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INDIANAPOLIS — A Marion County judge on Thursday sentenced a mother convicted in the murder of her 5-year-old daughter in 2024 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The sentencing comes just three weeks after a jury found Toni McClure guilty of murder, criminal confinement, and battery on a person under 14.

“If this is not the worst of the worst, then it is close,” Judge James Snyder said. “I had seasoned medics in tears; I had detectives in tears. So many people have failed Kinsleigh Welty.”

The case involves the April 2024 death of McClure’s daughter, Kinsleigh Welty.

Police were called to a home on Denver Drive on Indianapolis’ southwest side after Kinsleigh was found unresponsive. She later died of severe malnutrition.

As the investigation continued, detectives learned Welty had been forced to sleep in a small closet with a dresser placed in front so she couldn’t get out. Investigators said McClure admitted she routinely put Kinsleigh in the closet and did very little to make sure she was properly fed.

The investigation also led to the arrests of McClure’s boyfriend, Ryan Smith, and Kinsleigh’s grandmother, Tammy Halsey.

According to court documents, Halsey sometimes watched Kinsleigh while McClure and Smith went to run errands or attend family events without the child. Investigators said Halsey also used duct tape at times to restrain Kinsleigh and keep her from getting to food.

Smith and Halsey later reached plea agreements with prosecutors. Both pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent and agreed to 20-year sentences.

Smith’s sentence in the Indiana Department of Correction started Aug. 31. Halsey was due in court at 11 a.m. Thursday for her sentencing hearing.

This is a developing story.

Previous coverage

• Mom accused of fatally neglecting 5-year-old daughter had previous neglect conviction
• IMPD: Mom, boyfriend arrested after 5-year-old girl dies at hospital
• Indianapolis mom charged with murder, confinement of 5-year-old appears in court
• Grandmother arrested in connection to death of 5-year-old Indianapolis girl
• Mom admits to neglecting 5-year-old daughter, locking her in closet
• Jury trial for mom charged in ‘horrific’ Kinsleigh Welty death case begins
• Mistrial declared in murder case of mother accused of 5-year-old daughter’s death

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) —   WISH-TV celebrates extraordinary teachers in central Indiana with the WISH-TV Golden Apple Award.

The award comes with a trophy, $500 in cash thanks to our partners at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a school supply shopping spree to Teachers’ Treasures, and a surprise visit from the News 8 team.

• Nominate a deserving teacher for the Golden Apple Award!

September’s Golden Apple Award winner is Mrs. Tonya Gamble-Daoust. She’s a second grade teacher in Indianapolis at Tindley Genesis Academy. She brings warmth, love, and a bit of theatrics to her classroom. In fact, her use of songs and sayings helps students master math and reading.

“Always something new with Miss Gamble-Daoust,” assistant principal Aaron Book said. “It is hard to pick one thing for Tonya. She is above and beyond for not only her students, but the community and the families.”

“Her compassion for the kids, it just shines through,” literacy coach Robyn Treeter added. “The way she just has a great spirit.”

“She stays extremely late to makes sure everyone’s needs are met in her classroom” social worker Samantha King said. “Even today, she brought churro doughnuts.”

From sweet treats to sweet treatment in the halls, Mrs. Gamble-Daoust is a favorite among students.

“She cares about a lot of people, even people that’s not in her class. She still gives them all the love that she can give, even the whole school,” 8-year-old Izzy Latouche said.

Students say it’s the small things that make a difference, like singing songs to help with spelling.

“She just brings the love into her classroom and really gets them to buy into what she’s doing each and every day in her class,” physical education teacher Jordan Barnes said.

She embeds music, games, pop culture, and even some old-school acting from her time when she tried out for the show Saved By the Bell. She attended San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts in high school and performed in plays with cast members on the show.

Now she stars as the role of mom in life, bringing that mentality to teaching and finding ways to engage kids while making sure they’re taken care of along the way.

Fellow teachers say students love Gamble-Daoust and don’t even realize they’re learning. She makes her classroom vibrant and fun. Coworkers say she is compassionate, charismatic, and most importantly, an advocate.

“She’ll call it out. She’ll let you know exactly what needs to happen for her students, for her families, and for her staff, for her co-workers. She is an advocate by far,” Book said.

As assistant principal, he describes Gamble-Daoust as the type of teacher every institution needs.

“She is above and beyond for not only her students, but the community and the families for our Tidnley network. She is a very energetic and very positive teacher for all of her students and also her teammates, her coworkers, her families. She’s just an advocate for everything that we do and everything that she does for her kids,” Book added.

That’s why he nominated her for the WISH-TV Golden Apple Award. So, along with her family and Hensley Legal Group, PC, the WISH-TV team went to surprise her.

Ryan Kreiker is a former teacher and now works for Hensley Legal Group. He presented the $500 check to Mrs. Gamble-Daoust. Then she watched a video from her students and coworkers.

“I am grateful. I love my job. I love my students. I tell them all of the time you are not just my student for this year, you are my student for life. We talk about our ‘college and our future dreams’ all of the time. So I am very grateful to know the impact I have made,” Gamble-Daoust said after the surprise.

When asked why she is an advocate for students, she said, “I just think it is really important everyone is treated equally and that equity is key. So we don’t all come from the same background, but we all have opportunities to get to the same greatness.”

She added that God has given her a gift to love people, and she loves people. She was the first in her family to go to college and hopes others can learn from her story.

“Somebody believed in me and I hope me believing in these babies is going to give them an opportunity and opportunities galore to go out and take on the world,” Gamble-Daoust said.

INDIANAPOLIS — Four suspended Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers and one former officer face charges of fraud and official misconduct following an investigation into the misuse of license plate readers, the department announced Wednesday.

On Sept. 23, Marion County Prosecutor’s Office filed formal charges against the five individuals. In addition to fraud and misconduct, one officer faces a stalking charge.

Internal audits in August and Sept. 2026 identified the misuse of automatic license plate reader (ALPR) technology. IMPD began administrative and criminal investigations, leading Chief Tanya Terry to place the officers on desk duty and revoke their ALPR access. One officer later resigned, though the investigation into their conduct continued.

As more facts came to light, Terry suspended the four remaining officers and recommended they be fired. The following individuals face charges:

• Michael Rogers (16-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; charged with fraud and official misconduct.
• Jonathan Schultz (18-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; fraud, official misconduct, and stalking.

Prosecutors identified 1,396 ALPR searches that were made by Schultz that appeared to have no legitimate law enforcement purpose. According to online court records, Schultz began stalking a woman when he first met her in September 2023 while attending a workout class at Center Grover High School. Schultz began to search her license plate in Flock just nine days later. The woman told police she believed that Schultz had a weird obsession with her based on comments he made after workouts.

Court documents indicate Schultz created a Facebook account with a fake name to message her. These searches were conducted while Schultz was both on duty and off duty for IMPD.

Schultz also used Flock cameras to stalk two other women: his ex-wife and a woman he met at her place of employment in Greenwood, according to the probable cause affidavit. He told the woman he was an FBI agent and that he was conducting surveillance in the parking lot.

• Cassandra Crawley (7-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; charged with fraud and official misconduct.
• Matthew Binford (4-year veteran): Suspended and recommended for termination; charged with fraud and official misconduct.
• Abigail Cramer (5-year veteran): Resigned; charged with fraud and official misconduct.

“Today is a deeply disheartening and disappointing day for IMPD. These individuals’ actions went far beyond a clerical error or a violation of department policy. These actions crossed into criminal conduct and shook the foundation of trust that our agency is built upon,” Chief Tanya Terry said in a release.

“But I refuse to let the actions of a few define the work of this department and the hundreds of officers who show up every day with one mission: to protect our community,” she added.

The alleged misuse happened before IMPD started its new ALPR policy. In August 2026, the department issued updated rules for using the technology. Every user must now sign the policy to keep access. All searches must also include a case or incident number and a federal offense code.

IMPD also increased auditing to find misuse faster and adopted a single login system to prevent shared credentials. The department now shares ALPR data only with Indiana law enforcement agencies.

IMPD is currently turning these rules into a general order for public release. The department stated it supports laws that guide the proper use of this technology while using it to reduce violent crime.

Previous reporting: https://www.wishtv.com/news/i-team/chief-recommends-firing-impd-officer-who-misused-license-plate-readers/

AVON, Ind. — A former Avon music teacher was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after he exchanged graphic sexual videos and pictures with underage girls on social media.

Avon police say they received a CyberTip in September 2024 that contained suggestive pictures and video Kayvon Emtiaz shared on two Snapchat accounts.

Officers say one of the videos appears to show Emtiaz pleasuring himself in a music classroom, though it was unclear exactly where the video was taken. Detectives also reviewed several messages exchanged between Emtiaz and at least two underage girls. Investigators didn’t say the girls were students at Avon.

When speaking with police in November 2024, Emtiaz admitted to having sexual conversations with underage girls through his Snapchat, but did not remember the conversations exactly. He also claimed he only saved pictures of girls who were “of age.”

According to online court documents, Emtiaz has been charged with 11 counts of possession of child pornography, two counts of child solicitation, and once count of vicarious sexual gratification where one of the victims was under 14-years-old.

Payroll records show that Emtiaz worked at three schools in the Avon district from 2019 and 2022. Emtiaz’s full-time employment dates at Avon Schools are as follows: 

Avon Middle School North – Mar.-Dec. 2022

White Oak Elementary – Nov. 2019-May 2021 

Avon Intermediate School West – Jul. 2021-Mar. 2022 

He was been registered as a sex offender for life, according to online court documents.

Previous reporting: https://www.wishtv.com/news/crime-watch-8/avon-music-teacher-charged-child-pornography/

INDIANAPOLIS — An 8-year-old girl was found dead at a home on Indianapolis’ near east side Wednesday morning.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers went to the 700 block of South Bancroft Street, near Emerson Avenue and Brookville Road, just after 7 a.m. They responded to a report of a child who was not breathing.

Officers found the girl unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are still investigating. It is not yet clear what led to the girl’s death.

INDIANAPOLIS — A man was shot and injured at a west side Target store Tuesday night, police said.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers were dispatched to the target at 6925 W. 38 St. just before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers arrived to find a man who’d been shot near the store. He was taken to a local hospital where he is reportedly stable.

IMPD Cpt. Richard Ray said officers believe at least one suspect fled the scene in a sedan. He did not have additional suspect information.

“We’re still trying to gather accurate information from the surveillance video to determine that,” he said.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact IMPD detectives or call the department’s nonemergency line at 317-327-3811. Information can be left anonymously at 317-262-8477 (TIPS).