On Monday, Seth Welch and his wife Tatiana Fusari were charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse of their 10-month-old, Mary Welch.
Records show that the couple did not seek medical help for their starving child for religious reasons.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. The Couple Was Charged with Felony Murder & First-Degree Child Abuse
The 10-month-old’s death was ruled a homicide, according to court documents obtained by the Washington Post. On Monday, Welch and Fusari’s were charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse.
Welch and his wife, both 27, listened in shock as the judge read aloud their charges.
The couple was arraigned together, but moving forward, their cases will be dealt with separately, reports Freep.com.
2. Their Daughter Was Found Dead from Malnutrition and Dehydration
According to the autopsy report, Mary Welch died of malnutrition and dehydration.
Freep.com reports that the officer responding to the call wrote in his police report that the child’s cheeks and eyes were “sunken into her head.”
The outlet continues, “Judge Smolenski denied Fusari’s request for a personal release bond in order to continue working at a Cedar Springs McDonalds. When asked, Welch said his fulltime job was running their farm.”
3. Welch Announced His Daughter’s Death on Facebook
On Thursday, Welch called 911 around noon to say that his daughter was dead in her crib at the couple’s home in Solon Township.
That same day, he uploaded a status to Facebook that read, “Heart is about shattered right now. Woke up to Mary dead in her bed this morning – this evening had our children removed and placed on “no contact” because Tati and I are the worst parents ever – Thankfully they are with grandma and grandpa. Just numb inside right now. And I’m really enjoying the loving embrace of an isolation cell from the cops and government employees who keep assuring me “they are only here to help”.
Welch is also responsible for a series of videos– one, in particular, is titled “Vaccinations/health/medical industry”, and includes Welch’s musings on the subjects. He says of vaccines, “The righteous shall live by faith. It’s God who is sovereign over disease and those sorts of things and, of course, ultimately deaths.”
He also says in the video that he was contacted by CPS because he refused to get his oldest daughter vaccinated. He adds that his other two children– Mary included– had not been vaccinated.
“It didn’t seem smart that you would be saving people who weren’t the fittest.. if evolution believes in survival of the fittest, why are we vaccinating everybody? Shouldn’t we just let the weak die off and let the strong survive?”
4. The Affidavit States That the Parents Refused to Reach out for Medical Help Because of ‘Religious Reasons’
A section of the affidavit stated, “Tatiana Fusari admitted during the interview that they failed to reach out for medical help with their daughter for fear of having her children removed by Child Protective Services, lack of faith and trust in the medical services and religious reasons…”
The affidavit continued, “During interviews with both parents, admissions were made that they were aware of Mary Welch’s skinny appearance and low weight for at least one month prior to this date.”
5. The Couple Has Two Surviving Children
Welch and Fusari were raising their three children on a farm in Solon Township, where they ran a company called Blackacre Farm Products. Their other children are 2 and 4-years-old and have been ordered not to make contact with their other children.
Reports from Wood TV indicate that handpainted signs outside the pair’s home read, “Repent. Believe. Obey.”
The page for the company currently has a series of negative comments from those following the case. One person wrote, “They could feed their children and not let them starve to death while they are selling food.” Another wrote, “Feed the children, not your wallets! Selfish pigs.”
The couple is next expected to appear in court Aug. 20.