Parents charged with murder after refusing to treat dying girl due to religious reasons
The parents of a 10-month-old girl who died after they refused medical assistance due to religious reasons have been charged with murder.
Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari, both 27, of Michigan, were charged on Monday over the death of their daughter Mary. The Kent County sheriff’s office said Welch called 911 last week and deputies found the child not breathing inside a home in Solon Township, north of Grand Rapids.
One of the first responders noted the child’s sunken eyes and cheeks, and lack of pulse. She was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy on Friday ruled the cause of death as malnutrition and dehydration due to neglect by adult caregivers.
The Kent County couple admitted their daughter had been skinny and underweight for at least a month, an affidavit alleged. The parents didn’t seek medical help for religious reasons, fear of having Child Protective Services called and a lack of trust in medical services, according to records.
At home, Welch had hand-painted signs nailed to trees and on his front fence, WOOD-TV reported.
“Repent. Believe. Obey”, one of the messages read.
He also reportedly previously named doctors as “priesthoods of the medical cult” and said “God is sovereign over disease” on the topic of vaccines, in videos on Facebook.
The parents are being held without bond and court records don’t list lawyers who can speak on their behalf.
In court, Welch looked shocked when he was told he could be facing life in prison without parole and Fusari began to sob.
Welch and Fusari have two older children together, ages 2 and 4. Child Protective Services filed on Monday a neglect case against the parents involving their two eldest children.
He has posted about Child Protective Services, a distrust of doctors and religious beliefs on Facebook, WOOD-TV reported. He spoke in one video post about refusing to get his children vaccinated.
The couple could face life in prison without parole, if convicted of felony murder.
They were also charged with first-degree child abuse.
With Associated Press
