Pregnant Woman’s Ex Went To Jail For Punching Her In Stomach — So His Brother Allegedly Stabbed Her To Death
[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A pregnant woman in Massachusetts was brutally assaulted by her ex-boyfriend. But only hours after she returned home from the hospital to recover from those horrible injuries, she was allegedly murdered by the man’s brother.
Last Wednesday, maintenance workers at an apartment complex in Lynn, Massachusetts opened the door to an apartment after family members of 25-year-old Brianna Welsh (pictured above, left) requested a welfare check. The family hadn’t heard from Brianna for over a day. Horrifically, Welsh — who was three months pregnant — was found inside, dead in a pool of blood along with her unborn child. And now, cops say her ex-boyfriend’s brother is the one who killed her.
Related: Teen Allegedly Murdered Neighbor In Hot Tub To Learn What It Was Like To Stab Someone
The ordeal began last Tuesday, when the boyfriend, 24-year-old Brendon Vozzella, was taken into custody by the Lynn PD for allegedly punching Brianna in the stomach. While Brendon was being processed in jail, Brianna was rushed to a hospital so doctors could determine whether her unborn child had been affected by the domestic violence.
Several hours later on Tuesday night, with Brendon still in police custody, Welsh returned home from the hospital. There, she was allegedly attacked by Brendon’s 26-year-old brother Zachary Vozzella (pictured above, inset). Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker and his team claim Brendon hadn’t been processed and released from jail until hours after Welsh’s death. Instead, they say Zachary was the one who attacked her at the apartment.
Police arrested Zachary last Thursday, a day after Welsh’s body was discovered, and began to interrogate him. Per WBTS, Zachary initially told cops that he’d been at a Dunkin’ Donuts all day. That proved to not be true based on security camera footage. He then changed his story, per WHDH, telling cops he was at the apartment from 2:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the day of the murder. But he still said he never saw Welsh. Cops were able to determine that story was ALSO a lie, after discovering that Welsh’s apartment key fob was last used at 6:15 p.m. and the last person to leave the apartment did so at 8:30 p.m. — which was after the time of the murder. It was also the last time anyone opened the apartment door until her body was found a day later.
As the police began to investigate further, they found bloody clothes and a kitchen knife stashed in a trash bag in a second apartment in which Zachary had also been sometimes staying. In that apartment, they also found Welsh’s key fob. Additionally, surveillance footage captured Zachary returning to that second apartment on the night of the murder with a backpack and the trash bag.
After compiling all the evidence, cops arrested Zachary and charged with him one count of murder and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. In a statement about the tragedy, DA Tucker told WHDH:
“The tragic violence that has taken the life of Brianna Welsh and her unborn child has created an unbearable loss for her family. While their loss cannot be repaired or remedied, I hope that our efforts to seek justice on her behalf assures them that we and the community support them.”
Zachary is currently being held without bail on the murder and assault charges. He pleaded not guilty to those charges when first arraigned. His next court appearance is a probable cause hearing on September 10. As for his younger brother, Brendon was also in court late last week on the initial assault charge; per WCVB, Brendon’s plea is unknown.
As part of a heartbreaking GoFundMe page created to raise money for Welsh’s funeral, relative Claudia Welsh wrote:
“Brianna was looking forward this week to find out and share with her family and friends if her baby was going to be a boy or a girl. Tragically, she has been taken from us, murdered in her own home. We are all lost without her. She was a bright shining star, that went out before her time.”
So, so awful. You can visit that GoFundMe page for yourself HERE.
Here is more on Zachary’s murder charges and the terrible tragedy (below):
Just awful. We send our condolences out to Brianna’s family, friends, and loved ones.
R.I.P.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. Consider calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788, or go to https://www.thehotline.org/.
The post Pregnant Woman’s Ex Went To Jail For Punching Her In Stomach — So His Brother Allegedly Stabbed Her To Death appeared first on Perez Hilton.