A pregnant woman was found stabbed to death in her apartment while her husband was in custody for allegedly assaulting her. The man’s brother is now the prime suspect.
Brianna Welsh, 25, was found dead in her Lynn, Massachusetts, home last Wednesday, a day after she called police to report that her boyfriend and live-in partner, Brendon Vozzella, had punched her in the stomach.
That revelation was made in court Thursday by Assistant District Attorney Kate MacDougall, along with the fact that Welsh was pregnant with Brendon’s baby. His brother, Zachary, was also there, after an investigation made him the prime suspect.
The 26-year-old lived in the same apartment as Welsh and his younger brother and is now charged with murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the stabbing.
Welsh was found with multiple “sharp-point injuries” after her family requested a welfare check after not hearing from her, leading to police placing Zachary in handcuffs. His 24-year-old brother has been cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with the murder.
Brianna Welsh, 25, was found dead in her Lynn, Massachusetts home last Wednesday. She was three months pregnant
The discovery came a day after she called police to report that her boyfriend, Brendon Vozzella, 24, had punched her in the stomach. He was arrested that day and is believed to have been in custody at the time of the murder.
“The tragic violence that took the lives of Brianna Welsh and her unborn child has caused an unbearable loss to her family,” Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said in a statement Thursday.
“While their loss cannot be repaired or rectified, I hope that our efforts to obtain justice for her will reassure them that we and the community stand with them.”
Earlier that day, Zachary had pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail until his next hearing, scheduled for September.
The day before, the day Welsh was murdered, his brother was charged with assault on a pregnant woman and assault on a family member.
He was due to appear in court on Tuesday, but the outcome of that hearing is still unclear.
Zachary was also present at the time of the alleged attack, police wrote in an arrest report. They said he was homeless and had been living with the couple for the past few months.
After she was allegedly beaten, Welsh went to Salem Hospital and told police she was three months pregnant and wanted to be tested, the report said.
She was back at her building at 6:15 p.m., according to her key fob data.
The prime suspect is Brendon’s older brother Zachary, 26, who is seen in court here Thursday after being charged with Welsh’s murder. He is being held without bail until his next hearing in September
Zachary was also present at the time of the alleged attack, police wrote in an arrest report — which said he was homeless and had been living with the couple for the past few months
Information obtained through the electronic device further revealed how the door was opened from the inside at 8:06 p.m. and locked from the outside ten minutes later.
The door did not reopen until maintenance workers completed the welfare check more than 12 hours later.
During that time, Brendon was released from jail but never returned to his apartment, officers wrote.
When Zachary was interviewed that day, he told detectives he had not seen Welsh since she left for the hospital and that he had been at Dunkin’ Donuts from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
The police concluded that this was not true. There is no footage of the occasion when he was present at that time.
He later admitted to being at the apartment between 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The suspect claimed Welsh was not there at the time.
Instead, he said he left around 8:30 p.m. with a gym bag and a backpack to take an Uber to another apartment where he planned to stay.
However, surveillance footage obtained by police showed he had much more with him: two backpacks, a gym bag, a garbage bag and a smaller plastic bag, police wrote.
Welsh was pregnant with Brendon’s baby, but he has been cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with her murder. He was charged with assault and battery on a pregnant woman and assault and battery on a family member. The police investigation is ongoing
When police searched the apartment where he claimed to be staying, they found a garbage bag containing a paper bag with a bloody kitchen knife inside. The knife matched the cutlery kept in Welsh and his brother’s apartment.
Officers also found a pair of shorts and a sock with dried blood on them, along with the two key rings linked to Welsh’s apartment.
Investigators subsequently assumed they were convinced that Welsh had been murdered while her boyfriend was in police custody.
At the time of writing, their investigation is still ongoing.