Family of 5-year-old who died from horrific abuse says state officials returned her to her mother after previous neglect



The family of a 5-year-old who died from severe neglect is furious at the state government officials who returned the girl to her mother after a previous case of child abuse.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said they were called to a mobile home park over a call about an unresponsive child on Tuesday at about 5:15 p.m.

They discovered Kinsleigh Welty inside the home and transported her to Riley Hospital for treatment over severe malnutrition, but she died some time later.

Court records say that police interviewed the girl's mother, Toni McClure, who initially tried to blame the abuse on the girl's father. When that story fell apart, police say she confessed to neglecting her daughter but added that she simply didn't care.

Investigators said the girl was forced to live in a small closet covered with feces.

Police said the girl had feces in her hair and on her feet and lice on her head. She also weighed less at age 5 than she had weighed when she was 2 years old.

McClure allegedly admitted to locking the girl in the closet and said the girl would ask for food, but she did the bare minimum to feed her. She also said that she thought her actions might lead to her daughter's death but that she wanted to be rid of the girl.

Police arrested her for murder after she made the comments.

They also arrested her boyfriend Ryan Smith for neglect resulting in death. McClure was also charged with neglect resulting in death.

"Wasn't a parent, she was a monster."

Brian Welty, the grandfather of the girl, called her death "horrific" in a statement to WXIN-TV.

“It’s going to obviously be a memory I’ll have my entire life, that my granddaughter basically starved to death and it could have been avoided," he added.

The family says that McClure had previously been charged with neglect when Kinsleigh had only been 3 weeks old. A judge suspended the woman's sentence and gave her 400 days of parole. The family says that they were willing to take care of Kinsleigh, but officials have a policy of reuniting children with their parents.

“We were planning on keeping her, but DCS has their policy of reunification and that’s horrible,” Welty explained. “Reunification from the get-go is the problem in my eyes because no matter what the parent does their goal is reunification.”

“The system has failed this poor child and I don’t want her death to be in vain,” said Hogan. “Twice they were taken away for the abuse and neglect and she just kept getting them back. No one knows why. It’s a failed system.”

Indiana Department of Child Services Chief Chris Bailey called the death "horrific" in a statement that thanked the officials who handled the case.

"This little girl had no chance whatsoever," said the girl's great step-aunt Carrie Hogan. "She had a parent who, well, she wasn't a parent, she was a monster, who failed her in every way."

“She’s a wicked woman. That’s all I can say,” Welty added.

Here's more about the incident:

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North Carolina woman arrested for allegedly beating 8-year-old granddaughter to death, had been previously reported for child abuse



Police arrested Patricia Ann Ricks, 72, of Nashville, North Carolina, and charged her in the beating death of her 8-year-old granddaughter.

Police said that they were called by a juvenile at the home of Ricks on Dutchman Road to inform them that she was going to the hospital with Christal Lane, her granddaughter.

The girl died before they arrived at the hospital, police said, and investigators determined that she had died from severe blunt force trauma.

"Based on the investigation, it was determined that the 8-year-old juvenile was beaten so severe by the grandmother that she died from the injuries," a news release from the Nash County Sheriff's Office said. "The child had severe injuries throughout her entire body and head."

Nash County Sheriff's Office Capt. Robert Bowen told reporters at a media briefing that police found weapons at the home but refused to elaborate on the details.

"Some weapons or items were used as weapons at the residence," he said.

The girl had four siblings who were living at the Ricks residence, and they were placed into custody of Nash County Social Services Department after the incident.

Police also confirmed that Ricks had been previously referred to the Nash County Department of Social Services for accusations of child abuse just weeks before the death of the child.

"There was a referral to determine if there was abuse in the home," said Captain Jeff Sherrod of the Nash County Sheriff's Office.

Ricks was charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse. She was booked into the Nash County Detention Center without bond. She appeared in court on Feb. 9.

Bowen said the incident was still under investigation as police try to determine a motive for the killing.

Here's a local news report about the incident:

NC: Grandmother charged with murder of 8-year-old granddaughter www.youtube.com

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Georgia parents charged with murder after their 12-year-old girl dies as an indirect result of a severe lice infestation



The parents of a 12-year-old girl who died indirectly from a severe lice infestation have been charged with second-degree murder.

Police said that Mary Katherine "Katie" Horton called police when her daughter Kaitlyn Yozviak was unresponsive on Aug. 27. Horton was arrested within 24 hours after police saw the state of their home.

WMAZ-TV reported that police said the child was in "excessive physical pain due to medical negligence" before she died.

Joey Yozviak, the father of the girl, was arrested five days after Horton's arrest, and they were both charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Ryan Hilton testified in court that the child had the worst lice infestation their office had ever seen. Hilton said that he believed the numerous bites from the lice lowered the iron levels in the child's blood and led to severe anemia. She died from cardiac arrest.

WMAZ documented the previous troubles the parents had with family services, even before their girl had been born. In one incident, their two boys were relocated to a relative's home "due to the unsanitary living conditions."

The couple also reportedly wanted to give up the girl for adoption and later changed their minds.

WMAZ documents that the local family services agency received a report in 2018 that the mother might be having mental issues and that the children might be living in an unhealthy home.

"The home was described as being bug infested, excessive cats, and hazardous conditions (holes everywhere, dip in the floor, and cold during winter)," read the report.

An official from the Georgia Division of Family & Children Services blamed a pandemic shutdown for part of the reason why the threat to the child was left unchecked.

"Had it not been for the fact that this child was, I think, out of school, and then the school shut down because of the pandemic, we probably would have received a call from the school at some point, or somebody would have seen this child in the neighborhood," said DFACS Director Tom Rawlings.

"They would have called us and we wouldn't be in this situation," he added.

Many in the community were outraged that local officials didn't do enough, in their estimation, to have saved Kaitlyn before she died.

Here's the local WMAZ report about the case:

DFCS documents show case history of slain 12-year-old Kaitlyn Yozviakwww.youtube.com