GUILTY MI - Mary Welch, 10 mos, died, parents refused treatment for religious reasons, Solon, 2 Aug 2018

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Jewels53 said:
What is said in that article is horrendous. What they did to little Mary I am just sick about. That they think they were feeding her is crazy. She wouldn't have been 8 lbs if they had been feeding her. jmo moo
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No way in this world that the mother could still be breast-feeding that little girl. I feel confident that her ability to make milk was long gone. As any mother who has breast-fed her baby knows, only regular (several times a day) feeding stimulates more milk, and when there is no suckling, the milk production ceases. (Saying this for those who may not know this process...)
So that defense/excuse is dead as a door knob. Grrrr. :mad:
 
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imstilla.grandma said:
"I've seen a lot of things in my career... I knew that I was going to see a dead child," said former Kent County Sheriff's detective Jason Russo, during his testimony Thursday. "That was not what I expected based on the initial interviews with the parents. It was indescribable. I can't forget it to this day."

Jurors heard recordings of interviews between Seth Welch and police. Welch can be heard telling sometimes conflicting stories about his daughter, but he maintains that she ate constantly. By the time she died, Mary Welch weighed just over a pound more than she did at birth.

Tamara Flowers, a woman who briefly stayed at Welch's Solon Township home in July of 2018, also testified Thursday. She said she wanted to call child protective services after seeing the baby's sunken in cheeks and the way she was treated by Seth Welch. She ultimately chose not to call, and a month later she saw the reports of Mary Welch's death.

"I felt like if I would've called CPS when I said I was...that baby would've still been alive and she could've had a chance," Flowers said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

A member of the victim services unit at the Kent County Sheriff's Department testified that when he arrived on scene to aid the family, Seth Welch acted completely unfazed. He said Seth Welch replied 'life goes on,' when asked how he was handling his daughter's death.
Trial continues for father accused of 'indescribable' infant death
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From your link:
Tamara Flowers, a woman who briefly stayed at Welch's Solon Township home in July of 2018, also testified Thursday. She said she wanted to call child protective services after seeing the baby's sunken in cheeks and the way she was treated by Seth Welch. She ultimately chose not to call, and a month later she saw the reports of Mary Welch's death.

"I felt like if I would've called CPS when I said I was...that baby would've still been alive and she could've had a chance," Flowers said with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Trial continues for father accused of 'indescribable' infant death

I would like to hear why this woman "ultimately chose not to call." SMH.

And a moldy, urine-soaked mattress has little to do with poverty. It has a lot to do with forgetting to care for your child. I'm so flippin' angry!
 
Verdict is in.
Barton Deiters on Twitter

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Kent County jury is deciding whether the father of a 10-month-old girl who died of malnutrition and dehydration is guilty of child abuse and murder.

If Seth Welch is found guilty of killing Mary Anne Welch, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

Last week, jurors heard from authorities investigating Mary’s August 2018 death and saw horrific photos of her emaciated body.

Welch did not take the stand in his own defense, but his attorney said Mary’s parents’ religious beliefs prevented them from seeking medical care for her.
Watch: Verdict in case of father accused of starving baby
 
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 29-year-old woman whose husband was convicted of murder for the death of their daughter has decided to take a plea deal.

Tatiana Fusari pleaded no contest Wednesday, Jan. 29 to second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse for the death of 10-month-old Mary Welch.
.....

Fusari agreed to a a plea deal that calls for a minimum 25 years in prison.

Woman to get minimum 25 years in daughter’s malnourishment death
 
Updated Mar 05, 2020; Posted Mar 05, 2020

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Tatiana Fusari, awaiting sentencing in the starvation death of a 10-month-old daughter, smiled when a caseworker testified that her three surviving children were doing well in foster care.

One of them, a boy, was born in January 2019 while Fusari was jailed. He has had no contact with his brother and sister.

Fusari, 29, faces at least 25 years in prison when sentenced next month after pleading no contest to second-degree murder and second-degree child abuse in the Aug. 2, 2018, starvation death of her daughter, Mary.

Mom who starved daughter smiles as she hears baby born in custody OK

I can't find anything about sentencing.
 
Oh, so glad to see the quick (I knew it would be quick) return of verdict on Seth Welch. Life WithOut Parole is sweet music to me. One look at that emaciated little girl was likely all it took for there to be a quick decision for the jurors. They really had no choice, IMO.
And his new friends in prison will welcome him in special ways, I'm hoping.
Rest in peace, little Mary.
 
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From Jerseygirl's link above:

Tatiana Fusari has withdrawn her no-contest plea to second-degree murder in the starvation death of her young daughter.

Fusari says her husband, Seth Welch, 29, awaiting a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole, abused her physically, emotionally and mentally and left her unable to protect their 10-month-old daughter, Mary.

Weighing just eight pounds, the girl died Aug. 2, 2018, in Kent County’s Solon Township.
 
JerseyGirl said:
Mom withdraws murder plea in girl’s starvation death
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From your link:

Fusari had pleaded no contest to reduced charges of second-degree murder and second-degree murder about a week after her husband was convicted of felony murder – a killing during the course of another felony, or first-degree child abuse in this case.

Under the plea agreement, Fusari would have served at least 25 years in prison.

She will now face the original charges and a potential mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted.
...
“She’s saying she was physically, emotionally abused and that it prevented her from taking care of her child,” Nunzio said.
...
The judge warned Fusari she was taking a big risk. Photos of her daughter shown at her husband’s trial “stunned” everyone, including jurors, he said.

Fusari has “the right to roll the dice” but “I fear it may not go well for her but that’s up to the jury,” Denenfeld said.

IMO I hope she gets LWOP or at the very least 25 years in order to guarantee she won't be popping out any more potential victims. MOO.
 
MsMarple said:
From your link:

Fusari had pleaded no contest to reduced charges of second-degree murder and second-degree murder about a week after her husband was convicted of felony murder – a killing during the course of another felony, or first-degree child abuse in this case.

Under the plea agreement, Fusari would have served at least 25 years in prison.

She will now face the original charges and a potential mandatory life sentence without parole if convicted.
...
“She’s saying she was physically, emotionally abused and that it prevented her from taking care of her child,” Nunzio said.
...
The judge warned Fusari she was taking a big risk. Photos of her daughter shown at her husband’s trial “stunned” everyone, including jurors, he said.

Fusari has “the right to roll the dice” but “I fear it may not go well for her but that’s up to the jury,” Denenfeld said.

IMO I hope she gets LWOP or at the very least 25 years in order to guarantee she won't be popping out any more potential victims. MOO.
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BBM. I have no doubt that she was abused to some degree, but there comes a time when you cannot blame that when you can see a child's life slipping from you. His parents who now have the older children would have been there to help her, I am almost sure.
 
Reality check. Fusari listed 3 excuses for torturing and murdering an innocent child: religion, distrust in doctors and fear of CPS taking her other kids away. Now she adds abuse from her husband. Is she throwing stuff against the wall in hopes of something sticking? At the minimum of an entire month (and probably much longer) she was aware that Mary was in dire need of medical help. And she did nothing.

From August 2018:
Welch, 27, and his wife who is also Mary's mother, Tatiana Fusari, 27, were brought in for questioning where they admitted to noticing their daughter's skinny appearance as early as a month prior.

Fusari told police they failed to seek medical care for their daughter "for fear of having Child Protective Services called, lack of faith and trust in medical services and religious reasons."
Grand Rapids parents accused of baby's death didn't trust doctors

Jailhouse interview from August 2018:
“We’re not terrible people… it was purely accidental,” Fusari told 24 Hour News 8 during the interview. “I went to check on her… and my baby was dead.”
...
For some reason, the couple didn’t immediately call 911. A report filed in court said that Welch admitted to waiting an hour before calling for emergency help — something Fusari was hesitant to discuss.

“Certain details of the case I’m not allowed to reveal,” she said citing advice from her attorney. “I was just told not to… we had a good reason.”

“She was already dead,” Fusari explained. “I just spent too much time crying.”
...
“We didn’t feel the need to,” Fusari explained. “It was just a matter of whether it was necessary.”

“Chalk it up to religious preferences if you’d like,” she said when pressed.
Mom accused of starving baby: 'I dream about her'

Cry me a river. :mad:
 
I guess the jury didn't buy her "he made me do it" defence.

Mother found guilty of murder in starvation death of her baby

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 30-year-old woman who police say starved her 10-month-old child to death has been found guilty of murder at trial.

Tatiana Fusari was on trial for felony murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of Mary Welch.

A jury deliberated about three hours Thursday, Oct. 14 before returning a guilty verdict on the original charges.

Her husband, 30-year-old Seth Welch, was previously convicted of murder and is serving life in prison.
 
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