Friend Of Accused Bella Bond Killer: He Was Into 'A Lot Of Dark Stuff'
BOSTON (CBS) -- A friend of the man accused of killing two-year-old Bella Bond said in court Wednesday that Michael McCarthy was into "a lot of dark stuff."
During the second day of testimony in McCarthy's first-degree murder trial, his former friend, Michael Sprinsky, detailed McCarthy's obsession with the occult.
The jury also viewed text messages in which Sprinsky accused McCarthy of murdering Bella.
"You betrayed me bro. I've heard it all," Sprinsky said, recalling the texts sent shortly before he spoke with police, cracking the case.
Prosecutors say McCarthy, 37, struck the girl in the abdomen and killed her because he thought she was a "demon."
They also say Sprinsky confronted McCarthy after the girl's mother, Rachelle Bond, told Sprinsky that McCarthy killed Bella.
"I said, 'She told me everything. Can't stop puking. She says you killed Bella,'" said Sprinsky.
Michael McCarthy texted back, "DSS took her. That's what she told me."
It was part of the recovering heroin addict's emotional testimony, peppered with awkward pauses. Prosecutors say Rachelle confided in Sprinsky, saying McCarthy killed the child.
Rachelle Bond has agreed to testify for the prosecution in exchange for a guilty plea in the case, and could walk free on time served at the end of the trial.
McCarthy was living with Rachelle when the girl was killed. McCarthy's defense claims Rachelle was the one obsessed with demons and the supernatural, and says she was the one who killed her daughter.
Jurors listened Wednesday as Sprinsky told them that McCarthy had been obsessed with the occult for the last eight to ten years. He said McCarthy told him he had the ability to get rid of evil spirits.
Sprinsky, who said he's known McCarthy for about three decades, said he lived with McCarthy, Rachelle, and Bella for two weeks--but left because he was disturbed by McCarthy's occult interests.
Both the prosecution and defense admit McCarthy and Rachelle Bond were addicted to drugs. Sprinsky told the court he, too, has struggled with substance abuse, and that he has used heroin and other drugs with McCarthy in the past.
Earlier in the morning, Yessimo Mara Torres, a former neighbor of Rachelle Bond, testified about McCarthy and the mother's alleged drug use.
Torres told the court her initial impression of Rachelle was that she was "loving" and "very nice to her daughter"--until McCarthy moved in with her.
After his arrival, Torres said, Rachelle Bond was often high on drugs.
"She was always down," Torres said. "She would come down and ask me for my phone, and she was usually high."
Sprinsky also said Rachelle changed around this time.
Sprinsky said McCarthy used to lock Bella in the closet to discipline her, while Torres said she could often hear Rachelle yelling at Bella to go to her room and stop crying.
Torres said she eventually stopped seeing Bella, and grew concerned when she saw Rachelle throwing out Bella's toys. When she asked Rachelle about the toys, Torres told the court, Rachelle told her she had "bought her new things."
Bond's body washed up on Deer Island in a trash bag and was found by a woman walking her dog on June 25, 2015.
Police released computer-generated images of the girl, who came to be known as "Baby Doe," sparking a nationwide search for her true identity.
Torres told the court she was aware of these "Baby Doe" photos, but, like Tuesday witness and fellow Rachelle Bond neighbor Marilin Santana, she said she thought they didn't look like Bella.
The girl remained unidentified until prosecutors say Rachelle Bond texted Sprinsky three months after the child was found. Sprinsky said he looked up photos of "Baby Doe" after Rachelle told him about Bella--and said he recognized Bella's blanket in one of the photos.
"Please say it aint so mike please u kno exactly wht im talkn bout," read one text from Sprinsky.
Sprinsky also said he called McCarthy, asking, "How could you do that to a child?"
Prosecutors said Sprinsky then went to the police, leading to McCarthy's arrest and the world learning the little girl's name.
On Thursday morning, the jurors will board a bus to visit locations relevant to the case, including Deer Island Beach. Testimony is expected to resume in the afternoon.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kendall Buhl reports
