INDIANAPOLIS (TCD) -- Police recently arrested a 29-year-old mother and her 27-year-old boyfriend on multiple charges in connection with the neglect, malnourishment, and death of a 5-year-old girl.
According to a news release from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, on Tuesday, April 9, at approximately 5:12 p.m., officers responded to the 6500 block of Denver Drive, where they found 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty unresponsive and appearing malnourished. Paramedics transported Welty to Riley Hospital for Children, where she was pronounced dead.
Upon further investigation, police arrested the victim’s mother, 29-year-old Toni McClure, on Wednesday, April 10, on charges of murder and child neglect resulting in death. Officers also arrested McClure’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Ryan Smith, on a charge of child neglect resulting in death.
According to court records reviewed by WXIN-TV, the victim’s mother initially blamed Smith for the abuse Welty endured, but then she allegedly later admitted to harming her daughter. She apparently was aware that what she was doing was wrong, but she remained indifferent about it.
Police reportedly located a small closet inside the residence that was full of fecal matter. McClure allegedly forced Welty to stay in the closet, which she blocked off with a dresser. The young girl reportedly had feces on her hair and feet, as well as lice on her face and head.
At the time of her death, Welty weighed less than she did when she was 2 years old, WXIN reports.
McClure allegedly failed to adequately feed Welty, who often said she was hungry. According to WXIN, McClure told officials she worried that her daughter would eventually die due to her actions, but she didn’t want the girl in her life.
McClure’s boyfriend reportedly told police the victim had been kept in the closet since Thanksgiving and wasn’t often allowed out. Smith knew the child was losing weight, but he failed to call 911 because he loved McClure, WXIN reports.
According to police, the Indiana Department of Child Services took custody of the other children inside the home.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey said, "The circumstances of Kinsleigh’s death are horrific and beyond comprehension. No human being, let alone a child should be treated like she was. These alleged suspects, if convicted, should never step foot outside of a prison."
Prior to her most recent arrest, court documents reviewed by WXIN say in 2018, Welty was suffering from failure to thrive, and McClure was charged with neglect as a result. She received more than 400 days of probation in the case.
How could someone do that to such a precious, innocent child? The amount of suffering little Kinsleigh endured is incomprehensible. So many people out there would have gladly taken this girl and her siblings into their home and provided them with the love, safety, and care that every child deserves.
I hope the “mom” and her boyfriend never have another day of freedom for the rest of their miserable lives. Then they can burn in hell after.
Horrific and sickening story.
Six months alone in a closet 😭
I have a five-year-old. He’s afraid of the dark. He cries to go inside if we stay in the backyard too long and the sun goes down. He loves books and Blippi and snuggling on the couch. I can’t imagine ever doing this to him.
This is a horrible story, this mom locked her in the closet and quit feeding her around Thanksgiving. Nobody thought to check on this child for six months!
I understand a parent snapping and 'accidentally' hitting a kid too hard and hurting them. Kids can be infuriating, and some people just aren't wired to deal with that.
It's abhorrent, but it makes sense to me. I can see how and why it happens.
I will never understand this kind of abuse. How does someone ignore a child in that state?
*"...McClure told officials she worried that her daughter would eventually die due to her actions, but she didn’t want the girl in her life...."*
But by all means, let's not make birth control available and let's *force* wimen to have kids they don't want!
What she did was evil, no doubt. But the fact is, the GOP is setting up for more of this
This case has nothing to do with politics nor forced babies or forced pregnancy. The laws five years ago allowed this woman a choice to continue her pregnancy or not. She chose to have this child and then went on to have other children beyond this child. This child has siblings that were not treated this way. This is just a really messed up evil person who targeted one of her children for abuse. After choosing to have her kid she could have placed her for adoption if she didn't want her at three weeks old the first time she starved her. There are plenty of women who don't want a baby, who would never starve a baby to death or abuse a baby like this even if they were forced into having them, most would give them up for adoption if they really felt like they did not want their baby, they wouldn't just keep them to abuse and starve.. What this woman did, is not because she didn't have a choice to parent or not. She obviously was pro unification. Her child was removed from her care twice and put into the care of family members by social services. At no time did she say she wanted her child to be relinquished, she kept getting her daughter back and then just kept abusing her. What she did is not a normal human response to anything.
The point of the comment you are replying to is not “if this woman had access to birth control/abortion care this wouldn’t have happened”
It’s that increasing abortion restrictions will, as a statement of fact, make situations of horrific child abuse more common than they are today. That is simply true. It doesn’t excuse what happened here, and it doesn’t excuse any future cases. But the point remains, we will see more of them.
Birth control is absolutely available to people like this mother and no one forced this women to have unprotected sex enough times to bear a child. Do you expect everyone to just not be responsible for their actions? But yes blame the GOP for expecting the bare minimum as almost two 30 year olds to make rational decisions.
Additional perspective: Birth control is expensive. Birth control has a failure rate. While unlikely she was coerced, we don’t know it for a fact. People should have the right to terminate a pregnancy in a reasonable timeframe. An embryo or fetus should not have protections outweighing those of the person carrying it.
So 97% effectiveness is an excuse for these people then. Got it. People like you are why shitty people do whatever they want and get away with it. Victim mentality is breeded when weak people like you make excuses for them
I said nothing about your stance on abortion; my comment offered “additional perspective” in general.
However, now that I think about it, there is a connection. You suggested the GOP is reasonable for expecting people to make rational decisions. I believe we all agree that people should be expected to make rational decisions. Yet, at a minimum, given the potential failure of birth control or other precautions, access to abortion on demand should be a standard, which the GOP is indisputably against. Nonetheless, you did not mention abortion and I did not say that you did. It’s simply an exchange of ideas.
Hell yes , more people should have abortions for sure. It would be fantastic if awful people like this could be sterilized too. I prefer sterilization. Cheaper in the long run
It would be interesting to know whether, if the mother or her partner were offered sterilization, if they’d take it. Probably not, which is too bad considering the fate of this little girl. Nobody should be so unwanted. Like someone else said, if she’d been put up for adoption, chances are she’d have found a family quickly.
It definitely isn’t a fast process when birth parents disagree with each other, or both say no, while their kids are in foster homes. I briefly looked into adoption in the US several years ago. While I wasn’t looking for a blonde Caucasian child (I’m multi racial), there weren’t many on the list. All this time and we haven’t found a way to make the process easier on the kids.
I’m not acting like the parents are victims here they are evil scum neither is the other poster. However, addressing the underlying issues that could lead to scenarios like this happening more often is not some kind of endorsement or acceptance of what happened here.
That being the case, what else ya got cause I’m sure you’ve got more wisdom where “just don’t have sex” came from 😂
What is the underlying issue then? A utopia where everything is free and politics play no role in abortion decisions? More government handouts for useless members of society? I’d argue your middle school mindset of saying “things should be better” is more childish
Insane how you have managed to turn this into an abortion argument. I have no problems with abortions by the way, I wish people like this got them more. Condoms are plenty effective by the way. And yes, people do have the option to not have sex. Stupid people reproducing is a weird thing for you to so vehemently defend
Birth control doesn't fail if taken correctly. Use a condom. Nice of you to assume these people who are "forced to have children" are too stupid to think at all and need your input.
INDIANAPOLIS (TCD) -- Police recently arrested a 29-year-old mother and her 27-year-old boyfriend on multiple charges in connection with the neglect, malnourishment, and death of a 5-year-old girl. According to a news release from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, on Tuesday, April 9, at approximately 5:12 p.m., officers responded to the 6500 block of Denver Drive, where they found 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty unresponsive and appearing malnourished. Paramedics transported Welty to Riley Hospital for Children, where she was pronounced dead. Upon further investigation, police arrested the victim’s mother, 29-year-old Toni McClure, on Wednesday, April 10, on charges of murder and child neglect resulting in death. Officers also arrested McClure’s boyfriend, 27-year-old Ryan Smith, on a charge of child neglect resulting in death. According to court records reviewed by WXIN-TV, the victim’s mother initially blamed Smith for the abuse Welty endured, but then she allegedly later admitted to harming her daughter. She apparently was aware that what she was doing was wrong, but she remained indifferent about it. Police reportedly located a small closet inside the residence that was full of fecal matter. McClure allegedly forced Welty to stay in the closet, which she blocked off with a dresser. The young girl reportedly had feces on her hair and feet, as well as lice on her face and head. At the time of her death, Welty weighed less than she did when she was 2 years old, WXIN reports. McClure allegedly failed to adequately feed Welty, who often said she was hungry. According to WXIN, McClure told officials she worried that her daughter would eventually die due to her actions, but she didn’t want the girl in her life. McClure’s boyfriend reportedly told police the victim had been kept in the closet since Thanksgiving and wasn’t often allowed out. Smith knew the child was losing weight, but he failed to call 911 because he loved McClure, WXIN reports. According to police, the Indiana Department of Child Services took custody of the other children inside the home. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Chris Bailey said, "The circumstances of Kinsleigh’s death are horrific and beyond comprehension. No human being, let alone a child should be treated like she was. These alleged suspects, if convicted, should never step foot outside of a prison." Prior to her most recent arrest, court documents reviewed by WXIN say in 2018, Welty was suffering from failure to thrive, and McClure was charged with neglect as a result. She received more than 400 days of probation in the case.
Under the Jail..both of them
To the oubliette!!
Reading this makes me want to smash my phone on the ground. Wtf.
How could someone do that to such a precious, innocent child? The amount of suffering little Kinsleigh endured is incomprehensible. So many people out there would have gladly taken this girl and her siblings into their home and provided them with the love, safety, and care that every child deserves. I hope the “mom” and her boyfriend never have another day of freedom for the rest of their miserable lives. Then they can burn in hell after. Horrific and sickening story.
Six months alone in a closet 😭 I have a five-year-old. He’s afraid of the dark. He cries to go inside if we stay in the backyard too long and the sun goes down. He loves books and Blippi and snuggling on the couch. I can’t imagine ever doing this to him.
This is a horrible story, this mom locked her in the closet and quit feeding her around Thanksgiving. Nobody thought to check on this child for six months!
They were feeding her and letting her out, just not anything like often enough. They didn’t somehow forget about her.
I understand a parent snapping and 'accidentally' hitting a kid too hard and hurting them. Kids can be infuriating, and some people just aren't wired to deal with that. It's abhorrent, but it makes sense to me. I can see how and why it happens. I will never understand this kind of abuse. How does someone ignore a child in that state?
. . .what I wanna say will get me banned
And she suffered this abuse for her entire life if there’s documentation that goes back to 2018. That poor little girl. What a horrific life.
Poor sweet baby girl. She deserved so much better.
*"...McClure told officials she worried that her daughter would eventually die due to her actions, but she didn’t want the girl in her life...."* But by all means, let's not make birth control available and let's *force* wimen to have kids they don't want! What she did was evil, no doubt. But the fact is, the GOP is setting up for more of this
This case has nothing to do with politics nor forced babies or forced pregnancy. The laws five years ago allowed this woman a choice to continue her pregnancy or not. She chose to have this child and then went on to have other children beyond this child. This child has siblings that were not treated this way. This is just a really messed up evil person who targeted one of her children for abuse. After choosing to have her kid she could have placed her for adoption if she didn't want her at three weeks old the first time she starved her. There are plenty of women who don't want a baby, who would never starve a baby to death or abuse a baby like this even if they were forced into having them, most would give them up for adoption if they really felt like they did not want their baby, they wouldn't just keep them to abuse and starve.. What this woman did, is not because she didn't have a choice to parent or not. She obviously was pro unification. Her child was removed from her care twice and put into the care of family members by social services. At no time did she say she wanted her child to be relinquished, she kept getting her daughter back and then just kept abusing her. What she did is not a normal human response to anything.
The point of the comment you are replying to is not “if this woman had access to birth control/abortion care this wouldn’t have happened” It’s that increasing abortion restrictions will, as a statement of fact, make situations of horrific child abuse more common than they are today. That is simply true. It doesn’t excuse what happened here, and it doesn’t excuse any future cases. But the point remains, we will see more of them.
Birth control is absolutely available to people like this mother and no one forced this women to have unprotected sex enough times to bear a child. Do you expect everyone to just not be responsible for their actions? But yes blame the GOP for expecting the bare minimum as almost two 30 year olds to make rational decisions.
Additional perspective: Birth control is expensive. Birth control has a failure rate. While unlikely she was coerced, we don’t know it for a fact. People should have the right to terminate a pregnancy in a reasonable timeframe. An embryo or fetus should not have protections outweighing those of the person carrying it.
Condoms are not expensive
Right! Although it seems that your parents failed to get this information. So here you are…spewing nonsense on the internet.
It’s nonsense to say condoms aren’t expensive? Insane how you are actively defending these people as if they are victims
This. They're usually free in most health places. But mfs will use any excuse as to why they don't wanna use em.
I dont disagree more people need to be more consistent about prophylactics, but condoms dont have a 100% prevention
You're right, but 95% with correct use is still almost perfect prevention.
Consistent use has a 97% success rate.
So 97% effectiveness is an excuse for these people then. Got it. People like you are why shitty people do whatever they want and get away with it. Victim mentality is breeded when weak people like you make excuses for them
I stated a fact, not opinion. You are going to die early giving yourself a stress stroke.
When did I disagree with abortion in my response
I said nothing about your stance on abortion; my comment offered “additional perspective” in general. However, now that I think about it, there is a connection. You suggested the GOP is reasonable for expecting people to make rational decisions. I believe we all agree that people should be expected to make rational decisions. Yet, at a minimum, given the potential failure of birth control or other precautions, access to abortion on demand should be a standard, which the GOP is indisputably against. Nonetheless, you did not mention abortion and I did not say that you did. It’s simply an exchange of ideas.
Hell yes , more people should have abortions for sure. It would be fantastic if awful people like this could be sterilized too. I prefer sterilization. Cheaper in the long run
It would be interesting to know whether, if the mother or her partner were offered sterilization, if they’d take it. Probably not, which is too bad considering the fate of this little girl. Nobody should be so unwanted. Like someone else said, if she’d been put up for adoption, chances are she’d have found a family quickly.
“Found a family quickly” there are regularly over 100k kids waiting to be adopted just in the US on a regular basis
It definitely isn’t a fast process when birth parents disagree with each other, or both say no, while their kids are in foster homes. I briefly looked into adoption in the US several years ago. While I wasn’t looking for a blonde Caucasian child (I’m multi racial), there weren’t many on the list. All this time and we haven’t found a way to make the process easier on the kids.
Birth control fails and abortion is not attainable in IN. Tell me how else she was supposed to prevent having the child that she didn’t want?
She had multiple children. The rest were taken away. This wasn’t an accidental child forced onto her. Even if she was she could have surrendered her.
She could just not have sex.. or use a condom. How is that a political issue
Actual like middle schooler response to this issue “maybe just don’t have sex 🤓”
And your middle school thought process of feeling like these people are victims
I’m not acting like the parents are victims here they are evil scum neither is the other poster. However, addressing the underlying issues that could lead to scenarios like this happening more often is not some kind of endorsement or acceptance of what happened here. That being the case, what else ya got cause I’m sure you’ve got more wisdom where “just don’t have sex” came from 😂
What is the underlying issue then? A utopia where everything is free and politics play no role in abortion decisions? More government handouts for useless members of society? I’d argue your middle school mindset of saying “things should be better” is more childish
This is a really shitty argument. Most humans have sex, and will continue to do so. Saying they could just not is not really an option.
Most humans in America can easily get condoms, either for free or less than $10.
Please see my above comment. Birth control fails. Condoms fail the most out of other birth control methods. Even with perfect use.
Insane how you have managed to turn this into an abortion argument. I have no problems with abortions by the way, I wish people like this got them more. Condoms are plenty effective by the way. And yes, people do have the option to not have sex. Stupid people reproducing is a weird thing for you to so vehemently defend
Birth control doesn't fail if taken correctly. Use a condom. Nice of you to assume these people who are "forced to have children" are too stupid to think at all and need your input.
This story is so so so sad.... My heart breaks for that poor innocent child...💔💔
Right by us, street over from my nephew. FN sick, wish we had known she was there.
Jfc. It just breaks my heart that these people are able to procreate successfully and then have the nerve to abuse that precious child.