SOLON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Cedar Springs area mother testified against her husband in her own murder trial today, as Tatiana Fusari said horrific abuse and torture by her husband, Seth Welch, left her unable to care for her youngest child, resulting in the death of their 10-month-old baby girl, Mary.
The prosecution was adamant in pointing out that, while Fusari insists she was feeding Mary, the autopsy done by the medical examiner's office shows the opposite. At the time of her death, Mary was only 8 pounds.
Fusari testified that she tried to help her baby, but the abuse at the hands of Welch was too much.
She recalls one night, where she woke Welch up to feel Mary kick when she was pregnant.
“He got mad at me because I wouldn’t let him sleep," Fusari said. "So...he asked me 'what the (expletive) was wrong with me', and he rolled over to face me, and he started punching me in the face. And then I tried to roll over onto my right side, to face the wall, so he would just leave the front side of me alone, but he put his weight on me."
Fusari said the next day, she went into labor with Mary. She testified she believed her daughter was small due to being premature, as she thought Mary was growing slowly.
“I didn’t believe there was anything wrong with her,” Fusari said.
At the time of the 2018 arraignment, Fusari didn't disclose any of the abuse she said she experienced from her husband.
She told a different story on Tuesday (Oct. 12).
“I need everyone to know the truth." Fusari said. "I’m tired of being afraid. My fear has not helped anything. I just don’t want to be afraid anymore.”
Fusari said she was raped by her husband day after day, testifying that he controlled her phone and even timed how long it took her to get to and from work. The family schedule was printed out, and Fusari claims that Welch made her follow it to the minute.
Fusari's mother-in-law, Judy, noticed in July of 2018 that Fusari wasn't feeling well.
“At that time I was feeding Mary in their dining room," said XXX "Judy approached me, and commented on, whether or not I was going to take Mary to a doctor. I know that Seth was out of earshot. So I was able to tell her that Seth told me she was fine. But I’m going to talk to him about taking her to a doctor."
Fusari said that Welch didn't trust doctors, claiming he didn't want the government involved in their family's business.
“He smacked me across the face," Fusari said. "He said ‘you know what the (expletive) I think about doctors. Do you want to keep bringing these people into our home?’ And I dropped it.”
Fusari denied she noticed how thin Mary was getting, and insisted she fed the baby any time she could. She said she'd sneak her baby girl formula, saying Welch only wanted the girl to food grown on their Cedar Springs area farm.
“I was nursing her still," Fusari said. "And I was feeding her, at this point, it was more of the formula from Meijer, and the Meijer fruits and vegetables.”
She added that any time she questioned Seth, who insisted everything was fine, the beatings would begin.
Seth Welch is already sentenced to life in prison for the death of Mary.
