KENT COUNTY, MI – Seth Welch, whose 10-month-old daughter weighed only eight pounds when she died of starvation, was found guilty Monday, Jan. 27, of felony murder and first-degree child abuse.
He faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison without for parole for the murder conviction when sentenced in March.
Welch, 28, showed no emotion when a Kent County Circuit Court jury handed down its decision.
Jurors deliberated about one hour, 20 minutes. They heard three days of testimony.
Welch’s wife, Tatiana Fusari, 29, goes on trial next week on the same charges.
Their daughter died Aug. 2, 2018, in her urine-soaked crib. They lived in a home in Solon Township.
Assistant Kent County Prosecutor Kimberly Richardson declined to comment after the verdict because she is trying the victim’s mother next week.
In her closing argument, Richardson said Welch tortured his daughter, leaving her alone, on a urine-soaked mattress, for long stretches. She had no muscles because she was severely malnourished.
“Look at that poor little thing,” she told jurors. “She’s in prison in that crib. She relies on her parents. She can’t tell you what’s wrong except by crying. No human contact. She is also all alone, and starving.”
Photos of the girl were as gruesome as some in law enforcement have seen. Defense attorney Charles Clapp acknowledged they were the worst he has seen in 37 years as a lawyer.
He said said Welch was ill-equipped to care for the girl and her two older siblings. He was overwhelmed, Clapp told jurors.
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