Dead dog found in the backyard
VIRGINIA -- An unconscious 3-year-old boy with bruises and a brain injury arrived at the hospital in an ambulance on Christmas. The next day, when police visited the boy’s house, they found his 4-year-old sister also covered in bruises and a dead, starved dog still chained to its house in the backyard.
The toddlers’ stepmother, 26-year-old Maggie Susanna Graybeal Welch was charged last week with two counts child abuse, cruelty to a child and animal cruelty.
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| Maggie Susanna Graybeal Welch |
The child abuse charges are all Class 6 felonies, punishable by one to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine. The animal cruelty charge is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Welch claimed that the 3-year-old was playing, tripped and fell down the stairs to the basement, according to records. The toddler was in critical condition when he arrived at the hospital. He had “severe bruising to his body as well as the apparent injury to his brain” and was sent for surgery.
The 4-year-old girl was taken to the hospital the next day with “severe bruising to the face and body,” according to court records.
Welch and her husband, Channing Welch, have a history of domestic assault, according to police. They have prior charges of abusing both each other and the children.
A 7-year-old boy who also lived in the house “witnessed and was a victim to these assaults causing him psychological problems,” according to records.
The dead pit bull was still chained to his house in the yard, malnourished and with no food or water. A veterinarian found that the dog froze to death.
Maggie Welch was determined to be “the primary caregiver for these children at the time of their injuries.”
Bristol Virginia Detective Tyrone Foster said additional charges are pending.
The children are now in the custody of the Department of Social Services.
Welch did not return a call seeking comment. She was arrested Feb. 23 and released the same day on a $25,000 property bond. She is expected to appear in Bristol Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court at 3:30 p.m. March 14.
(TriCities.com - March 2, 2011)
