INDIANAPOLIS — While a memorial for Kinsleigh Welty continues to grow, one Indianapolis city-county councilor said he believes now is the time to take action.
City-County Councilor Joshua Bain is fired up after the tragic death of 5-year-old Kinsleigh Welty.
"Clearly, the system failed her, failed her all her life. The court system failed her, her whole life. We cannot fail her in her death," Bain said. "To see how she was treated the last five or six months of her life, she may not have even known what it meant to laugh or smile."
The mother, Toni McClure, is charged with murder, criminal confinement and battery. She faces sentencing enhancements for the victim being under 12, criminal confinement at the time of murder and that the child was tortured during the crime of murder. The prosecutor has filed for life without parole.
Ryan Smith, McClure's boyfriend, is charged with three counts of neglect and one count of criminal confinement.
Remembering Kinsleigh Welty
On April 14, IMPD announced that it had also arrested Kinsleigh's 53-year-old grandmother for neglect of a dependent.
(NOTE: 13News has a policy to not name suspects until charges are filed by prosecutors.)
In 2018, McClure and Kinsleigh's father were convicted of neglect after Mooresville police found 3-week-old Kinsleigh malnourished, and her mouth was dry, and her lips were pale. According to court documents, officers gave Kinsleigh a bottle of formula, and she ate like she had not eaten in some time.
All of this compelled Bain to write a letter to the Department of Child Services to demand a full and thorough investigation into this case.
"To figure out my 13-month-old daughter weighed more than this 5-year-old child did, something clearly has to be done," Bain said.
Kinsleigh's abuse took place in Bain's district, District 21. Even though he doesn't have direct oversight of DCS, he said the community deserves some answers.
"There's two parts: figuring out what happened and then figuring out how we prevent that," Bain said. "I would hope the answer is no – the answer better be zero – but if there are other children out there going through what she went through, then we clearly have to do something about that and address it."
But Bain said the community also has a part to play in this.
"If you see something, say something. If you suspect something is going on, you certainly have every right to call it out," Bain said.
Bain wants a neutral third party to investigate instead of DCS.