Funeral Held in Massachusetts for 'Baby Doe' Bella Bond
Bella was remembered today by loved ones and the Massachusetts community.
— -- A private funeral service was held today to bury Bella Bond, the Massachusetts toddler who was found dead on Deer Island in June, and whose mother has been charged in connection with her death.
Bella was unidentified when her body was discovered this summer, and she was nicknamed "Baby Doe" as police spent months investigating her death. The case captivated the country and computer composites used in an attempt to identify her were viewed by millions.
In September, the girl was identified by police as Bella Bond, and Michael McCarthy, 35, was charged with murder, while the child’s mother, Rachelle Bond, 40, was charged as an accessory after the fact, authorities said.
Bella was remembered today by loved ones and the Massachusetts community, including her biological father, Joseph Amoroso, ABC affiliate WCVB-TV reported, as well as Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, whose office worked to identify Bella.
The toddler, whose body was released by the medical examiner earlier this month, was buried in Winthrop, Massachusetts, next to her paternal great-grandmother, according to WCVB-TV.
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo called this "a long process for many people in the community," WCVB-TV reported. "As she rests, she can look down and say that she was loved," he said.
Prosecutors said in court in September that, on the night of Bella's death, McCarthy went to the girl's bedroom to console her.
When Bond went back to the room, she allegedly found McCarthy standing over Bella’s mattress on the floor. Bella’s head appeared to be swollen and gray, prosecutors said. Bond allegedly knew at that moment her daughter was dead, prosecutors said, and she asked McCarthy what he had done. McCarthy allegedly said the girl was a demon and it was her time to die, prosecutors added.
Not guilty pleas were entered in September for both McCarthy and Bond.