Mother and boyfriend arrested in death of 5-year-old girl

A woman and her boyfriend were arrested Wednesday in the death of her 5-year-old daughter after the child was found unresponsive Tuesday in a home on the southwest side of Indianapolis.

IMPD officers reported that Kinsleigh Welty appeared to be malnourished, and she was taken to Riley Hospital for

Children, where she was pronounced dead, according to an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department post Wednesday evening on Facebook.

The girl’s mother, Toni McClure, 29, has been preliminarily charged with murder and child neglect resulting in death, IMPD said. Ryan Smith, 27, was also preliminarily charged with child neglect resulting in death. The Marion County Coroner’s Office is still determining the exact cause of death.

Indiana Department of Child Services took custody of the other children in the home in the 6500 block of Denver Drive, according to the report. Police said they couldn’t release information about their number, ages or conditions.

Chief Chris Bailey: ‘Horrific and beyond comprehension’

“My heart breaks knowing what Kinsleigh went through in her short life and how she left this world,” IMPD Police Chief Chris Bailey said in a statement.

“The circumstances of Kinsleigh’s death are horrific and beyond comprehension,” he said. “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.”

Kinsleigh’s siblings “will need a lot of love and care in the coming days, months, and years,” Bailey said.