Murder of Mary Welch

Mary Anne Welch was born on October 23, 2017, and died on August 2, 2018, in Solon Township, Kent County, Michigan, at 10 months old. According to the Wikipedia article on the case, Mary's death was attributed to neglect by her parents, Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari, both of whom were convicted of first-degree murder.

Child Protective Services had prior contact with the family dating back to 2014, after THC was found in the system of the couple's eldest newborn child. At the time of her death, Mary weighed only 8 pounds (3.6 kg), just 1.25 pounds (0.57 kg) more than her birth weight ten months earlier. Court records in People v. Welch state that an autopsy showed visible injuries to the child's lungs, heart, and abdominal organs, along with a shrunken thymus gland and bone marrow incapable of producing white or red blood cells. An expert testified that these findings confirmed the child died from malnourishment and dehydration. Although the parents were aware their daughter was underweight, they refused to seek medical assistance, citing religious reasons and distrust of the medical system. At the time of Mary's death, two of the couple's three children had never been seen by a licensed doctor.

The county sheriff testified that the family home was unhygienic during the initial investigation, citing evidence of vermin, insects, and mold. The doctor who performed the autopsy stated that the infant suffered from chronic malnutrition, which he believed was caused by the withholding of food and water. Following Mary's death, Child Protective Services sought to terminate the couple's parental rights over their surviving children.

The couple was initially charged with homicide felony murder in August 2018; video of their reaction to the charge subsequently circulated widely. In June 2020, Seth Welch was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2021, Tatiana Fusari testified that her husband was abusive and would rape and beat her, and that she was not permitted to take Mary to a doctor. She said the abuse contributed to her inability to provide care for Mary, but she claimed she did not notice Mary was unhealthy and did not know what caused her death. In November 2021, Fusari was also convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, along with a consecutive sentence of 15 to 30 years for first-degree child abuse.