Family files civil lawsuit against Indiana DCS in ‘horrific’ death of malnourished girl

INDIANAPOLIS — Family members of a 5-year-old girl who died a “horrific” death have filed a civil lawsuit against the Indiana Department of Child Services for not doing more to prevent her neglect and starvation on Indy’s southwest side last year.

Attorneys with CohenMalad, LLP, and Sniderman Law are representing Brian and Bradly Welty, Kinsleigh Welty’s paternal grandfather and father, respectively.

What does the complaint say?

The complaint, which was filed in Marion Superior Court on Thursday, accused DCS and multiple family case managers employed by DCS of failing to do more to prevent the neglect and fatal starvation of Kinsleigh. It states that Kinsleigh’s death was the direct result of a “tragic pattern of abuse” that began in 2018. In response, Kinsleigh and her siblings were removed from the girl’s mother, Toni McClure, multiple times and placed in the temporary care of her grandfather, Brian.

“Yet, as a result of repeated failings by the Indiana Department of Child Services (hereafter referred to as “DCS”), and its employees, Kinsleigh was returned to her mother’s custody multiple times despite clear evidence that Defendant McClure posed an ongoing risk to her safety,” the complaint said. “After returning Kinsleigh to her mother for the final time, DCS and its employees failed to investigate subsequent reports of abuse and neglect until Kinsleigh’s death.”

The lawsuit alleges that Kinsleigh was subjected to abuse, imprisonment, torture and starvation for around five months before her death on April 9, 2024. She weighed 21 pounds at the time of her death.

The lawsuit concludes with a demand to bring McClure, her live-in boyfriend Ryan Smith and Kinsleigh’s grandmother Tammy Halsey to court.

Background

This marks the latest development in a case that IMPD Chief Chris Bailey labeled “horrific” and “beyond comprehension.”

According to previous reports, the investigation began on April 9 when officers were called to the 6500 block of Denver Drive, a mobile home park on the city’s southwest side, in response to an unresponsive child.

When officers entered the home, they located Kinsleigh while noting that she appeared to be malnourished and spotted fecal matter and lice on her head, feet and hair.

Crews on the scene transported Kinsleigh to Riley Hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased due to “severe” malnutrition. Further investigation revealed that Kinsleigh was forced to spend the majority of her time inside a small closet that was covered in fecal matter.

“Tragic pattern of abuse”

The lawsuit states that DCS received a report of neglect before Kinsleigh was one month old. This initial report resulted in her being placed in the care of relatives as the allegations were substantiated on Jan. 28, 2019.

A separate welfare check conducted on Aug. 4, 2021, determined that Kinsleigh and her siblings were “covered in marks, welts, and bruises and appeared to be underfed.” The claims were substantiated later that same month.

The lawsuit proceeds to document multiple other instances where Kinsleigh was “removed from a safe environment” and placed back into the care of McClure as DCS continued to receive additional reports of neglect and physical abuse.

These reports included claims that Kinsleigh was struck with a belt, forced to stand facing a wall for hours and was being deprived of food. These reports were followed by others where DCS employees noted that Kinsleigh was “severely” underweight and malnourished.

The lawsuit said one of the case managers assigned to their case allegedly marked the assessment as complete “despite never having made face-to-face contact with Kinsleigh.” This pattern continued with multiple reports that were filed with DCS, according to the lawsuit.

The reports escalated around five months leading up to her death as the lawsuit said Kinsleigh was being kept in a closet filled with feces and urine for up to 20 hours a day with “very little” food and water while being abused, imprisoned and starved.

“The Individual DCS Defendants were aware that Kinsleigh faced an ongoing risk of physical abuse and serious neglect while in the custody of Defendant McClure. They knew that Defendant McClure had a longstanding pattern of abuse and neglect toward Kinsleigh dating back to 2018, which included multiple substantiated reports of abuse and a felony conviction for neglect of a dependent,” the lawsuit said. “Despite this history and clear warning signs of continued danger, the Individual DCS Defendants made callous and deliberately indifferent decisions to close, often in a matter of days, numerous reports of abuse as unsubstantiated without ever putting eyes on Kinsleigh, or confirming her safety, despite previous substantiated reports of abuse and neglect of Kinsleigh and her siblings.”

The lawsuit also accused DCS of failing to recruit and retain enough caseworkers.

Official charges

The evidence and allegations soon led to the arrests of McClure, Smith and Halsey as they were charged for their alleged roles in the death of Kinsleigh. Halsey was charged with neglect of a dependent because she reportedly told police she knew Kinsleigh had been living in a closet, starving and covered in her own waste.

McClure later admitted to detectives that she would regularly force Kinsleigh to stay inside the closet while doing the “bare minimum” to keep her fed. At one point during the investigation, she admitted that she knew her actions would lead to her daughter’s death.

This information was reportedly corroborated by Smith, who admitted that Kinsleigh would be kept in the closet and was rarely allowed to leave.

Next steps

McClure faces several felony charges, including:

• Murder
• Criminal Confinement (Level 3 Felony)
• Battery (Level 6 Felony)

She is currently being held without bond. Her jury trial in the case is slated to begin in Marion Superior Court 32 on March 2, 2026.

Meanwhile, Smith faces three counts of Neglect of a Dependent (Level 1 Felony) and Criminal Confinement (Level 3 Felony). He is set to appear in a jury trial on Dec. 8, 2025. Halsey is also scheduled to appear for a jury trial on Dec. 8, 2025. She faces felony counts of neglect of a dependent, failure to report and neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.

FOX59/CBS4 has contacted the Indiana Department of Child Services for comment on the newly filed lawsuit. As of this article’s publication, we have not heard back.