Mom sentenced to life in prison without parole for ‘horrific’ death of 5-year-old daughter

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Marion County judge on Wednesday sentenced a mom convicted of killing her 5-year-old daughter to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The sentence for Toni McClure came after an eight-day jury trial. She was convicted of murder, criminal confinement, and battery on Tuesday for the 2024 death of her daughter, 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement on the sentencing that this is justice well-served.

Today, justice has been reached for Kinsleigh.

For more than two years, our trial team and investigators have carried the enormous responsibility of seeking justice in a case involving the unimaginable death of a 5-year-old child. They approached that responsibility with the care, diligence and determination this case demanded, and I commend their commitment to Kinsleigh and her family.

Seeking a life without parole sentence is among the most serious responsibilities entrusted to a prosecutor. It is not a decision we take lightly. The intentional killing of a 5-year-old at the hands of her mother made it our duty to seek a life without parole sentence, and today, we are grateful that the jury agreed and imposed the sentence.

It is my hope that we can remember Kinsleigh for who she was, not how she died. Her story should not be defined by those responsible for her death. She was a little girl who was loved, whose life touched others and whose memory will live on. Today is about Kinsleigh.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears

Two others involved in Welty’s death have already been convicted and sentenced.

Ryan Smith, McClure’s then-boyfriend, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, and will serve 20 years in prison.

Tammy Halsey, Welty’s grandmother, also accepted a plea deal for similar neglect charges. She’s due in court for sentencing on Sept. 24.

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