Defense Rests In Bella Bond Murder Trial
BOSTON (CBS) -- Closing arguments will be presented Tuesday in the Bella Bond murder trial.
The defense for Michael McCarthy rested its case Monday morning after introducing eight new exhibits of evidence.
The court also heard from McCarthy for the first time in the trial, as he gave up his right to testify in his own defense.
McCarthy is charged with first-degree murder in the 2015 death of two-year-old Bella Bond. Prosecutors say he struck and killed the girl because he was obsessed with the occult and believed she was a "demon."
The defense claims the girl's mother, Rachelle Bond, murdered her daughter because she was obsessed with demons.
In court Monday, Judge Janet Sanders indicated she will add manslaughter as an option to the verdict slip for the jury.
"Closing arguments... are going to be lengthy," she told jurors before dismissing them for the day at 11 a.m.
Sanders and attorneys for both sides finalized the set of jury instructions at 3 p.m. Monday.
The manslaughter option was allowed by both the defense and prosecution.
On Friday, they called a woman to the stand who met Rachelle in a clinic and contacted police about a possible connection between Rachelle and the then-unidentified body of a little girl who washed up on Deer Island.
After police released composite photos of that little girl, Nicole Marquis said she remembered seeing Bella's picture on Rachelle's Facebook page.
She also said she remembered a bizarre conversation in which Rachelle spoke about demons going after Bella. The conversation and the photos prompted her to call police.
State Police didn't publicly announce the identity of Bella Bond for two more months. They told WBZ-TV that it would be inappropriate to say if they followed up on Marquis phone call.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports