This is Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari, and these are their faces when they learn their possible sentence for the death of infant daughter Mary Welch.
“It is life without parole,” said 63rd District Court Judge Sara J. Smolenski during the arraignment.
Fusari had already begun to tear up on previously hearing Mary’s name, but Seth Welch remained pretty stone-faced until hearing the possible sentence. Then his jaw just plummeted.
The co-defendants are charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse.
Welch had actually called police to their home back on August 2, according to court records obtained by the Detroit Free Press. He said he found her dead in the crib. A cop described her cheeks and eyes being “sunken into her head.”
Charges stem from an alleged admission made by the couple. They claims they noticed their daughter was getting thin up to a month before. According to cops, Fusari said they didn’t get her to a doctor because they worried about Child Protective Services, lacked trust in medical services, and had religious reasons against it.
Medical examiners determined that Mary died because of malnutrition and dehydration, according to the outlet.
Welch and Fusari were booked into jail last Friday. They remain locked up as of Thursday, according to record obtained by Law&Crime. It’s unclear if they have attorneys in the matter. They are to appear in court again August 20.
Their other two children, ages 2 and 4, are with Welch’s parents. He also mentioned having an 8-year-old kid. The judge ordered these co-defendants to stay away from them.
[Screengrab via 63rd District Court in Grand Rapids, Michigan]