When Scapegoating Leads To Torturing a Girl To Death

When Scapegoating Leads To Torturing a Girl To Death

Roughly 40 million adults struggle with claustrophobia in the United States alone. Having to live in such a small space would be hell for these people, but imagine being a 5-year-old girl and being forced by your mother to live every second of every day in a small, filthy broom closet, and you were never allowed out. You couldn’t eat, play with your siblings, or even use the bathroom like a normal person. You’re left spending every day in agony as you slowly wither away. This scenario is sickening to imagine, and it might sound to you like it’s out of a fiction book, but for the little girl in today’s story, this was her everyday life.

Kinsley Welty was born in Mooresville, Indiana, on December 3rd, 2018, to parents Bradley Welty and Toni McClure. The couple married in 2017 but ultimately separated a few years later. Toni became the sole caregiver to their three biological children due to Bradley’s alleged substance use issues. Toni went on to date a man named Ryan Smith. By the age of five, Kinsley lived in Indianapolis with Toni, Ryan, her two biological brothers who were four and six, as well as her infant half-brother who was born in March of 2023. Kinsley also had an 11-year-old half-brother from her mother’s previous relationship who lived with his grandfather.

Kinsley was blonde with bright blue eyes and round, chubby cheeks. She loved making people laugh and would often take her father’s hat to be silly. She enjoyed getting her hair done, playing dress-up, and watching PAW Patrol and Bubble Guppies. She loved to sing the Taylor Swift song “You Need to Calm Down” to her grandparents.

On April 9th, 2024, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police arrived at Toni’s home after receiving a call regarding an unresponsive child. Law enforcement found medical personnel performing CPR on a frail-looking girl. Upon arrival, it was Kinsley. She was rushed to Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, where sadly she was pronounced dead. At the hospital, it was observed by both law enforcement and a DCFS representative that Kinsley was in a horrible state. She was extremely malnourished, and her eyes had sunken in.

At 5 years old, Kinsley weighed only 21 lbs at the time of her death, which is exactly what she weighed when she was 2 and 1/2 years old. Keep in mind that the average weight for a 5-year-old girl is about 40 lbs. Kinsley’s hair had been cut short and was crawling with lice. What hair she had left was matted and caked in fecal matter, which also covered the bottoms of her feet. Her abdomen appeared to be ridden with unknown bites and sores. She also had bruising around her right eye socket and cheekbone. An autopsy would later confirm Kinsley’s cause of death as malnourishment and neglect.

Investigators wanted to know what happened, but as you’ll soon find out, they were not getting any straight answers. Toni initially told investigators that Kinsley had been staying with her father for the past two and a half months and that he’d been in and out of rehab and had not been in his children’s lives for some time. She claimed that Bradley had been doing better with his alleged substance use problem and that she had dropped Kinsley off at a local McDonald’s in mid-February after he asked for their daughter to come stay with him. Toni said that she had spoken to Kinsley regularly during her stay with Bradley.

She claimed that on April 9th, she picked her up at the same McDonald’s after her ex requested that she retrieve her daughter due to work obligations. According to Toni, she immediately noticed that her hair was cut. She told investigators she not only noticed bruising on Kinsley’s face, but she had lost a lot of weight. However, Toni could not provide an address or a viable phone number for Bradley, which raised suspicion.

When they arrived home, Toni said that she carried her daughter inside and that Kinsley complained of leg pain and a headache. Allegedly within 20 to 30 minutes of bringing Kinsley home, she had collapsed, and massive amounts of liquid began spewing from her mouth. Toni told investigators that she called her boyfriend’s mother to retrieve the kids and that she attempted to perform CPR on Kinsley before eventually calling 911.

According to Toni, Kinsley suffered from a mild form of dwarfism and a floppy trachea, which occurs when the cartilage within the windpipe is fragile and soft. It can obstruct breathing and make it difficult to swallow. Toni told investigators that Kinsley had a feeding tube when she was born, but the tube was removed around the age of two. She said that her daughter’s last medical evaluation was in December of 2022.

Investigators interviewed a number of Toni’s other relatives at Riley Children’s Hospital, including her mother Tammy Hoy, her grandmother who was referred to in court documents as JB, and her sister who was referred to in court documents as LM. Tammy told the investigators that LM called her and said that Kinsley had fallen in the bathtub and drowned after Toni left her alone. JB told the investigators that Tammy had shared a similar story with her. Additionally, Toni had allegedly told her boyfriend that Kinsley had fluid in her airways, and LM instructed Toni to perform CPR.

The following day, police paid a visit to the address listed on Bradley’s driver’s license. The current resident, who was Bradley’s friend, told the police that he hadn’t lived there for about a year but was at the residence on April 9th. The friend shared that he often expressed remorse for being unable to see his children and stressed that he had not seen them in a very long time.

On April 10th, the police executed a search warrant of Toni’s home. The back bedroom had bunk beds belonging to Kinsley’s two brothers, and investigators quickly noticed a large dresser pulled in front of a closet. When that dresser was moved, they immediately noticed a strong odor of urine and feces throughout the closet. The carpet was smeared with human excrement and littered with empty Ensure containers, stale peanut butter sandwiches, and a hot dog bun. The closet’s walls and doors were covered in tiny handprints made with feces.

Immediately following the search, investigators urged Toni, who was sleeping in her car, to speak with them again, to which she agreed. Toni met with investigators and told them a very different story this time around. She reiterated that she was Kinsley’s primary caregiver and that her mother Tammy helped sometimes. Toni said when her sister had taken Kinsley a few months ago, she had smeared feces all over the bathroom. Toni claimed that she did not know why anyone said that Kinsley had drowned. She went on to apologize for lying to investigators and stated that Bradley Welty had not seen Kinsley in over a year.

Toni shared with the investigators that she was told by both her mother and her boyfriend that she needed to treat Kinsley better or that she was going to die. She admitted to hiding Kinsley from DCFS social workers during their visits and told the investigators that they had visited earlier in the day on April 9th, 2024, due to her infant son testing positive for THC. Toni hid Kinsley under a blanket in another room during the visit and told the social workers that she was with her grandparents. DCFS did not find Kinsley that day, and Toni was afraid that if they saw Kinsley’s condition, all of her children would be taken away.

Toni explained that she and Kinsley never shared a bond. She claimed that Kinsley resented her because she was taken by DCFS when she was younger. Toni admitted to doing the bare [ __ ] minimum for Kinsley, and that she had [ __ ] up real bad and knew she was going to jail. Toni stated that she was not good with the timelines, but she had begun to put Kinsley in the closet a few months back around Thanksgiving of 2023. She said that Kinsley frequently shouted from the closet, claiming that being hungry and thirsty had become Kinsley’s slogan.

Toni admitted that the bruising on Kinsley’s chin came from slapping her daughter after she had bitten her. She said that Kinsley had told her she wanted to die shortly before she collapsed. Toni asserted that her trembling and complaining of leg pain and head pain was true. She believed that Kinsley had died from malnourishment and that she wanted her daughter out of her life. Toni stated that she wished Kinsley was never born. She admitted that she had failed her daughter and that she knew that everything she had done was wrong.

Toni’s boyfriend, Ryan Smith, was also interviewed and told the investigators that on April 9th, he had picked up Toni’s six-year-old son from school and returned to his family shop shortly thereafter. Ryan received a call that Kinsley had died and that he needed to pick up the other children from their home. Ryan and his mother retrieved the kids as emergency services were coming. He brought them to his mother’s home in Plainville, Indiana. According to a police statement, DCFS subsequently took the children into their custody.

Ryan told investigators that he had begun a romantic relationship with Toni a year ago and had lived at the residence for 6 to 7 months. He said Kinsley hated him because he was not her real father. Ryan explained that his parents had not seen Kinsley since December of 2023, but Toni’s mother Tammy frequently watched Kinsley on the weekends because she was not allowed to go away with them on family outings. According to Ryan, Kinsley was not allowed around his family because his father was allegedly inappropriate with her.

Ryan explained that Toni decided to put Kinsley in the closet around Thanksgiving of 2023, and that her condition had worsened, especially in the past 2 to 3 months. During this time, Ryan said he had only seen Kinsley outside the closet approximately 10 times, and usually just for one or two hours at a time. So to be clear here, this is a 5-year-old girl being kept in a dark closet for months and only being let out for an hour or two at a time—and we don’t even know if she was being let out every day or not.

Ryan claimed that he pled with Toni to treat Kinsley better, even threatening to call 911 on her at one point. Ryan said that he never sought medical attention for Kinsley himself because of his love for Toni. He said Toni was afraid that her other children would be taken away if he called the police, and he didn’t want to be responsible for that if they were. He said he had never fed or interacted with Kinsley while she was in the closet, but that he had cleaned the closet about a month before her death. He noted that feces had piled up in the corner and claimed that he had told Kinsley to stop doing that so they could change her situation. Ryan did admit that he felt he had some blame for the situation. He emphasized to the investigators that he believed that he should be held accountable for what happened to Kinsley, but not to the same extent as Toni.

The investigators also interviewed Ryan’s mother, who was referred to in court documents as MS. She claimed that she had met Ryan at his work on April 9th and that they had went to his home to retrieve the children. MS witnessed Toni staring blankly in her bedroom and claimed that she did not see Kinsley. She went on to tell authorities that she had first met Kinsley in 2022 and that the family had lived with her for a time in 2023. MS speculated that the girl may have had schizophrenia or bipolar disorder because she would be okay one minute and completely shift the next. She told the investigators that Kinsley would break into the cabinets at night when she lived with her.

MS claimed that after the family left her home in October of 2023, she rarely saw Kinsley. The last time was in early December of 2023. She didn’t look well; her skin was discolored, she lost a lot of weight, and looked overall haggard. Six months before her death, Ryan allegedly went to his mother to discuss the situation with Kinsley, asserting that things needed to change. He told MS that he dealt primarily with the boys and that Toni dealt with Kinsley, emphasizing that Toni resented her daughter. Ryan allegedly told his mother that he had nightmares about Kinsley dying. According to Ryan, Kinsley frequently told him that she didn’t like them and that she would continue to act out until someone took her away. Whenever MS asked Ryan about Kinsley, he assured her that everything was moving in the right direction.

Kinsley’s brothers were interviewed as well, and they highlighted how differently she was treated compared to them. Kinsley’s four-year-old brother, referred to in court documents as PW, appeared to struggle with attention but stated that Kinsley stayed at the house and that this made her sad. PW detailed that his mother had smacked Kinsley on the butt because she was in time-out for escaping “the cage,” as he referred to it. He described that Ryan became angry at Kinsley and had hit her when she was in time-out in the cage. PW told investigators that Kinsley had escaped from what he called “the wall” and that she did not have anything to play with while on the wall. PW said it made him sad that his sister was in time-out all day.

Kinsley’s six-year-old brother, referred to in court documents as BW, told investigators that he and all other children go to the corner when they get in trouble, but that Kinsley had a different corner than they did. Apparently, it was near where the door was, and after the time-out, she had to go back into the closet. He told investigators that she slept on the ground and was forced to go to the bathroom in the closet. BW said that when the family got pizza, she was never allowed to have any because she was always bad, and that for the past several months, she was constantly in the closet. He said that Kinsley would shout bad, stupid things at him from the closet. PW explained that sometimes she would escape from the closet and tap him so he would tell his mother and she would be punished. He didn’t explain exactly what those punishments were. BW told investigators that Kinsley had nothing to play with because she was bad and that she never left the closet. BW said the last time that he saw Kinsley was before he went to his grandparents, and he said that she looked terrible.

Tammy spoke to investigators again and said that she had believed that Kinsley had drowned in the bathtub until she saw on social media what Toni had confessed to. Tammy admitted to lying to the investigators and DCFS because she didn’t want her daughter to lose custody of her kids. She stated that DCFS had been to her home four times looking for Kinsley because of multiple reports regarding her condition. Tammy never shared information regarding Kinsley or Toni’s whereabouts with the social workers. Tammy claimed that Kinsley often misbehaved and was told to go in the corner by Toni. She’d seen Kinsley at a party at Toni’s sister’s home on April 7th, and Kinsley was told to go in the corner for the entire duration of the party. The following day, she saw Kinsley again because Toni and her family came to watch the lunar eclipse. Tammy stated that Toni put Kinsley in the corner again because she was in trouble.

Tammy told investigators that she had only been over to Toni’s house twice to watch Kinsley—once when Toni’s youngest child was born, and then on Christmas of 2023. Tammy noticed Kinsley’s condition deteriorating over the past 5 to 6 months and urged her daughter to treat her child better. Tammy alleged that she first learned that Kinsley was being kept in a closet while on a video call with Toni. Tammy went on to admit that she would duct tape Kinsley to a bed to keep her from misbehaving. She told police that she believed she should be punished, but not as severely as Toni.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department put forth a statement on their Facebook account detailing the horrific circumstances found at Kinsley’s residence. Chief Chris Bailey stated the following: “I quote, my heart breaks knowing what Kinsley went through in her short life and how she left this world. The circumstances of Kinsley’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. I am so thankful for the officers, detectives, crime scene personnel, emergency room personnel, coroner’s office officials, and deputy prosecutors for their steadfast dedication to the innocent. What they see and hear every day, most of us could not endure. They are truly special people. I pray Kinsley has found eternal peace and for her siblings who will need a lot of love and care in the coming days, months, and years.”

On April 15th, 2024, Toni McClure was charged with murder, criminal confinement resulting in serious bodily injury, and assault and battery of a person less than 14 years old. Ryan Smith was charged with three counts of neglect and criminal confinement resulting in serious bodily injury. Tammy Hoy received a one-count preliminary charge with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. According to court documents, Marion County prosecutors said that Tammy would receive official charges at a later date.

As the investigation into Kinsley’s case continued, a Facebook Messenger thread between Tammy and Toni was brought to light, further detailing the deplorable treatment and neglect Kinsley endured, as well as the great lengths that Tammy and Toni went to hide her condition. The long thread dating back to 2022 referred to Kinsley by such terms as—and I’m quoting here—”heifer, demon, dummy, dip, and evil,” along with a litany of insults. There were accounts of intentionally withholding food from Kinsley by locking up the cabinets and fridge because she attempted to access food and drink without permission.

In one message from May of 2022, Toni said that Kinsley had escaped from the closet, and Tammy told her to block the door with an object. Allegedly, when Toni claimed that she had already tried that, Tammy responded with, “You’re going to have to keep her home one weekend just to show her you mean business.” Toni went on to tell Tammy how Kinsley hates to be struck on the belly, and Tammy assured her that she was well aware. Another Facebook message from Toni to Tammy detailed how Kinsley had escaped by breaking the closet’s lock and that she had put feces under the couch. Tammy instructed Toni to “tie her ass up.” In another exchange, Toni told Tammy that Kinsley had defecated in the closet where she was being held. The thread twice referenced duct taping of Kinsley to a bed to ensure that she would not get up at night.

The messages also detail Toni and Tammy’s attempts to hide Kinsley from DCFS and the general public. In March of 2024, Tammy warned Toni that DCFS had shown up at her home again, to which Toni replied that they had better figure out a day that Kinsley could stay with Tammy so she could deal with it. In light of these findings, Tammy’s charges have been expanded to include five more counts of neglect and one count of failure to report neglect.

On April 28th, 2024, Kinsley’s family as well as supporters rallied outside of the Indiana Statehouse. They called for reform of the state agency, claiming that the caseworker should have intervened. Family members emphasized that this situation should have never escalated to the point of death, citing a time where Kinsley and her siblings were removed from the home. Court records reveal that Toni pled guilty to neglect of a dependent in 2020, and that dependent was Kinsley. A case manager interviewed during this investigation allegedly told authorities there had been multiple DCFS reports made for instances of neglect involving both Kinsley and Toni. In fact, DCFS had reported to the home the very same day that Kinsley died.

Kinsley’s great-aunt Carrie Hogan spoke with local news reporters at the rally, stating, “She will forever be 5 years old due to the abuse, starvation, and torture from those who were supposed to love and protect her at all costs. This was preventable and the public deserves to know.” Carrie started a GoFundMe to cover the cost of Kinsley’s funeral expenses, including a princess headstone. The fundraiser collected $6,880 of its $5,000 goal.

Now, to our knowledge, Kinsley was never diagnosed with any behavioral condition or anything regarding her mental health. We can’t definitively say what Kinsley was struggling with, if it was anything at all. But based on the accounts of other family members to investigators, if Kinsley needed help, they could have gotten her help instead. Based on the information we currently know, it sounds like they not only gave up on her, they resigned her to starve to death instead of getting her help. Depending on what she needed, she could have seen a doctor or professional and had a normal childhood, not condemned to die in a dark, filthy closet.

Kinsley’s story is an extreme example, but it reminds me of the children we don’t hear about. And those are the children whose parents give up on them because they can’t handle their behavior. They get fed up and frustrated with them, write them off as bad kids, tune them out, and then let them into the world without any help or support for what they’re struggling with. For children like these, if parents were willing to face reality head-on like adults and recognize what their child needed, their whole life could be changed for the better.

If this sounds like you or a parent you know, please recognize that the only way a child with mental or behavioral issues can get help is if an adult agrees to get them resources. If this message can get through to at least one person, it’ll be worth it for me to say it because a parent is the sole arbiter of a child’s future in circumstances like these. It may not be life or death like Kinsley’s situation, but it impacts that child’s entire future. I think back on parents I know with children who needed resources, and I sit and wonder exactly how they would have turned out if those parents refused to get them the help they needed. I ask you to reflect on the same, and if you are a parent who has a child that you know could benefit from seeing a doctor or a professional, I beg of you to do the right thing.

As of the date of this recording in March of 2025, this case is still pending. A jury trial is set for September 15, 2025. As of June of 2024, Ryan Smith was released on bail. Toni McClure and Tammy Hoy were being held in the Marion County Jail. As with all pending cases, all of the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

A private funeral service was held for Kinsley in the care of Meredith-Clark Funeral Home in Morgantown. She was laid to rest at the East Hill Cemetery beneath a beautiful black heart-shaped headstone. It sits on a granite pedestal along with a black vase to hold fresh flowers. The stone is adorned with a picture of Kinsley in a red and black plaid dress, the same picture that was used in her obituary. The picture was complemented with engravings of butterflies and the words, “Too precious for this world.”