A murder trial against Toni McClure, accused of starving her five-year-old daughter to death, has ended in a mistrial due to a juror's inappropriate contact with a witness. The case, which had been underway in Indiana, was halted Tuesday when the judge declared the mistrial after the juror engaged in an "inappropriate conversation" with an unnamed witness outside the courtroom.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears expressed profound disappointment, stating that the outcome "derails months of preparation by the parties and delays justice for Kinsleigh and her loved ones." He affirmed the commitment to retrying the case. The juror has been charged with indirect contempt of court.
McClure, 31, was charged with murder, criminal confinement, and battery in connection with the death of her daughter, Kinsleigh Welty, in April 2024. Police were called to McClure's home and found the child severely malnourished, weighing only 21 pounds, with feces on her feet and in her hair. She was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
McClure's live-in boyfriend, Ryan Smith, and her mother, Tammy Halsey, both pleaded guilty to neglect resulting in death and received 20-year prison sentences in exchange for their testimony against McClure. They had both accepted plea agreements prior to McClure's trial.
During the trial, McClure's defense attorney, Deana Martin, described her client as a "terrible mother" but argued that she did not commit murder, urging the jury to decide "did Toni do the crimes that she's actually charged with, or did she do something else?"
Prosecutors, however, contended that Kinsleigh Welty was a victim of "systematic, prolonged and fatal abuse at the hands of her mother," including deliberate starvation and physical and psychological abuse. Deputy Prosecutor Anne Frangos told the jury that evidence would show McClure intentionally killed her daughter in a slow and torturous manner.
Retrial Scheduled
A new trial for Toni McClure has been scheduled for August 24.