Man sentenced for killing parents, women • Dearborn fire chief faces DUI charges • UAW ratification process
'Rot in jail'; Sentencing for Harper Woods man who murdered mom, ex
Jonathan Welch received a decades-long prison sentence Wednesday after he pled guilty to killing four people, including his parents and his ex-girlfriend. The horrific crimes unfolded in the summer of 2022.
THURSDAY NEWS HIT - A man who murdered his parents, an ex-girlfriend, and another woman last year will spend up to 70 years in prison, he learned Wednesday.
Jonathan Welch was sentenced to 20-40 years in prison for one count of second-degree murder and 45-70 years for three counts of second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to the murders, leading to the dismissal of other charges he was facing, including numerous weapons and assault charges.
These sentences will be served concurrently, along with a sentence Welch is currently serving in prison for a violent attack against his ex-girlfriend Zlayiah Frazer in June 2022.
Frazier survived the attack but was killed by Welch a few weeks later while he was out on bond. He also killed his stepfather Robert Bray Jr. and stabbed his mother Flossie Nicole Bray, who died days after the stabbing.
After the three murders, authorities learned that Welch had killed another woman, Natayla Morse, that same summer.
Dearborn fire chief reinstated, charged with drunk driving
Drunk driving charges have been filed against Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray, days after the city announced that he had been reinstated in his job.
Murray was arrested in August for allegedly speeding and weaving in and out of lanes on Telegraph in Dearborn Heights. He refused a breathalyzer and failed field sobriety tests before being taken to jail.
He was placed on administrative leave from the fire department after the arrest. As of Mondy, he was back on the job.
"The choice to retain Chief Murray derives from balancing a two-decades-long career in public service and the humility to not evaluate an individual in their darkest moments," Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said in a statement.
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Dearborn Fire chief charged with driving drunk 2 days after job gets reinstated
Chief Joseph Murray was reinstated as chief on Monday while today the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office charged him with two counts of operating while intoxicated.
What's next in Big Three ratification process
UAW National Councils will be meeting this week as part of the process for ratifying the Big Threes' tentative deals.
That process includes being reviewed by a UAW National Council that votes to send the agreement to the membership. Once the council votes, members attend informational sessions to learn about the agreements before voting to ratify them.
UAW members who work at Ford are preparing to vote on their deal after the UAW National Ford Council voted to send it to the membership.
The UAW National Stellantis Council will meet in Detroit on Thursday to vote on that deal, while the UAW National GM Council will do the same Friday.
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What's next in Big 3 ratification process after automakers reach deals with UAW
Big Three automakers are inching closer to having new contract agreements with the UAW implemented. Ford, GM, and Stellantis are currently going through the ratification process.
Oxford High School shooting meetings planned
Parents will get the chance to ask the team that investigated the Oxford High School shooting questions during meetings Thursday.
Guidepost Solutions released a nearly 600-page investigative report into the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting earlier this week. That report says that the shooting could have been prevented and found fault in school staff from the top down.
Meetings to discuss the report Thursday will be held at 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. at Oxford Township Hall.
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Oxford High School shooting investigative team to discuss report at public meetings Thursday
The team that investigated the Oxford High School shooting will answer questions about their report, which placed much of the blame on school employees.
Father desperate for answers after 1-year-old dies of fentanyl overdose
Donnell Holmes did not expect to become a father in his 60s, but when Prenteis' KeLeo Goode was born, he felt a new sense of purpose in life. That joy was cut short when Goode died of a fentanyl overdose on Aug. 22 while in the care of a relative.
"I’d take him to the park, Urban Air, we just had a ball – brightened up my whole life," Holmes said. "To see a little baby in a casket was the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life, the saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and I just need some type of justice."
Holmes has been visiting the Wayne County Prosecutors Office every Monday since his son's death, but expressed frustration at the lack of answers.
"They keep blowing smoke. They're telling me what they think I want to hear," Holmes said. "I didn’t get any response from them until I started talking to supervisors, police supervisors, child protective agency – I mean they’ve been bouncing me around a whole month."
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Detroit 1-year-old dies of fentanyl overdose, father still seeking answers
Prenteis' KeLeo Goode's father, Donnell Holmes, said he will not rest until the person responsible for his son's death is held accountable.
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Fed leaves rates unchanged, open to possible future hike
The Federal Reserve kept its key short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday for a second straight time but left the door open to further rate hikes if inflation pressures should accelerate in the months ahead.
The Fed said in a statement after its latest meeting that it would keep its benchmark rate at about 5.4%, its highest level in 22 years. Since launching the most aggressive series of rate hikes in four decades in March 2022 to fight inflation, the Fed has pulled back and has now raised rates only once since May.
The central bank's latest statement noted that the economy "expanded at a strong pace" in the July-September quarter and that job gains "remain strong." And it reiterated that future rate hikes, if the Fed finds them necessary, remain under consideration.