Michael McCarthy was set to be sentenced Wednesday following his conviction in the death of 2-year-old Bella Bond, better known as “Baby Doe.” McCarthy, who was dating Bella’s mother at the time, was convicted of second-degree murder after five days and 23 hours of jury deliberations in Massachusetts court.

McCarthy, 37, would likely be sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 20 years. The trial against him was based primarily upon testimony from Bella’s mother, Rachelle Bond, who said she saw McCarthy punch her daughter in the stomach repeatedly in June 2015 when the three were living together. Bond, 41, said Bella was having trouble sleeping at the time.

Read: Who Is Rachelle Bond? ‘Baby Doe’ Bella Bond’s Mother To Be Sentenced

During the 15-day trial, prosecutors argued McCarthy was obsessed with the occult and had killed Bella because he thought she was a demon. McCarthy’s lawyers, however, said that it was Bond, instead, who killed her daughter and was obsessed with the occult.

No physical evidence linked McCarthy to Bella’s death, according to closing arguments in the trial. Defense attorney Jonathan Shapiro said neither DNA, fingerprints nor hair were found belonging to McCarthy and called the conviction “a travesty of justice.”

“An innocent man is going to prison for the rest of his life for a crime that she committed,” Shapiro said Monday, noting that he would appeal McCarthy’s conviction.

Bond also pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact after she admitted that she had helped McCarthy dispose of Bella’s body. She said the two wrapped Bella in trash bags and weighted her down before throwing her in the water. Bond said she was “trapped by [McCarthy’s] abusive behavior and her own drug abuse” and that McCarthy threatened her into keeping quiet after Bella’s death.

In exchange for a guilty plea and testimony against McCarthy, Bond was set to be allowed to walk free on time served at the end of the trial. She was expected to be released Tuesday into a drug addiction treatment facility but her release was postponed until July 12 due to a lack of available facilities.

After vocal outrage over the deal with Bond, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley defended what some had called “a deal with the devil.”

Read: Everything We Know About ‘Baby Doe’ Bella Bond Murder Trial

“A lot of people don’t like her,” Conley said Monday, according to the Boston Herald. “It was clear to us that Rachelle Bond loved that little girl, but at the same time, she also let that little girl down terribly. That doesn’t make her a murderer. Michael McCarthy was responsible for her death and the jury spoke.”

Bella’s death first made national headlines when her body was found in July 2015 washed up on a Massachusetts beach wrapped in trash bags. Authorities were unable to identify her conclusively from her remains and so dubbed her “Baby Doe,” a moniker that remained for months as they tried to obtain more information about her identity. It wasn’t until September that officials were able to identify her as Bella Bond.

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