Why Do Parents Kill Their Child? Bella Bond Was Put In A Trash Bag By Her Mother, Prosecutors Say

A Massachusetts woman who allegedly helped her former boyfriend dispose of her 2-year-old daughter’s body in a trash bag last year off of Deer Island, a peninsula in Boston, is asking a Superior Court judge to dismiss the charges or move the trial due to intense media cover in the Boston area.

Rachelle Bond, 41, is accused as an accessory after the fact in the 2015 killing of her toddler, Bella Bond. She was also charged with accepting more than $1,400 in welfare assistance after the passing of her daughter, according to the Boston Globe. Bond's former boyfriend, Michael McCarthy, 36, is charged with first-degree murder. Both Bond and McCarthy have pleaded not guilty and will be tried separately.

While some people may think mental illness may play a significant role in such killings, sociologist Myrna Dawson, of the University of Guelph in Ontario, said a history of family violence is the biggest indicator. Dawson studied cases in Canada where parents killed their child between 1961 and 2011, when at least 1,612 children died. She considered the parent’s gender, age and marital status while looking for patterns and trends.

“Although mental illness is commonly assumed to be a major precursor or motivation for filicide, findings remain mixed,” she told Yahoo News. “Some research shows that many of the cases do not include mental illness as an element. However, other work has shown that a significant proportion of both mothers and fathers were experiencing some type of mental illness or episode.”

In Boston, Bond plans to testify against McCarthy, according to her attorney, Janice Bassil. McCarthy allegedly strangled Bond, which caused her to fear for her life. Bond, who continued to live with McCarthy for almost four months after the alleged crime, didn’t willingly participate in the death of her daughter, Bassil said.

“There’s nothing in the statement she gave, or in any of her actions, that indicates that she’s protecting him,” she said. “At best, she is trying to comply with him so she isn’t killed.”

During Tuesday’s hearing in Suffolk Superior Court, Bassil told Judge Christine Roach that there isn’t enough sufficient evidence that Bond helped McCarthy after Bella died in May 2015. Also, Bond’s failure to alert police or medical personnel about her daughter’s death doesn’t meet the legal threshold for an accessory after the fact charge, the Globe reported.

Bassil said "accessory after the fact" is a complicated charge. "This is different. This is more about inaction than action."

"Whatever she didn't do didn't rise to the legal definition of accessory after the fact," Bassil told reporters after a hearing in Suffolk Superior Court. "She never did anything with the intent that it would assist Michael McCarthy in avoiding detection, or trial or punishment. I've said it all along, she plans to testify against him and wants to see him punished for the murder of her child."

Last year, a picture of the girl, who was later identified as "Baby Doe," went viral on social media after it was learned that her body had washed up on a Boston Harbor island. The next court date will take place on Jan. 26, with Bond’s trial scheduled for Feb. 22.