Community Corner

Officials to Reveal DCF's Involvement With Bella Bond's Family

The Office of the Child Advocate recently examined the involvement of child welfare and other agencies with Bella Bond's family.

The Office of the Child Advocate is expected to release a report Wednesday in regards to the Bella Bond death investigation, reports indicate. The remains of Bella, who became known to the world as “Baby Doe,” were found in a trash bag on a Boston beach back in June.

After a tireless three-month investigation, authorities finally uncovered Bella’s identity after receiving a tip from the 2-year-old’s mother, Rachelle Bond. According to investigators, Bond witnessed her boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, murder Bella at their home in Dorchester.

Mother, Boyfriend Charged in Death of ’Baby Doe’>>>

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“She was a demon anyway,” McCarthy reportedly told Bond after allegedly committing the murder. “It was her time to die.”

The Office of the Child Advocate examined the involvement of child welfare, all executive agencies, police and any other service providers with Bella Bond’s family to see if any opportunities were missed to raise issues about her safety. They are expected to release their findings Wednesday.

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Since the Department of Children and Families (DCF) had not been involved with Bella or her Mother Rachelle Bond since 2013, and no subsequent reports of abuse or neglect had been received by DCF, the Child Advocate looked closely at DCF’s closing of the case in 2013.

Bond, 40, was charged with accessory to murder and held on $1 million bail. McCarthy, 35, was charged with Bella’s murder and ordered held without bail.

VIDEO: Baby Doe ‘Was a Demon,’ Accused Killer Said>>>

“The horrific death and tragic life of two-year-old Bella reminds us all of our responsibility to be watchful and to say something to authorities if a helpless child is mistreated,” said Acting Child Advocate Linda Carlisle.

A second autopsy on Bella is expected to be completed before Bond and McCarthy return to court on Nov. 19.

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