Man convicted in ‘Baby Doe’ case won’t get verdict reduced

BOSTON – A Massachusetts judge has denied a bid for a reduced verdict by a man convicted of killing a 2-year-old girl who became known as Baby Doe after her remains washed up on the shore of a Boston Harbor island.

The judge on Friday rejected Michael McCarthy’s request to have the jury’s verdict of second-degree murder reduced to manslaughter. The judge said there was “ample evidence” to find the murder verdict.

McCarthy was convicted last June in the 2015 killing of Bella Bond, the daughter of his girlfriend at the time. A computer-generated image of Bella was shared by millions on social media as authorities scrambled to identify her.

McCarthy’s lawyer had argued at trial that Bella’s mother, Rachelle Bond, was the real killer.