Jonathan Welch: The 2022 Detroit and Harper Woods Murders
Overview
Jonathan Lamont-John Welch is an American murderer responsible for killing four people during a violent series of crimes in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, in June and July 2022. His victims included a young Detroit woman, the mother of his child, his stepfather and his own mother. Although the killings occurred within a relatively brief period and are sometimes described as a murder spree rather than a traditional series of killings separated by long cooling-off periods, Welch has also been classified as a serial killer because he committed four distinct murders during separate criminal episodes.
The case became especially controversial because Welch killed three of the victims shortly after he was released from jail on bond. At the time, he was facing serious felony charges arising from the prolonged torture and sexual assault of his girlfriend, Zlayiah Frazier. Despite the severity of those allegations, Welch was able to post the required portion of a $100,000 bond. Two days after his release, Frazier, Welch’s stepfather and Welch’s mother were attacked at a Harper Woods residence.
Victims
- Natayla Morse, 24 — killed June 4, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan: Prosecutors determined that Welch killed Morse through blunt-force trauma. Her body was located on June 6 in a vacant field south of a residence in the 4630 block of Lenox Street on Detroit’s east side. Welch also took Morse’s vehicle and drove it to the area of Lappin and Beland streets, where he set it on fire.
- Zlayiah Frazier, 22 — killed July 10, 2022, in Harper Woods, Michigan: Frazier was Welch’s girlfriend and the mother of his one-year-old son. She died from blunt-force trauma inside a home in the 20640 block of Kenosha Street. Her murder occurred weeks after she survived an extended torture and sexual-assault attack committed by Welch.
- Robert Bray Jr., 70 — killed July 10, 2022, in Harper Woods, Michigan: Bray was Welch’s stepfather and the husband of Flossie Bray. He was killed by blunt-force trauma inside the Kenosha Street residence during the same episode in which Frazier was murdered.
- Flossie Nicole Bray, 42 — attacked July 10 and died July 16, 2022, in Harper Woods, Michigan: Bray was Welch’s mother. Welch stabbed her repeatedly in the back with a butcher knife. She escaped from the residence and reached a neighboring home but suffered critical injuries. She died in a hospital six days later.
The Murder of Natayla Morse
The earliest known murder connected to Welch occurred on the night of June 4, 2022. According to prosecutors, Welch killed 24-year-old Natayla Morse at approximately 10:46 p.m. by inflicting fatal blunt-force injuries. Publicly available court information did not establish the precise nature of the relationship between Welch and Morse, although investigators concluded that he was responsible for both her death and the destruction of her vehicle.
Morse’s body was left in a field near Lenox Street on Detroit’s east side. Police officers were dispatched to the area at approximately 12:36 p.m. on June 6 after receiving a report that a deceased person had been observed. The victim was initially unidentified. Investigators later confirmed that she was Morse and determined that she had suffered blunt-force trauma.
After killing Morse, Welch took her vehicle to the vicinity of Lappin and Beland streets in Detroit and set it on fire. The burning of the automobile appeared to be an attempt to destroy evidence or conceal his connection to the victim. Welch was not immediately charged with Morse’s murder. The case remained under investigation while he committed additional acts of violence against Frazier and members of his own family.
The Torture of Zlayiah Frazier
On June 12, 2022, approximately eight days after Morse was killed, Welch subjected Zlayiah Frazier to a prolonged and exceptionally violent assault. Frazier later told investigators that the attack began after Welch became angry because he believed she might have been communicating with another person on her telephone. When she refused to show him her conversations, he restrained and assaulted her over the course of several hours.
According to testimony describing Frazier’s statement to police, Welch repeatedly strangled her with an extension cord, releasing the pressure and then tightening the cord again. He heated a metal spatula on a stove and used it to burn her arms and legs. He also poured gasoline on her body, ignited it and threatened to assault her with power tools and other objects. Their young child was nearby during the attack.
Frazier eventually persuaded Welch to remove the extension cord so she could attend to the crying child. Once she had an opportunity to flee, she escaped through the front door and ran to a neighbor’s home. Welch attempted to pull her away from the porch but ultimately left the area. Frazier survived and provided investigators with a detailed account of the abuse.
Release on Bond
Welch was arrested and charged with numerous offenses connected to the June 12 attack, including torture, first-degree home invasion and sexual assault-related crimes. A magistrate set his bond at $100,000 with a provision allowing his release after ten percent of the amount was posted. Welch was also ordered to wear a GPS tether, stay away from Frazier and reside at his mother’s home.
The required $10,000 was posted, and Welch was released from custody on Friday, July 8, 2022. Because of the seriousness of the allegations and the detailed evidence of escalating domestic violence, his release later became a focal point of criticism from the victims’ relatives and the public. The conditions imposed by the court failed to prevent him from locating Frazier or committing further violence.
The Harper Woods Killings
On the evening of July 10, 2022, only two days after his release, Welch was at his mother’s residence in the 20640 block of Kenosha Street in Harper Woods. At approximately 8:14 p.m., the situation erupted into a deadly attack. Welch assaulted Frazier and Robert Bray Jr. with blunt force, killing both of them inside the home.
Welch also attacked his mother, Flossie Bray, stabbing her multiple times in the back with a butcher knife. Despite her injuries, Bray managed to leave the house and reach a neighboring residence. Emergency personnel transported her to a hospital in critical condition. She remained hospitalized until she died from her injuries on July 16.
Police responding to the Kenosha Street home established a perimeter around the property. During the initial response, officers found Welch and Frazier’s one-year-old son in the backyard. The child was removed from the scene and transported to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Seven-Hour Standoff
Welch barricaded himself inside the residence as police surrounded the home. During the confrontation, he fired multiple gunshots at officers. He also started a fire inside the building, creating an additional danger for the officers and emergency personnel attempting to secure the scene.
The barricade continued for approximately seven hours. Firefighters extinguished the flames, and Welch was ultimately taken into custody after appearing near the front of the residence. He was transported to a hospital before being lodged in jail. Officers entering the home discovered the bodies of Frazier and Robert Bray Jr.
The deaths of Frazier and Bray were attributed to blunt-force trauma. Flossie Bray was initially listed as a critically injured survivor, but her death six days later resulted in an additional murder charge against her son. The Harper Woods episode left three people dead and placed Welch at the center of one of the Detroit area’s most disturbing domestic-violence cases.
Connection to the Morse Murder
While Welch was awaiting prosecution for the Harper Woods killings, detectives continued investigating the death of Natayla Morse. Evidence eventually connected him to the June 4 murder, the theft of Morse’s automobile and the burning of the vehicle.
In March 2023, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office charged Welch with first-degree murder, unlawfully driving away an automobile and arson of a motor vehicle in connection with Morse’s death. Her killing established that Welch’s lethal violence had begun before his arrest for torturing Frazier and more than a month before the fatal attack in Harper Woods.
Guilty Pleas
In July 2023, Welch entered guilty pleas to four counts of second-degree murder. The pleas covered the deaths of Natayla Morse, Zlayiah Frazier, Robert Bray Jr. and Flossie Nicole Bray. In exchange for the pleas, prosecutors dismissed several additional counts, including weapons and assault-related charges arising from the shootings directed at police and the fire inside the Harper Woods home.
The guilty pleas eliminated the need for separate murder trials and formally established Welch’s responsibility for all four deaths. By that time, he had already been convicted of first-degree home invasion and torture for the June 12 attack on Frazier. He received a sentence of up to 30 years for those offenses before being sentenced for the murders.
Sentencing
On November 1, 2023, Welch was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for one count of second-degree murder and 45 to 70 years for the other three counts. The shorter sentence applied to the murder of Natayla Morse, while the longer terms covered the three deaths resulting from the Harper Woods attack.
The murder sentences were ordered to run concurrently with one another and with the sentence Welch was already serving for torturing Frazier. The structure of the sentence means that Welch’s maximum period of imprisonment is governed by the longest 45-to-70-year term rather than the individual sentences being added consecutively.
During sentencing, relatives described the lasting damage caused by the murders. Frazier’s family criticized the decision that allowed Welch to leave jail after the first attack. Members of Robert and Flossie Bray’s family spoke about the betrayal of allowing Welch into their home, only for him to take the lives of those who had supported him.
A Pattern of Escalating Violence
Welch’s crimes demonstrate a rapid progression from coercive control and extreme domestic abuse to multiple murders. Natayla Morse was killed and her vehicle burned before Welch’s violent assault on Frazier became known to authorities. After Frazier escaped the June 12 torture, the criminal case placed Welch under formal court supervision, yet his release on bond gave him another opportunity to reach her.
Within two days of leaving jail, Welch killed Frazier and Robert Bray Jr., fatally stabbed his mother, fired at police and set fire to the residence. The destruction extended beyond the four deaths: a young child lost his mother and several members of his family, while numerous relatives were left to confront the consequences of violence they believed could have been prevented.
Legacy of the Case
The Jonathan Welch case prompted renewed scrutiny of bond decisions in cases involving torture, sexual violence and severe domestic abuse. Frazier had survived an attack involving strangulation, burning, gasoline and threats with tools. Her account indicated an immediate and extreme risk of additional violence, yet Welch was released after a portion of his bond was posted.
Welch’s four victims were killed over a period of approximately six weeks. Natayla Morse’s death preceded the known domestic-violence case, while the remaining three murders occurred during a single catastrophic episode after his release. Whether described as serial murders or a concentrated killing spree, the crimes revealed a sustained pattern of lethal violence directed at women close to Welch and members of the household that accepted him after he left jail.
Welch remains imprisoned under sentences that could keep him in custody for the remainder of his life. The prosecution brought legal closure to the four murder cases, but the circumstances surrounding his release continue to define the public memory of the case. For the victims’ families, the central facts remain the lives lost: Natayla Morse, Zlayiah Frazier, Robert Bray Jr. and Flossie Nicole Bray.
