REMEMBERING MARY

Mary Anne Welch was a baby girl who entered the world weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces. She was born at home in October 2017. A midwife examined her shortly after her birth and found no health concernsMary began life as a healthy baby.But as the months passed, people who saw her became increasingly concerned. She was not growing. She became extraordinarily small and thin. A family friend who held Mary during a summer gathering could feel her spine through her body. Another visitor thought the nine month old baby looked closer to one month old. Mary became so weak that she barely moved and made almost no sound. People noticed. People questioned her parents. People worried that she needed medical attention. But Mary never received the help that could have saved her. By the time she died, her body had been deprived of nutrition for so long that it was consuming itself in an attempt to survive.

MARY’S STORY

Mary was Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari’s third child. She was born at home and examined by a midwife who found no immediate health problems. During the months that followed, however, Mary failed to grow normally. A family friend saw Mary early in 2018 and noticed that she had barely grown. When the friend saw her again in June and held her, Mary was so thin that she could feel the baby’s spine. She asked about medical care. Tatiana acknowledged that Mary had not been taken to a doctor.

In July, another woman stayed at the family’s farm for several days. She described Mary as extremely small, with sunken looking cheeks. She saw almost no physical movement from the baby other than Mary turning her head slightly. She never heard Mary cry. During that visit, Mary was left outside in a stroller in the July heat while the other children played. After everyone went inside, Mary remained outside until the visitor questioned whether she had been forgotten. Mary was eventually brought inside and placed in her bedroom. The adults and other children ate together. Mary remained in her room. The visitor never saw either parent go into Mary’s room to feed her during the three day stay. Other adults also noticed. Seth’s mother told him that Mary needed to be taken to a doctor. A woman who regularly saw the family at a farm supply store remembered Mary as extremely thin and fragile. Still, no one got Mary medical care. Inside the home, investigators would later find plenty of food for the rest of the family. The refrigerator and freezer contained food. There were canned and dry foods in the kitchen. But investigators found almost no baby food.

Mary continued wasting away. Seth’s own text messages showed hostility toward his infant daughter. In May, while Tatiana was working, he complained that he could not deal with Mary and threatened to hurt her. In that same exchange, he admitted that he had gagged her. On August 1, Tatiana placed Mary in her crib at approximately 3 p.m. before leaving for work. Seth later admitted that he did not take Mary out of the crib to feed her or change her. He said he checked on her by looking through a peephole in her bedroom door. Mary remained there for nearly 20 hours. At approximately 10 a.m. the following morning, Tatiana found Mary unresponsive. But 911 was not called immediately. Seth first contacted his parents, whom he referred to as his attorneys. Tatiana called her workplace. More than two hours passed before emergency services were finally called. When responders arrived, Mary was dead. She was found in dirty clothing inside a crib with mold and filth. Her mattress was torn, moldy and saturated with liquid. Investigators found a large bag containing more than 120 dirty diapers in her closet. Mary was almost ten months old. She weighed only eight pounds.

THE EXTENT OF MARY’S NEGLECT

Mary died from severe chronic malnutrition and dehydration. Her condition was extreme. Her muscles had wasted away. There was almost no fat remaining beneath her skin. Her spine and other bones were visibly prominent. Her bones themselves had become extremely thin. Her internal organs were undersized.Her bone marrow had been affected because her body no longer had the nutrients needed to properly produce blood cells. Mary had become so weak that even turning her head would have been difficult. The pathologist found no underlying disease that explained her condition. This had not happened suddenly. The medical evidence showed that Mary had deteriorated over a period of weeks. Her condition would have been visible. Her parents knew she was extremely thin. They did not obtain medical care. Mary slowly starved and dehydrated inside a home where food was available to everyone around her.

WARNING SIGNS

The warning signs surrounding Mary were visible for months. A family friend noticed that she was not growing. By June, that friend could feel Mary’s spine when she held her and directly questioned whether she needed medical attention. A July visitor saw that Mary was extraordinarily thin and barely moved. That visitor considered contacting Child Protective Services but did not. Seth’s mother told him that Mary needed to see a doctor. Another woman who regularly encountered the family noticed that Mary was extremely thin and fragile. Mary’s parents themselves admitted after her death that they had known for at least a month that she was skinny and underweight. Yet Mary was never taken for the medical treatment she desperately needed. There were adults outside the home who saw that something was terribly wrong. But no report reached authorities in time to save her. Child Protective Services had previous involvement with the family dating back several years before Mary’s death. That involvement reportedly began in 2014 after THC was detected in the couple’s oldest newborn child. By the time Mary died, however, her parents had largely rejected conventional medical care. Two of their three children reportedly had never been examined by a licensed physician. After Mary’s death, Child Protective Services moved to terminate Seth and Tatiana’s parental rights to their surviving children. Mary’s case illustrates another painful kind of failure. People outside the home saw her deteriorating. Some considered reporting what they saw. One family member directly urged medical care. But during the months in which Mary was visibly wasting away, the concerns of those adults did not result in an intervention that reached her in time.

JUSTICE FOR MARY

Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari were both charged in connection with their daughter’s death. Their cases were tried separately. Seth went to trial first. The jury heard extensive evidence about Mary’s prolonged starvation, the condition of the home, Seth’s treatment of her and his failure to provide the basic food, hydration and medical care necessary to keep his infant daughter alive. In 2020, Seth was convicted of felony murder and first degree child abuse. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for Mary’s murder. Tatiana’s case went to trial the following year. She testified that Seth had subjected her to severe physical and sexual abuse and argued that his abuse and control affected her ability to care for Mary. The jury nevertheless found her criminally responsible for failing to provide the care necessary to save her daughter. Tatiana was convicted of felony murder and first degree child abuse. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murder, with an additional prison sentence for child abuse.

 

Seth Welch

Relationship to Mary: Father

Convictions: Felony murder and first degree child abuse

Sentence: Life in prison without the possibility of parole

 

Tatiana Fusari

Relationship to Mary: Mother

Convictions: Felony murder and first degree child abuse

Sentence: Life in prison without the possibility of parole; 15 to 30 years for first degree child abuse

FOREVER REMEMBERED

Mary Anne Welch entered the world healthy. Ten months later, she weighed only slightly more than she had at birth. Between those two moments was a baby who became smaller, weaker and quieter while adults watched her deteriorate. By the end, Mary barely had the strength to move. She did not have the ability to walk out of that house. She could not call a doctor. She could not dial 911. She depended entirely upon adults to recognize that she was suffering and act. Some recognized it. No one acted soon enough. Mary deserved nourishment when she was hungry. She deserved water when she was thirsty. She deserved a clean, safe place to sleep. She deserved medical care when her tiny body began wasting away. She deserved to grow beyond the baby photographs that remain of her. Mary Anne Welch should have had an entire childhood ahead of her. Abuse Angels remembers Mary Anne Welch. Remembered. Honored. Never Forgotten.