In early June of 2022, the life of 24-year-old Natayla Morse was tragically cut short. Her body was discovered by Detroit police officers on June 6, 2022, in a field behind a residence on Lenox Street. An investigation determined that she had died from blunt force trauma. Authorities allege that the murder occurred two days prior to the discovery of her body, on June 4, 2022.
The investigation into Natayla Morse's death led to Jonathan Lamont-John Welch, a 23-year-old man from Detroit.
It is alleged that after killing Morse, Welch stole her vehicle and set it on fire in the vicinity of Lappin and Beland streets. In March 2023, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office charged Welch in connection with Morse's death. The charges filed against him included first-degree murder, unlawful driving away of an automobile, and arson of a motor vehicle.
At the time he was charged with the murder of Natayla Morse, Jonathan Welch was already facing charges for a series of other violent crimes. He was accused of killing his girlfriend, Zlayiah Frazier, his mother, Flossie Bray, and his stepfather, Robert Bray Jr. Welch was out on bond for a previous assault on Frazier when he allegedly committed these additional homicides. Following the charges in Morse's case, Welch was arraigned and remanded to jail. His preliminary court hearings were scheduled for April of 2023.
