Identification of Bella Bond

Bella Neveah Amoroso-Bond (August 18, 2012 - May or June 2015), previously known as the Deer Island Jane Doe and "Baby Doe", was an American child that was found dead in a plastic bag on the shore of Deer Island in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts on June 25, 2015. Authorities pursued investigation into discovering the child's identity, and all efforts had been unsuccessful until September 2015 and she remained an unidentified decedent. An initial autopsy performed on the body did not uncover the exact cause of death, which may be either due to an accident or murder. After the arrest of Bond's mother and her mother's boyfriend, authorities confirmed that Bella had been murdered. The girl's face was reconstructed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in an effort to provide the public with an estimation of the victim's appearance during life to generate tips to a potential identity and to locate the individual or individuals responsible for the disposal of her body. Since the reconstruction was released and news coverage began nationwide a large amount of public attention has emerged; an estimated 56 million people have viewed reports on the case. Half of these had occurred within the first week after the body was found. On September 18, 2015, it was announced that the girl was identified as Bella Bond, a girl from Dorchester, Massachusetts. On September 17, 2015, a search warrant had been executed at the home of Rachelle Bond, 40, who was the child's mother. Since the identification was made, images of the toddler from her mother's Facebook page have been released. The identification was made after a neighbor reported to police a link between Bond and the Jane Doe. Apparently, the subject had noticed Bella was absent from the household and had confronted the pair, who stated that the girl had been "taken away by the Department of Children and Families," which has since been disproved. Another report gives the description of a former roommate had his sister contact authorities after he was informed by Bella's mother about the murder. Rachelle Bond, known as a habitual drug user, had two other children that had since been removed from her custody and police commented that they had dealt with complaints that she was neglecting her daughter and had four separate encounters with Bond. Bella's family was later interviewed after the identification was announced. Her aunt stated that she had never suspected that "Baby Doe" was Bella and the maternal grandmother of the victim was unaware that the child was ever born. The Department of Children and Families had responded to two neglect complaints regarding Bella. Both cases were closed. Police released the detail that the child was, in fact, a murder victim and subsequently charged Michael McCarthy, the mother's boyfriend, with Bond's death and also charged her mother with being an accessory to the crime, as she is believed to have assisted McCarthy with "covering up" Bella's death. The pair are set to be arraigned on September 21, 2015. McCarthy was not eligible for bail, however, Rachelle was, and it was set for one million dollars. It is alleged by Rachelle that McCarthy had punched the toddler in the stomach multiple times after claiming Bella was a "demon," resulting in her death, despite that McCarthy has claimed she was also responsible. Prosecutors of McCarthy allege that Bella was murdered in one of many abusive occasions after she had been uncooperative about going to bed. Citing that McCarthy had decided to "calm the child down," Rachelle had not entered the room alongside her boyfriend and when she had, she had witnessed him near the girl's body, which was described to be "swollen and gray," indicating she was deceased. Rachelle Bond's attorney claims that he had threatened to murder Bella's mother if she would contact authorities and that he was responsible for hiding the victim's body. A witness has stated that Bella's body had been "hidden in a fridge" for as long as one month before it was deposited on Deer Island. McCarthy's attorney maintains that the defendant was unaware of the girl's death. Bella's biological father, Joe Amoroso, had allegedly never met his daughter, but had spoken over a telephone with her. Amoroso had stated he had learned of Bella's death after being told by Rachelle while visiting her within a week before the identification was made. He states that he personally believed that Bond would not have ever hurt her daughter. Amoroso elaborated in another interview that he believed Rachelle had been "sedated" with an injection of heroin by her boyfriend quickly after Bella's death, as a "track mark" visible on her neck could not be the result of her own action. Amoroso had also announced plans to bury Bella in Winthrop, Massachusetts amongst family members, stating he had decided to have the "funeral and wake services to be public." Unlike her son, Bella's paternal grandmother stated that she believed Rachelle Bond was heavily involved in Bella's death and openly questioned the truthfulness of her allegations toward Michael McCarthy.