INDIANAPOLIS (Court TV) — Alleged bad behavior by a juror forced a judge to declare a mistrial in the case of a woman accused of killing her young daughter — meaning the entire trial will have to start over.
Toni McClure appears in court on June 22, 2026. (WRTV)
Toni McClure, 31, is charged with murder, criminal confinement resulting in bodily injury and battery on a person less than 14 years old in the death of her daughter, 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty.
Welty was found unconscious and malnourished at McClure’s home on April 9, 2024. She weighed only 21 pounds, had sunken eyes, a bruise on her face and fecal matter matted in her hair and on her feet. First responders described seeing lice or other small insects crawling on her face and hair and found bites or sores on her stomach.
A jury was seated to hear McClure’s trial last week, but proceedings were suddenly stopped on Tuesday when Judge James Snyder declared a mistrial at the defense’s request. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears told Court TV that the mistrial was the result of “inappropriate communications between a juror and a witness.” That juror was charged with indirect contempt of court, officials in the prosecutor’s office confirmed.
Defense attorney Deana Martin began opening statements by telling the jury, “Toni McClure is a terrible mother,” according to WXIN. Martin described Kinsleigh’s alleged behavioral issues: “Kinsleigh is screaming and pulling her hair out when she gets mad and she’s climbing on and over things, dangerous places. She would defecate in places where she shouldn’t and she would smear it. She would get up on counters and knock things off. She would tear up food or eat just one bite of cookie and put it back.”
Kinsleigh Welty is seen in an undated family photo. (Welty Family)
Investigators say other children in the house said that Kinsleigh spent most of her time in a locked closet and was only allowed out for short periods. When officers searched the home, they found the closet blocked by a dresser in a room used by McClure’s sons. Inside the closet was human fecal matter, three empty protein shake bottles and a peanut butter sandwich.
Prosecutors say that McClure didn’t act alone in abusing Kinsleigh. Her boyfriend, Ryan Smith, and her mother, Tammy Halsey, each pleaded guilty to a single count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death as part of agreements with the prosecution. In exchange for their truthful testimony at McClure’s trial, they will be sentenced to 20 years in prison each.
Kinsleigh’s grandfather shared a statement with WRTV after the mistrial was declared, saying, “This has been a grueling process, but I would much rather have this come out now, so not to be part of an appeal or something even further down the road in this trial. The judge gave them and everyone very strict guidelines on this behavior and repeated multiple times throughout the trial. I feel sickened that someone would be so reckless doing something that could potentially have a huge impact on the outcome of this trial.”
Online records reviewed by Court TV indicate that McClure’s retrial is scheduled to begin with the selection of a new jury on Aug. 19.
