Jonathan Welch, the man from Detroit who was previously charged with torture and several felonies, has been charged with a fourth murder.
The murder of Natayla Morse, 24, occurred prior to his arrest in June, and Welch has now been accused of killing her with blunt force trauma to the head. Morse’s body was found in a field on Detroit’s east side on June 4 and was later confirmed to be hers.
Welch then reportedly stole her car and set it on fire. It is unknown how Welch and Morse were acquainted, according to records obtained by FOX 2.
After Morse’s body was found, Welch was charged with going on a murderous crime spree and terrorizing his ex-girlfriend before killing her, his stepfather, and his mother.
Welch’s bond was set at $100,000 / 10 percent cash surety by 36th District Court Magistrate Dawn White, which he posted and was released. Shortly after his release, his ex-girlfriend Zlayiah Frazier was found dead.
Welch then barricaded himself in his mother’s Harper Woods home, shot at police, and set the house on fire. Welch has been accused of killing his stepfather, Robert Bray Jr., and his mother, Flossie Nicole Bray.
Welch was arraigned on Thursday for Morse’s murder and is due back in court for a hearing on the other three murders on Friday, March 24.
During a preliminary hearing on the murders of his ex-girlfriend, stepfather, and mother in August, Detroit police detectives recounted the gruesome details of Welch’s attack on his ex-girlfriend.
According to prosecutors, Welch strangled Frazier, poured gasoline on her, burned her with a metal spatula, threatened her with a drill, and attempted to sexually assault her using a pole.
The attack, which lasted for approximately four hours, took place with their child in the next room, and Frazier managed to escape to a neighbor’s house for help.
Source: Fox 2 Detroit
