behaved badly but said there’s no evidence she killed her daughter.

The little girl’s body washed ashore on a Boston Harbor island. A composite image of the girl was shared by millions of people on social media after she was dubbed Baby Doe by authorities trying to determine her identity.

Watch Eyewitness News at Noon for the latest developments.</s>BOSTON (WHDH) — After nearly 24 hours of deliberating, a verdict has been reached in the trial of a man accused killing a 2-year-old girl, whose body was found stuffed in a trash bag on a Deer Island beach in 2015.

Michael McCarthy is charged with punching Bella Bond to death inside a Dorchester apartment before dumping her weighted-down body in Boston Harbor.

“I just saw her bounce off the bed,” Bella’s mother Rachelle Bond said in her testimony. “She bounced up and came back down.”

Bond agreed to testify against McCarthy after making an immunity deal with prosecutors. She previously pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact for allegedly helping McCarthy dispose of Bella’s body. She is slated to be set free upon conclusion of the trial.

After Bella’s death, Bond told the court that she did not flee the apartment because she was scared. She said McCarthy then grabbed her by the throat, threatened to kill her and then injected her with heroin. A day later, Bond said the pair went to dump Bella’s body.

Bond said she saw a duffel bag in the backseat filled with weights and could tell Bella’s body was inside.

Bond said she confronted McCarthy later that day and when she told him he killed her daughter, she said McCarthy told her, “She was a demon. It was her time to die.”

For months, Bella was only known as “Baby Doe” as authorities struggled to identify her. A composite image of the girl was shared by millions on social media.</s>BOSTON (WHDH) — Friends and family members told 7News they are thankful the jury decided to convict Michael McCarthy of killing Bella Bond, saying it is justice for the little girl.

McCarthy, 37, was convicted Monday of second-degree murder in the 2015 death of 2-year-old Bella. Her body was found stuffed inside a trash bag that washed up on a Deer Island beach.

“People don’t realize a dangerous, violent man was very close to hitting the streets,” said Michael Sprinsky, a longtime friend of McCarthy’s. “I’m just glad something was done.”

RELATED: Michael McCarthy convicted of murder in death of ‘Baby Doe’

Sprinsky, a key witness for the prosecution, told reporters Monday he felt justice has been served now that the jury decided to convict McCarthy. He testified during the trial that Bella mother’s, Rachelle Bond, told him that McCarthy had killed the toddler.

“There is not going to be a dangerous man on the street being able to hurt another child,” said Sprinsky.

Sprinsky also said he is “bothered” by the fact that Bella’s mother was only given time served. Bond struck a plea deal to testify against McCarthy after she pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.

“Karma will take care of that,” Sprinsky said when asked about Bond. He said Bond will also have to live with what happened to her daughter for the rest of her life.

Bond testified that on the night Bella died, she walked into the girl’s bedroom and saw McCarthy leaning over her and punching her in the stomach. She said she saw McCarthy punch her so hard she bounced off the mattress.

Bond said McCarthy told her he had to kill Bella because she was a demon and it was her time to die.

Sprinksy said it was all a joke for McCarthy is the court room.

Bella Bond’s godmother also said Monday’s guilty verdict is justice for the 2-year-old. Megan Fewtrell said McCarthy had a smirk on his face as the jury’s verdict was read.

“He came in smirking,” said Fewtrell said. “I told him wipe that smirk off your face.”

Fewtrell said she believes McCarthy should have been charged with first-degree murder and that Rachelle Bond should get more time.

“She let me down, she let Bella down and the person she turned into, I don’t know her anymore,” said Fewtrell.</s>BOSTON (CBS/AP) — The sentencing of the mother of Bella Bond has been pushed back two weeks to a date when a bed in a rehab facility will be available for her.

Rachelle Bond will be sentenced to time served on July 12 for her role in her 2-year-old daughter’s death in 2015.

Janice Bassil, Bond’s attorney, said that she and Bond agreed that it was best if Bond remained in jail until she could go directly into rehab.

Bond pleaded guilty back in February to being an accessory and to larceny as a result of her continued use of state benefits intended for her daughter.

Earlier this month, she testified against her boyfriend Michael McCarthy at his trial. He was convicted Monday of second-degree murder in Bella’s death.

After Bond’s sentencing hearing was pushed back, Bassil told reporters outside Suffolk Superior Court that Bond was relieved by McCarthy’s guilty verdict.

“She didn’t kill her child. Yes, she made some terrible mistakes in her life, including not reporting it, but she’s going to lead her life and if there are people in the public that have a problem with that, that’s their problem,” said Bassil.

Bond plans to get sober and testify against McCarthy at his parole hearing, according to Bassil.

The terms of Bond’s probation are centered around her prior drug use. She must undergo a doctor’s evaluation and comply with the recommendation, including substance abuse treatment. She is subject random drug testing to prove that she is not using any drugs or alcohol. Lastly, she is prohibited from living with anyone that uses illegal substances.

Bond and McCarthy were arrested in September 2015, three months after Bella Bond’s body washed ashore on Deer Island.

A computer-generated image of the girl was shared by millions on social media by authorities trying to determine her identity.

“It was clear to us that Rachelle Bond loved the little girl, but at the same time she also let that little girl down terribly, but that doesn’t make her a murderer. Michael McCarthy is responsible for her death and the jury spoke,” Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley said Monday.

McCarthy will be sentenced Thursday to life in prison with the chance of parole in 15 years.
Michael P. McCarthy (ex-boyfriend of Bella's mother) is found guilty of second-degree murder in the killing of Bella Bond.