Marion man faces life in prison after pleading guilty to murder
A Marion man is now facing life in prison after pleading guilty to murder.
Jonathan P. Welch, age 34, Marion, entered a guilty plea to one count of murder, an unspecified felony, on Monday morning before Judge Matthew Frericks in Marion County Common Pleas Court. Welch admitted to shooting and killing Jasper Braddy, age 33, during an altercation that occurred on May 23, 2020, at Welch's residence at 476 St. Gallen Ave. in Marion. After killing Braddy, Welch buried his body in a flower bed on his property.
Judge Frericks told Welch that the maximum sentence in the case is life in prison and a $15,000 fine. Welch could be eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. The sentencing hearing for Welch had not been scheduled as of press time.
Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan said he was glad to be able to bring this case to a conclusion after more than two years.
"Two years is a really, really long time and I'm just glad that we can finally bring some closure to Jasper's family," Grogan said following the hearing on Monday. " Mr. (Welch's attorney Donald K.) Wick and I have been having conversations for quite some time. It's a very big case, an important case, and what I made very clear from the get-go was that there would not be a reduction (in the charge); he was going to plead to the murder. In terms what Mr. Wick and the defendant talked about, I'll never know, but given the strength of the evidence, that led us to today."
Welch was initially indicted on Aug. 5, 2020, by a Marion County grand jury on two counts of murder, unspecified felonies; tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony; and abuse of a corpse, a fifth-degree felony.
According to the plea agreement reached between Welch's attorney and the Marion County Prosecutor's Office, Welch pleaded guilty to one count of murder, while the rest of the charges against him were dismissed. He also was charged with assaulting a corrections officer at the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion, but that case was also dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Braddy's mother Pam Stewart and another family member attended the plea hearing on Monday. She said Welch had no choice but to agree to the plea.
"I felt like he was a coward for not looking me in my face after taking away my son from me," Mrs. Stewart said. "Life (in prison for Welch) is still not good enough to me because I'm never going to get my son back."
Mrs. Stewart said she has fond memories of her son.
"He was a big light, kind hearted," she said. "He'd give his shirt, his last meal, last dime to anyone. He was always trying to help people. Always."
During a July 21, 2020, telephone call to the Marion County Combined Dispatch Center, which was recorded, Welch told a dispatcher that he had shot Braddy three times on May 23, 2020, while the two men were engaged in an argument in the driveway of Welch's residence on St. Gallen Avenue.
He then told the dispatcher that he had buried Braddy's body in a makeshift flower bed in his backyard. According to Welch, he and Braddy knew each other and had been discussing a business arrangement prior to the shooting that evening.
Welch entered a written plea of not guilty by reason of insanity on Aug. 13, 2020, and later underwent a mental evaluation to determine if he was competent to stand trial. Visiting Judge William R. Finnegan ruled on Dec. 29, 2020, that Welch was indeed competent to stand trial, based on the report submitted by clinicians from the District V Forensic Diagnostic Center in Mansfield.
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Marion man faces life in prison after pleading guilty to murder
