The mother of “Baby Doe” Bella Bond, who was found dead in Massachusetts in 2015, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact.
Rachelle Bond was sentenced to time served and probation on Wednesday, July 12, for helping her ex-boyfriend dispose of her child’s body, the New York Daily News reported.
She also testified against her ex, Michael McCarthy, in a Massachusetts trial as part of a plea deal. McCarthy was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving life in prison.
Bond was released from police custody Friday and will be sent to a treatment facility.
The child’s body washed ashore on a Boston Harbor island in June 2015, becoming known as “Baby Doe,” as investigators could not name her. An image of the child was shared by millions of people on Facebook and Twitter in an attempt to figure out her identity.
When she testified against her ex, Bond said she saw McCarthy hit the child, which apparently sent her off a bed, killing her, CBS News reported. She then drove with McCarthy to waters near South Boston and helped him dispose of her body.
Bond claimed that she didn’t admit to the crime sooner because McCarthy threatened her.
Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley told reporters on Wednesday that he believes the plea deal with Bond is acceptable.
“There would have been no prosecution of Michael McCarthy without the cooperation agreement that we made with Rachelle Bond to secure her testimony,” Conley told reporters, according to the Boston Globe. “And again, we wouldn’t make that sort of an agreement with any witness unless we were satisfied to the best of our abilities that the … testimony that she would offer would be truthful.”
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