DA: Bella Bond's mother 'reprehensible', but not murderer

BOSTON — The Suffolk County district attorney said though she was truthful, the mother of  little girl whose body washed ashore Deer Island two years ago acted "reprehensibly."

"A lot of people don't like her. I think that's pretty clear," said Dan Conley.

Rachelle Bond's ex-boyfriend Michael McCarthy will spend at least the next 15 years in prison for Bella Bond's murder. Bond was charged with accessory after the fact. As part of a plea deal, she will get time served and probation. She will walk free this week or next.

"I know there was intense focus of this trial on Rachelle Bond, but witness testimony was only part of the evidence. Rachelle Bond's was clearly valuable and credibly because it was corroborated by independent evidence she didn't know we would obtain," he said.

That evidence includes McCarthy's cell phone records, weights from his father's shop and the place where Bella's body was dumped all support Rachelle's story, said Conley. He said her story had a ring of truth to it.

The plea deal was met with controversy by the public, and after the verdict on Monday, District Attorney Dan Conley explained why they made the plea deal.

"We felt very strongly and secure in our belief that McCarthy was responsible, and do that, we entered into a cooperation agreement, and it required her to speak truthfully," he said.

Conley said there was no evidence that Bond killed Bella, like the defense had argued.

"It was clear to us that Rachelle loved her little girl, but at the same time, she also let that little girl down terribly. That doesn't make her a murderer," said Conley.

He noted that Bond was a heroin addict at the time and had lived a hard life.

"Every adult in Bella's life was distracted from her care and well-being by drug addict. Rachelle Bond's addiction in particular was enabled and exploited by the defendant," said Conley.

He said that Bond will be sentenced for the next week or two as part of the plea deal. He said the evidence showed she was an accessory after the fact for Bella's murder.

"She will be held accountable for that," he said.

Conley said that he hopes that Bond can get on the path of recovery from her addiction.

"Bella was a homicide victim, but she was just as surely a victim of addiction," said Conley.

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