Days after posting bail in 2022, Detroit man charged in 3 deaths; now, he faces 4th

A man charged in three deaths last year has been arraigned in connection with an earlier slaying in Detroit, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

The latest charges against Jonathan Welch, 23, include first-degree murder.

Authorities linked him to the death of Natayla Morse, 24, whom officers found dead in a field in the 4630 block of Lenox around 12:36 p.m. June 6, according to a release from the Prosecutor's Office.

"It is alleged that on June 4, 2022, at approximately 10:46 p.m., Defendant Welch killed the victim with blunt force trauma," officials said. "It is also alleged that the defendant took the victim’s vehicle to the area of Lappin Street and Beland Street before setting it on fire."

Welch was arraigned and remanded to jail Thursday in 36th District Court. He stood mute and a not guilty was entered, records show.

A probable cause conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. April 5. A preliminary examination follows at 1:45 p.m. April 12 before Judge Kenneth King.

Police found Morse dead the same month Welch was charged with assaulting his live-in girlfriend, later identified as Zlayiah Frazier, 22, the mother of his young son.

A magistrate set a $100,000 bond. Welch was ordered to live at the Harper Woods home of his mother, Flossie Bray, after a bail agency provided 10% of the bond amount.

On July 10, within days of his release, Welch was accused of attacking Frazier, his mother and stepfather Robert Bray Jr. at the home, police reported.

After Welch was arrested following a lengthy standoff, authorities found Frazier and Robert Bray dead in the home. They appeared to have been killed by blunt force trauma.Welch's mother was found wounded after having been stabbed multiple times with a knife. She later died from her injuries, leading to more charges against Welch.

When asked Thursday about the timing of the charges related to Morse, Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, said only: "That will come out in court."