David Esco Welch

David Esco Welch was born in either 1957 or 1958 in the United States. He and his siblings were raised in a severely unstable household marked by chronic violence and neglect. According to court records and later appellate filings, Welch’s father was a violent alcoholic who regularly abused both his wife and children. Between the ages of six and twelve, Welch was repeatedly beaten with an extension cord, an experience documented during post‑conviction proceedings.

As Welch entered adulthood, he demonstrated no sustained employment or educational pursuits and developed a pattern of criminal behavior. He became a repeat offender and was described in court as a career criminal with little interest in lawful participation in society. At an unspecified time prior to the murders, Welch raped a girlfriend, an act that further established a pattern of violent behavior toward women.

Welch later began a relationship with Dellane Mabrey, a teenager. The relationship deteriorated after Mabrey’s mother made clear her opposition to the pairing. Welch’s resentment toward the family intensified when one of his two pit bulls was struck and killed by a vehicle while under the supervision of Mabrey’s brothers.

On the night of December 8, 1986, David Esco Welch and his girlfriend at the time, Rita Lewis, forcibly entered the Mabrey family residence on Pearmain Street in Oakland, California. The home was occupied by multiple family members and guests, most of whom were asleep at the time of the break‑in.

Present in the house were Dellane Mabrey, age 16; her three‑year‑old daughter, Valencia Morgan; Mabrey’s brothers, Sean Orlando, age 20, and Darnell Mabrey, age 24; and several overnight guests, including Kathy Walker, age 24, Walker’s four‑year‑old son Dwayne Miller, Leslie Morgan, age 24, and Morgan’s three‑year‑old son Dexter.

After entering the home, Welch demanded the return of his missing pit bull. He then began ransacking the residence and systematically firing his weapon at the sleeping occupants. Six people were fatally shot: Dellane Mabrey, Valencia Morgan, Sean Orlando, Darnell Mabrey, Kathy Walker, and Dwayne Miller. Leslie Morgan and Dexter Morgan were both shot but survived their injuries.

Following the attack, Welch and Lewis fled the scene. Approximately nine hours later, they were located and arrested by a police assault team. Both were charged in connection with the murders.

In 1989, Welch was convicted by a jury of six counts of first‑degree murder. The court imposed a death sentence, and Welch was transferred to San Quentin State Prison, where he was placed on death row. Rita Lewis was tried separately and convicted for her role in the crime, receiving a sentence of 51 years to life imprisonment.

In May 2015, after spending more than 26 years on death row, Welch filed an appeal alleging improper communications between jurors and court bailiffs during his trial. His legal team also raised his documented childhood abuse as a mitigating factor. The appeal was denied.

Although Welch remains sentenced to death, executions in California have been suspended due to a gubernatorial moratorium. As of 2022, Welch remains incarcerated on death row, awaiting execution under an inactive capital punishment system.