GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Michigan man charged in the neglect death of his 10-month-old baby says he shouldn’t have been charged and that seeking medical help is “just as dangerous as not going.”
Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari were charged Monday with felony murder and first-degree child abuse after their daughter, Mary, was found unresponsive in their Solon Township home. An autopsy determined she died of malnutrition and dehydration.
Welch tells WOOD-TV that he didn’t know Mary was ill, despite an affidavit saying the 27-year-olds admitted she had been underweight for a month. He says he cared for his children without the aid of a doctor because of religious beliefs.
Court documents obtained by the Grand Rapids Press show two of the couple’s three children had never been to a licensed medical doctor.
