INDIANAPOLIS – They berated her as “Dummy,” “Demon” and “Evil,” and discussed stashing her away in a closet.
They talked about hiding 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty from the Department of Child Services and made it clear that using duct tape to prevent her from getting out was sometimes effective.
The abuse, it became clear through messages exchanged between the girl’s mother and grandmother, went on for years before her death in April 2024.
An autopsy found Kinsleigh died from malnutrition resulting from neglect. Investigators said the little girl was rarely fed and forced to live in a feces-covered closet. She was found unresponsive on April 9, at a home on Denver Drive.
Less than an hour after police arrived, she was pronounced dead.
She weighed less at 5 years old than when she was 2 years old, according to court documents.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office arrested Kinsleigh’s mother, Toni McClure, and McClure’s boyfriend, Ryan Smith. McClure is charged with murder, criminal confinement and neglect; Smith is charged with criminal confinement and three counts of neglect of a dependent.
After their arrests, Indianapolis Metropolitan police also took Kinsleigh’s grandmother, Tammy Halsey, into custody. Halsey, McClure’s mother, initially faced a criminal confinement charge.
This week, however, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the criminal confinement count. That’s because, days earlier, the prosecutor’s office filed additional charges against her.
The new charges include two Level 1 felony counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, along with additional neglect counts (two Level 3 felonies and a Level 5 felony) and a misdemeanor count of failure to make a report. A trial date was set for June 10.
Charging documents indicated that Halsey knew something was wrong and admitted she should’ve done more to help her granddaughter. She told investigators she didn’t report the abuse because she didn’t want McClure to have her other children taken away.
Kinsleigh, according to Halsey, spent most of her time in a closet. Sometimes, she used duct tape to restrain the little girl. A coworker told investigators that Halsey told her she’d tied Kinsleigh to a bed to prevent her from getting out at night to get something to eat, according to court documents.
The IMPD Digital Forensics Unit examined several cell phones linked to the case, including those from Halsey, Smith and McClure. Investigators discovered a Facebook Messenger thread between Halsey and McClure in which they talked about Kinsleigh.
The messages made it clear Halsey watched Kinsleigh “several hours to several days at a time” before returning her to McClure and Smith. Often, Halsey would watch Kinsleigh so McClure, Smith and the other children could go to events, run errands or attend family functions without taking Kinsleigh with them.
According to court documents, it became clear Halsey frequently watched Kinsleigh and took care of her over a period of years, including shortly before the little girl’s death.
Messages between Halsey and McClure show the two discussed restraining Kinsleigh and abusing her.
They talked about locking the refrigerator and cabinets, and generally preventing her from accessing food. They limited the girl’s food intake and discussed how she wanted to “eat and drink items without permission.”
The pair referred to Kinsleigh by numerous derogatory names, including “Evil, Demon, Dip****, Dummy, Chunkers and Heiffer,” according to court documents.
During a May 31, 2022, exchange, McClure informed Halsey that Kinsleigh had gotten out of the closet where she was usually kept.
“Put something in front so she can’t push the door,” Halsey wrote back. After McClure said she’d done exactly that, Halsey responded, “You’re going to have to keep her home one weekend just to show her you mean business.”
“She hates being smacked on her belly just so you know,” McClure responded.
Halsey replied, “Oh, I know.”
Messages from May 1, 2023, included a photo of Kinsleigh crouching next to a couch.
“Did you not wrap her a** up?” Halsey wrote.
“Yes, I did,” McClure responded. “She got out.”
“Damn do it tighter,” Halsey wrote back.
In a July 7, 2023, exchange, McClure asked Halsey to watch Kinsleigh, but McClure said she couldn’t do it because she was tired and had to work on Monday.
“Do your duct tape thing,” McClure implored her mother. “Sleep. I won’t ask again.”
A few months later, on Sept. 20, 2023, McClure wrote to Halsey that Kinsleigh had “damn near” pushed the closet door open.
Halsey’s response?
“Tape her a** down.”
On Oct. 6, 2023, McClure said Kinsleigh had broken the door lock and shoved excrement under the couch.
Halsey told her daughter to “tie her f****** a** up.”
Three days later, on Oct. 9, McClure asked Halsey to watch Kinsleigh. When Halsey demurred, McClure urged her to “take one for the freaking team man.”
McClure continued, “You do your method and it works. Can’t do that here. I’ll clean her up first.” She punctuated the message with laughing face emojis and a skull and crossbones emoji, according to court documents.
The messages referenced the Department of Child Services multiple times; the two discussed their efforts to hide Kinsleigh’s appearance from the public and DCS.
On Jan. 2, Halsey asked McClure if she was watching the kids that day.
“It doesn’t matter,” McClure wrote. “As long as you promise [if one] of the b****** show up that you make them leave and tell them [the children aren’t] there. That’s the only thing I worry about.”
On March 22, Halsey informed McClure that DCS had “showed up again.”
“Oh Jesus Christ,” McClure responded. “I guess we need to figure out a day where you can take Kinsleigh and I can deal with it, but I really just don’t want to.”
The final exchange documented in the probable cause affidavit was from April 9 — the day Kinsleigh died.
“So I don’t have much in my fridge or my cabinets but DCS is coming out today,” McClure wrote to Halsey. “Call me on your lunch.”
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