Page 6 - MIN VOS 19 SEPT 2015

U.S. NEWS A5
Official: Mom, boyfriend blame each other in ‘Baby Doe’ case
DENISE LAVOIE
AP Legal Affairs Writer
BOSTON (AP) — A moth-
er and her boyfriend are
“blaming each other” for
the death of a little girl
whose body was found in-
side a trash bag on a Bos-
ton Harbor island this sum-
mer, a state official said
Friday, after a monthslong
campaign to learn the
child’s identity.
Democratic House Speak-
er Robert DeLeo said
he has been briefed on
the investigation into the
death of a girl who came
to be known as Baby Doe.
“It appears as though it
was a situation of the boy-
friend who was involved
and apparently, I think,
mother and boyfriend sort
of blaming each other in
terms of who harmed the
child.”
DeLeo confirmed the iden-
tity of the child as Bella
Bond. He could not imme-
diately confirm the name
of the child’s mother. He
said the boyfriend, Michael
McCarthy, 35, was being
treated at a Boston hospi-
tal for drug issues
The discovery of the girl’s
body sparked a massive
social media campaign.
Within two weeks, a com-
posite image of the chub-
by-cheeked, brown-eyed
girl had reached an esti-
mated 47 million people
on Facebook.
Police searched a Boston
apartment Thursday after
receiving a tip.
Officials from the state’s
child protection agency
said they had contact with
Bella twice, for four months
in 2012 and three months in
2013. In both cases, officials Friday.
described the involvement
as “support for neglect,”
and the cases were later
closed.
Between 2001 and 2006,
the Department of Chil-
dren and Families termi-
nated parental rights for
two of her mother’s older
children. One of the chil-
dren was later adopted by
her maternal grandmother;
the other was adopted by
someone outside the fam-
ily, DCF officials said.
Rhonda Mann, a spokes-
woman for the Executive
Office of Health and Hu-
man Services, said the
agency has been working
with law enforcement for
several months in an effort
to help police identify the
girl.
“Now that we know her
name, the story is no less
tragic. DCF has not had an
open case with this family
for over two years, but did
have brief involvement with
Baby Bella as an infant,”
she said in a statement.
Because the case involving
Bella had been closed, it
was not among cases that
DCF examined after the
discovery of the remains
on Deer Island, the agency
said.
Investigators estimated the
girl to be about 4 years old.
Her body was found June
25 inside a trash bag on
Deer Island in Winthrop by
a woman walking a dog.
Alleged shooter’s friend pleads not guilty to lying
MEG KINNARD
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, South Carolina
(AP) — Dylann Roof’s friend
knew about his plans to
shoot black church mem-
bers during Bible study in
Charleston and lied to in-
vestigators when they in-
terviewed him a day after
the massacre, according
to an indictment unsealed
Joey Meek, 21, hung out
with Roof off and on in the
weeks before the June 17
shooting at Emanuel Afri-
can Methodist Episcopal
and failed to let authorities Study, at an AME Church
Saturday 19 September
This undated flyer includes a computer-generated composite Police immediately ap-
image depicting the possible likeness of a young girl whose pealed to the public for
body was found on the shore of Deer Island in Boston Harbor on help in identifying the girl.
June 25, 2015. A mother and her boyfriend are “blaming each Using photos of her re-
other” for the death of the little girl, a state official said Friday. mains, the National Center
for Missing and Exploited
(Suffolk County District Attorney via AP) Children created a com-
posite image of what the
girl might have looked like
when she was alive.
Authorities set up an anon-
ymous text line and put the
image up on billboards.
They were flooded with
tips, which led authorities
to check on the well-being
of dozens of little girls but
did not lead them to Baby
Doe’s family.
Despite the widespread
publicity, investigators had
been frustrated for months
trying to figure out who she
was and how she died.
There were no obvious signs
of trauma to her body. An
autopsy performed by the
state medical examiner’s
office did not immediately
determine the manner or
cause of her death.
Police chased down tips
from around the world, but
experts determined pollen
on the girl’s blanket and
leggings and in her hair
came from trees found in
New England.q

know that Roof was plan- in Charleston, South Caro- A day after the shoot-
ning a racially motivated lina.” The indictment does ing, Meek told The Associ-
attack, the indictment said. not specify how the gov- ated Press that Roof had
On Friday, Meek stood be- ernment knows Meek was drunkenly complained to
fore a federal magistrate lying. him that “blacks were tak-
in handcuffs, shackles If convicted, Meek faces a ing over the world” and
and an orange jumpsuit maximum sentence of five “someone needed to do
and pleaded not guilty to years in prison for lying to something about it for the
charges of lying to investi- investigators. The maximum white race.”
gators and concealing in- penalty for concealing in- Meek also said Roof told
formation. formation is three years. him that he used birthday
According to the indict- His bond was set at money from his parents
ment, Meek knowingly lied $100,000. It wasn’t imme- to buy a .45-caliber Glock
to an FBI agent when he diately clear whether he semi-automatic handgun.
said “that he did not know would be able to make Meek said he took the gun
specifics of Dylann Roof’s bail. away from Roof the night of
plan to shoot individuals on Meek’s attorney and pros- his drunken rant but gave it
a Wednesday, during Bible ecutors refused to com- back to him when he had
ment. sobered up. q