'She was a mess': Bella Bond detective explains evidence, interview with mother

BOSTON — A state trooper who was called to Deer Island the day Bella Bond's body was found took the witness stand Monday.
The ex-boyfriend of Bella's mother is charged with killing the little girl.

Trooper Daniel Herman showed the jury evidence taken from the scene that day – including weights found in the bag containing Bella’s body.

Massachusetts State Police say 50-million people saw the composite sketch of Bella Bond, known only as “Baby Doe” the entire summer of 2015.

But it was Michael Sprinskey that led police to her identity and the key to the murder investigation.

The evidence on display for the jury in the murder trial of Michael McCarthy included a graphic photo of Bella’s decomposed body.

“Upon opening the bag, I observed what looked to me to be the little hands and little feet of what looked like a 3-year-old little girl,” Trooper Herman said.

The detective was among the police officers on the beach after the remains of Bella Bond were discovered by a dog walker.

MORE: Third week of 'Baby Doe' trial begins Monday

The jury got a close-up look at the trash bags Bella was double-wrapped in, along with blankets and the duffel bag the prosecution says was weighted down with plates similar to some discovered in McCarthy’s father’s Quincy plumbing shop.

“I considered whoever did this might possibly have cared for the child,” Herman said.

But it was the evidence that wasn’t collected during the murder investigation that was of interest to the defense in its cross-examination, including the cell phone Bond used in the months after Bella’s murder that was never found.

State police detectives didn’t search or seize McCarthy’s property once he had been located at Beth Israel Medical Center and identified as a potential murder suspect.

Detective Herman told the jury Rachelle Bond’s interview was emotional and unclear at times.

“Her physical appearance was disheveled. Extremely emotional. Distraught. She was a mess,” Herman said.

But on cross-examination the defense pressed detective Herman on the inconstancies in Bond’s testimony and police interviews.

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