INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Some jurors on Monday visibly fought tears as they viewed photos from the autopsy of a five-year-old girl.
The photos were part of the first day of testimony in the murder trial of Toni McClure, who is charged in connection with the 2024 death of her daughter, Kinsleigh Welty, on the southwest side.
Jurors heard from the first police officer and firefighter on the scene, a detective and a crime scene technician who processed the scene, and from the doctor who supervised Welty's autopsy.
Welty was found unresponsive in the home she lived in in April of 2024. First responders all said Welty was severely malnourished. Late in the day, autopsy photos were shown to the jury. Welty's body was virtually skeletal, with her ribs, spine and even pelvic bone visible beneath her skin. Her hair was patchy and crusted with lice, while her feet had fecal matter on them.
Dr. Amanda Paul, the forensic pathologist who oversaw the autopsy, said Welty's weight at autopsy was recorded as 21 pounds, barely half what is considered healthy for a five-year-old girl.
"It was shocking. She was severely malnourished, extremely thin, she was dirty and covered with lice," Paul said.
The emotional toll of the case at times was clearly visible. While the autopsy photos were being shown, a bailiff at one point handed a tissue box to one of the jurors.
Earlier in the day, IMPD Detective Jamie Davis, who works in the department's child abuse unit, had to pause to collect herself while she described the smell of feces that hit her the moment she opened the door to a closet where investigators believe Welty was kept.
Davis told the jury there are no words that can truly describe the smell. McClure could be seen wiping her eyes when audio of her 911 call was played.
McClure faces a total of three charges in connection with Welty's death: murder, criminal confinement and battery of a person under 14. Her lead attorney, Deana Martin, said in her opening statement McClure's mother, Tammy Halsey, bears some responsibility.
"A lot of what Toni does is directly correlated with the way she was raised and Tammy's influence," Martin said. "That doesn't excuse what Toni did. What you will have to decide, though, is did Toni do the crimes that she's actually charged with?"
Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
