GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Cedar Springs-area man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the murder of his 10-month-old daughter.
Seth Welch, 29, was sentenced last week to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
His daughter Marcy Welch was found dead, lying on a filthy mattress in a unsanitary home, in August 2018. Authorities say she died of dehydration and that her parents hadn’t been feeding her. Welch’s attorney countered that her parents were feeding Mary, but that Welch never sought medical care for her because of his religious beliefs.
Welch was convicted in January of murder and first-degree child abuse.
Also in January, his wife Tatiana Fusari pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and child abuse in her daughter’s death. A plea deal carried a minimum prison sentence of 25 years. She has asked to withdraw that plea and has a hearing scheduled for Friday.