Bella Neveah Amoroso Bond (August 6, 2012 – May or June 2015), previously known as the Deer Island Jane Doe and "Baby Doe", was an American child whose body was found in a plastic bag on the shore of Deer Island in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 25, 2015. Authorities pursued numerous leads of investigation into discovering the child's identity until their efforts proved successful in September 2015. This publicity generated many tips with possible leads, one of which led to the girl's identity. Bella Bond was identified on September 18, 2015. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children facially reconstructed the child's face to provide the public with an estimation of the victim's appearance during life. They aimed to generate tips to a potential identity and to locate the individual or individuals responsible for the disposal of her body. After the reconstruction was released and news coverage began nationwide, a large amount of public attention emerged; an estimated 56 million people viewed reports on the case. Half of these occurred within the first week after the body was found. Bond's mother, Rachelle Bond, and her boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, were arrested, and authorities confirmed that Bella had been murdered, despite the fact that an initial autopsy performed on the body did not uncover the exact cause of death. Rachelle Bond was charged with being an "accessory after the fact" in regards to her daughter's murder; she later pleaded guilty as the result of a plea deal. McCarthy was charged with murder in the case and was later convicted of murder in the second degree. On June 28, 2017, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with future parole.
Discovery The body of Bella Bond was found inside a plastic garbage bag on the shoreline of Deer Island near Boston, Massachusetts. A woman walking her dog made the discovery of Bond's remains on the afternoon of June 25, 2015, when the dog stopped at the plastic bag. After the body was found, the public placed flowers near the scene. She wore only a pair of white leggings designed with a black polka-dot pattern. A zebra-print blanket was also inside the bag. Initially, police were unsure if additional bodies would be at the scene, so they attempted unsuccessfully to use cadaver dogs to locate any other possible remains.
Authorities originally estimated that the girl had died within days of her discovery. Later developments in the case have suggested that Bella's body had been "hidden in a fridge" for as long as one month before it was deposited on Deer Island. Despite the fact that she appeared to have been deceased only a short time, she had already begun to decompose and become bloated, which made it impossible to identify her visually. Decomposition had also made it impossible to collect fingerprints, due to exposure to the water. Investigators were able to conclude that she was a young child, but were initially unsure of her race and ethnicity. Just how the remains had settled at the location was unknown; the body might either have been placed at the beach or may have drifted in the water from another location, some presuming from as far away as Canada. The United States Coast Guard entered the investigation and analyzed the currents of the water in the area to estimate where the bag containing the remains could have originated. Dive teams were also used around the time the body was discovered. As of mid-July and August, authorities believed the victim had been placed at the scene, rather than washing onto Deer Island from another location, because the body was not in an advanced enough stage of decomposition. The beach is near a wastewater treatment plant. One of the investigators thought a possibility existed that the disposal had been performed by an employee of the nearby water-treatment plant. Since the area has been regarded as a "busy" area for both workers and the public, the person who placed the bag at the scene possibly did so at night, to avoid being seen.
Examination An autopsy was conducted on July 3, but did not conclude what had caused the girl's death. While authorities suspected foul play as a factor in the case, no signs of obvious injury had been found on the remains. Tests were later conducted to find any toxins, drugs, or alcohol present in the body as a possible explanation for the death. Examiners were unable to find any trace of cleaners such as bleach in the remains, but continued with more testing in hopes of finding another toxin as a possible cause of death. After the identification of the victim, a conclusive cause of death had yet to be announced, despite all forms of "natural death [having] been excluded". Suffocation had not been ruled out as the cause. The clothing found on the toddler, believed to be "size 4T" was determined to have been manufactured by the Circo company and was likely sold at a Target store. The blanket was possibly made by the Cannon Mills company and sold at K-Mart. A hair band made from elastic material was also found. The child was eventually determined to be between the ages of three and five and appeared to be white, with possible Hispanic ancestry. Her hair was described as being "brown, wavy and fourteen inches in length". Presumably, the child's hair was left untrimmed for about two years, judging by its length. She was also estimated to be between 3 ft 1 in (94 cm) and 3 ft 6 in (107 cm) tall and weighed around 30 pounds (13.6 kg). No distinct birthmarks or scars were on the body. The girl was later discovered to have had pierced ears, so the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children released an updated image of the child wearing earrings. The girl appeared to have been "well-cared for" during her life; no signs of malnutrition or abuse were noted, and investigators stated the clothing also reinforced the theory.
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