Horrible tragedy, but where do people want these kids to go? At least if people said "I'd pay more taxes for orphanages" that would be a suggestion. Obviously orphanages became disfavored for many reasons that are legitimate. But where is the state supposed to put them? How many foster homes are there? How many are satisfactory? No one becomes a DCF worker because it is a fun, rewarding job. Wherever the line is drawn, there will be issues. That's the reason they aren't taken at birth - parental rights. They used to ship them off on orphan trains, and that wasn't good either. Anyone could take them. It's hard to predict when a child will be physically harmed, and the mental harm of being taken away and placed with strangers probably frequently outweighs the harm of being in a typical bad situation. So sad. The world doesn't operate under the rules that competent parents should be the ones who reproduce. So upsetting.
ETA: I have also consistently been baffled by the jump to illegal immigrant. They could flee and never be prosecuted. It makes far more sense for it to be a citizen who is uncomfortable with LE - they far outnumber illegal immigrants.
I know what you're saying but there are thousands and thousands of couples who would have loved to adopt Bella. There are waiting lists for white babies and toddlers. She would not have needed an orphanage.
Also, our system tries to place children with families and I would venture to guess many kids in foster care are being cared for by family members.
I will not be surprised if this story changes over time, or if the charges change.
If she walked in on her significant other assaulting her child (it is claimed she saw him hitting the girl) and instead of getting medical attention for the girl she alerts nobody, the child dies, and she participates in covering up the acts and disposing of the body - how is she not charged with some form of manslaughter or possibly even murder?
I would have to review Massachusetts law but this seems to me that it would rise to at least a charge of manslaughter.
Involuntary manslaughter carries the same potential sentence as accessiry after the fact to murder- up to 10 years:
http://www.msccsp.org/files/guidelines/offensetable.pdf
Child neglect charges would result in less possible time.
I think they charged her with the charge leading to the most possible time for her conduct in relation to Bella's demise.
I don't think there's anything off about mom walking in on him killing her. He was probably high out of his mind and either really did think she was possessed or just couldn't handle a crying child.
If RB did walk in on it, i hope they up her charges. She failed to get medical treatment which may have saved her life
I think the pictures posted and called mugshots are really DMV photos. MM is in the hospital, i doubt his mugshot has been taken.
I think RB loved Bella. Just not as much as she loved her boyfriends and getting high. It makes it harder to understand how she let this happen but it's reassuring to know that beautiful Bella did know some love in her short life. I think that love is enough for her to come clean and it sounds like Bella was finally identified because RB spilled the beans.
RB was an awful mother. Bella should have been taken at birth. But i don't think she would have hurt Bella. If Bella died accidentally due to neglect or abandonment, i would be looking at RB. I believe she was a neglectful and selfish mother who never put her daughter first. But i believe MM was the one who actually killed her.
I just hope they find more charges for mom. Unless MM confesses, i sadly see a plea deal coming for RB
Random thoughts based on a few posts
I feel like doing drugs while caring for a toddler, screaming at a baby, having a succession of nasty men around her and allowing at least one of those nasty beasts to harm your small child, IS hurting her.
This woman clearly hurt her baby. Her actions directly led to Bella's destruction. Horrible.
Also, I take issue with the thought that she loved her child. I don't care what drugs she was on. Maternal instinct is strong. Someone is hurting your child you stop them. If you love your baby you get help and keep trying to get help. And if you can't get help, true, sacrificial maternal love means you give up your child to a better life rather than keep her and destroy her.
This woman is a vile creature. She didn't love Bella. She just enjoyed her toy for awhile. Until it broke. That's my angry feeling. No loving mother places her baby's body in cold storage while calmly going on with life. I mean, understand that, everyone: She ate, sold her body, bought drugs, used them, watched tv, slept, woke up, took showers, went to the store, used the bathroom, smoked cigarettes, did laundry, all while knowing her little "monkey" was dead and cold.
No amount of drugs explains that level of apathy on the part of a mother who actually loved her child at one time.
Imo, the only explanation is she didn't truly love her child. If she had and somehow was too numbed by drugs at the moment of her child's death to react at that moment, (which I think is garbage because if she was lucid enough to walk into the room where her man was doing whatever he was doing to the child she called her life, her breath and her soul, then she was lucid enough to try to stop him), well she had numerous opportunities after that to do something. To care. To go to the police.
You can smoke a cigarette? Then you can call the cops. You can eat food? Buy drugs? Sell yourself? Then you can call the cops.
If she truly loved her child, at the least, she wouldn't be able or willing to go on day after day. She'd just slam an extra amount of heroin into her veins and be done with it. At the least.
But not this treasure of a human. She just kept on as usual.
No one can convince me she really loved her baby.
