INDIANAPOLIS — Two defendants have now accepted plea deals in the death of 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty, with the child's grandmother becoming the latest to agree to cooperate against the girl's mother.
Ryan Smith, the boyfriend of Kinsleigh Welty's mother and Tammy Halsey, Kinsleigh's grandmother, both accepted a guilty plea for neglect resulting in death of a dependent in connection with the 5-year-old's death in April 2024.
According to court documents filed December 4, Halsey and Smith agreed to plead guilty to a Level 1 felony charge of neglect of a dependent resulting in death in exchange for a 20-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction.
Both plea's are being taken under advisement pending the resolution of Toni McClure's case — Kinsleigh's mother who faces murder charges.
Halsey and Smith must also cooperate fully with prosecutors against McClure, including:
- Meeting with prosecutors and detectives about her involvement
- Providing taped statements and sworn depositions
- Giving "full and truthful testimony" at trial against McClure
If they fail to testify truthfully or withhold information, the court can reject the plea agreements and they would proceed to trial.
Both Smith's and Halsey's pre-trial hearings are scheduled for December 9 at 9 a.m. in Marion County Superior Court 32.
Background of the case
The guilty plea comes nearly two years after Kinsleigh died from severe neglect and malnourishment. The 5-year-old was found unresponsive at her home on April 9, 2024, weighing only 21 pounds when she died at Riley Hospital for Children that evening.
McClure faces charges of murder and child neglect resulting in death.
According to police reports, Kinsleigh was kept in a closet that had small handprints of what appeared to be feces on the door. The severely malnourished child had sunken eyes and feces on her feet and in her hair when she was found. She also had what appeared to be lice crawling on her face. Hospital officials said Kinsleigh weighed more at 2-and-a-half years old than she did at 5.
The complaint alleges Kinsleigh was kept locked in a closet for up to 20 hours a day with little food and water for approximately five months before her death.
Family's ongoing fight
Kinsleigh's paternal grandparents, Tricia and Brian Welty, had repeatedly raised concerns about the child's safety with the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS). The family says they had temporary custody of Kinsleigh twice after reports of mistreatment, but she was ultimately returned to her mother's custody.
In November, the Welty family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against DCS, 11 individual DCS employees, and the three family members charged in Kinsleigh's death.
The lawsuit alleges DCS workers repeatedly failed to investigate reports of abuse and neglect against McClure despite her prior felony conviction for child abuse in 2018.
