Ex-Convict, Woman Face 6 Murder Counts

An ex-convict and a woman companion were charged Tuesday with six counts of murder each in the slayings of his 17-year-old former girlfriend and five other people, including two small children in an East Oakland house early Monday.

David E. Welch, 28, and Rita Mae Lewis, 29, were being held at an Oakland hospital. Lewis reportedly shot Welch in the thigh by accident as he struggled with Leslie Morgan, 21. Welch’s ex-girlfriend, Dellena Mabrey, was staying with Morgan. Morgan was wounded in the arm. Lewis was subsequently injured leaping through a window after a four-hour police siege.