69 SOUTH

How Neglect, Deceit, And A Failed Safety Net Ended Kinsleigh Weltys Life Part 2

• Chop & Julie • Season 1 • Episode 72

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A five-year-old’s world narrowed to a locked closet, bread for dinner, and hours facing a corner while adults traded excuses. We unpack the forensic interviews that finally put words to what was happening inside the home, then follow a trail of witness statements from family, coworkers, and school staff that reveal how the truth leaked out—tied to a bed “so adults could sleep,” a drowning story that doesn’t align, and a pattern of minimization that let a crisis become a catastrophe.

We talk through what the brothers shared with detectives, why their accounts align with dates and routines, and how one child’s hesitation turned to heartbreak when he learned his sister had died. From Ryan’s mother’s warnings months earlier to the grandmother’s contradictory admissions about duct tape and “protein,” the picture that emerges is both intimate and systemic. The details are tough; they should be. Abuse often hides behind euphemisms like “time-out,” and it survives when bystanders convince themselves a child is just “hyper” or “on a special diet.”

Then we step back and look at the system: repeated calls to DCS, expedited closures, and visits that reportedly failed to verify the one child in danger. Policy meant to streamline cases can turn into a blindfold when workers don’t lay eyes on the named child. We explore what accountability can mean now—across the courts, within the family, and throughout a community that’s rightfully furious—and what prevention must look like if we want a different outcome next time.

If this conversation moved you, share the episode with someone who needs to hear it, tap follow so you don’t miss updates on the trials, and leave a review with your thoughts on what should change first. Your voice can push this story toward real accountability.

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Disclaimer: All defendants are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY in a court of law. All facts are alleged until a conviction!

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome everyone to Podcast Sixty Nine South, where we cuss and discuss true crime, code cases, current events, and hot topics, along with our state of society today. This is your trigger warning. Our podcast content is produced for adult listeners 18 years of age and older. We discuss situations that may be offensive and triggering to some listeners. Sit back, relax, and enjoy. Welcome back, everybody, to 69 South. I am Chop, your host, and with me always is my beautiful co-host Julie. How are you doing today?

SPEAKER_00:

Amazing and you?

SPEAKER_02:

Good. We got any Patreon members this week to thank?

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, uh, Miss Nicole K, thank you. And if you would like to be a Patreon member, please go to www.patreon.com forward slash 69 South.

SPEAKER_02:

Help us keep the lights on and now the heat on in the studio. Appreciate you. This is part two of the Kinsley Wealty story. And if you didn't check out part one, go back and check it out before you listen to this one. Today we're going to be diving into the chilling forensic interviews of Kinsley's three brothers, conducted by IMPD child abuse detectives Sergeant Nicole Flynn on April 10th, 2024. These statements paint a heartbreaking picture of alleged abuse inside the home. Here's what each brother revealed, summarized by your youngest to oldest.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so her youngest brother said that Kinsley stayed at the house, and it made her sad whenever Tony McClure, her mother, would smack her on the butt during timeout. And he described that Kinsley would escape the cage, and mom and Ryan got mad. They would smack her and put her back in the cage. He also said that Kinsley pooped in the cage and had nothing to eat but bread while she was in trouble and she wasn't allowed to play. Now, this youngest brother is very young, so you know he couldn't say his age or focus very well, but he did draw on a family whiteboard, you know, like drawing pictures of your family members. Right.

SPEAKER_02:

And he He was old enough to know that shit was wrong, I guarantee you that.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah, and he even changed his mom's happy face that he drew to a sad face. So that was pretty much the information that they got from him. And then we move up to the middle brother, and he confirmed that Kinsley lived with them. He said when the kids got in trouble, they went to the corner, but Kinsley had a different corner, and she was also locked in the bedroom closet. Sometimes the boys slept in the bunk beds, but he said that Kinsley would sleep on the ground and that she would defecate in the closet, that food was kind of like a punishment. Everyone else got pizza. Kinsley got one sandwich a day, no drink, unless she asked the mom, who never gave her one. And this is coming from a child. He said that Kinsley would call him stupid words from inside the closet. He called her names back before leaving for timeout. He also said that Kinsley couldn't leave the closet because the door was locked, and that this started after Thanksgiving, but before Christmas of 2023.

SPEAKER_02:

I wonder what her real beef was with like the female, the daughter. Like she seemingly, I mean, to her standards, she seemingly treated the boys. Yeah. I'm not even gonna say decent, but I mean But way better than she treated Kinsley.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, definitely. Now, she also had an older brother, but he lived with the grandfather, but visited mom's house daily after school. He hesitated when he was asked questions about Kinsley, like, you know, he pretty much basically pretended he really didn't know what was going on. And the detective had talked to him and told him that Kinsley was very sick and at the hospital, he came very emotional and upset. So they ended that interview early. But whenever they came back and they told him that Kinsley had passed away and he started crying and was very, very upset and told the detective that he didn't really tell him all the truth of what was happening over there. So here we have three young voices, two consistent, horrifying accounts of isolation, starvation, and confinement. You have one voice that is silenced by fear and confusion. But anyway, these interviews are all part of the evidentiary record now. And we'll move on to what some other witnesses had to say about this.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, you know, kids up there in the hood, they're basically programmed, I mean, to not talk to police officers.

SPEAKER_00:

And not really say what's all going on in their home and that nature. You know, you grew up.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure I'm sure the mother was like, don't be telling nobody this shit, or you guys are gonna get took away and put in a bad place or whatever. I could only imagine what she was saying to them.

SPEAKER_00:

I think we've seen on one episode this little girl was um describing their mother took her sister away and told all the other kids that not in this situation, but in another like true crime thing I was seeing. But the little girl had got on the stand and testified and said that her mom and her mom's girlfriend told her that they were taking her sister to the bad kids hospital and they had starved her too.

SPEAKER_02:

It was Oh, I remember oh, I remember what case that was. Yeah, it was the two um like like gay chicks.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah. To the to the bad kids' hospital. That's exactly what it was. I'm glad you said that because I was sitting here trying to remember what the heck I was thinking about. I can only imagine the effects watching this whole escapade play out in front of their eyes. I mean, you don't really realize it till you get a little bit older the way shit affects you when you're a little kid. I mean, you really don't realize it because then you, you know, as a your own person, you get a little bit older and then you look back and say, Man, that shit fucked me up a little bit, you know?

SPEAKER_00:

I I've worked with kids that, you know, haven't been in the best situations and, you know, they're hungry a lot. And, you know, when they get older, you you know I would notice that they would just like scarf their food down so fast and they would choke a lot because when they were younger, they didn't have food provided for them like that. And it's it they're not even thinking about that. It's just from what happened when they were younger.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I could kind of relate to that a little bit. I mean, I remember there was times in my life where I was fed good, and there was times in my life where I didn't have shit as a kid. People that can remember way back when you get you go st stand in line and you may be able to get a brick of the government cheese and a thing of eggs, you know what I mean? That was it. So when you do get something to eat, especially if there's other kids around, you're gonna scarf that shit down before somebody takes your food, you know what I mean? That's exactly what it's from. It's it's weird.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, I've even seen kids like bite their own finger because they're in such a a hurry to get it in their mouth that they bite off their own foot. Not bite off their own finger, but it's bad.

SPEAKER_02:

It is. So let's jump to April 10th, 2024. Detective Nicholson interviewed Ryan's mother, Ms, at the child abuse office. She stated the following during the interview.

SPEAKER_00:

MS stated she had received a call to return to their business as soon as possible. She went to the business andor shop and met with Ryan and one of the younger boys. MS stated Ryan told her that Tony had just called him upset because Kinsley was unresponsive slash dead. MS stated Tony had actually called Ryan's cousin, CS, because Ryan did not initially answer his phone, but CS gave the phone to Ryan to speak with Tony. MS stated that she, Ryan, and one of the younger boys went to the house on Denver Drive. She stated at that point DCS had already been at the house, and it was believed that whatever happened to Kinsley happened after DCS had been at the house. She stated Ryan immediately went into the house and retrieved their newborn baby and took her to the car. MS stated she went inside and observed Tony just standing inside of her bedroom. MS stated Tony did not say anything. She just stood there with a blank stare. She stated that she did not observe Kinsley inside of the house, so she asked Tony where Kinsley was located. She explained that Tony told her that she was in the back bedroom, laid on the bed and underneath a blanket. This was the same room that the closet was located. MS stated that she was under the impression that Kinsley was already dead at that time. MS stated she and Ryan then took the rest of the children back to her house. And then she denied any further knowledge about what had occurred with Tony and Kinsley.

SPEAKER_02:

See, that's weird to me a little bit because, well, for one thing's kind of messed up is Tony's first reaction is self-preservation and not to fuck up anything she's got going on. So come and get the other kids. Yeah. Come get the other kids before DCS and the police get here.

SPEAKER_00:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

And then this mother goes in there, MS.

SPEAKER_00:

What would you do if one of our kids called you and said, Hey, such and such is unresponsive. Come here now and get my other kids. When you got there, would you be like, oh, where you would be like, where's Where where are they at?

SPEAKER_02:

Let me see. Let me see if I could help. What the fuck happened? Yeah, exactly. I'm not going to walk in here and say, oh, you think she's dead back there in the room? Okay, cool. Come on, kids, let's go. That just doesn't fucking fit the puzzle pieces in my head.

SPEAKER_00:

No, I mean, as a as a um uh a mother, a a stepgrandmother, all that, I would be running in there trying to start CPR myself.

SPEAKER_02:

Right, absolutely. Anything.

SPEAKER_00:

But that's just me. You know, all people react differently. There's the fly fight or flight response and traumatic situations and stuff like that. But it's just wild to me.

SPEAKER_02:

She also stated that she had last seen Kinsley for her birthday in early December of twenty three. She stated Kinsley did not look right. She explained that Kinsley's hair was thin and raggedy and the color of her skin was not normal. She stated Kinsley's face was sunken, but it was harder to observe the weight difference because of the clothing she had worn. She stated Ryan was told that something needed to be done about Kinsley's condition. She stated that she had first met and observed Kinsley in November or December of twenty two. She stated Ryan, Tony, Kinsley, and the other children lived with her for some time in 23. She also explained that Kinsley to possibly be bipolar or have schizophrenia because she would be okay one moment, then she would be completely different.

SPEAKER_00:

It's not that she's bipolar, schizophrenic. Maybe it's because of the way she was being treated at home.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, yeah. I mean, I don't know if I've ever I mean I'm sure it's possible, but I've never really heard of a five-year-old being bipolar or schizophrenic. Yeah, I mean, I'm sure it's possible and I'm sure it happens. I've just maybe I you just you don't know what's going on through a kid. It seems rare. Yeah, it seems really rare to me. I mean, people seem like that's a an acquired mental condition. And by acquired, I don't mean like you you want to have it or anything, but it seems like it's something that gets worse with age, like the older your brain gets, maybe the more it shows.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you think an environment plays a bigger role on um children's mental health than like the children's genes or DNA or genetics?

SPEAKER_02:

I'd say it's 50-50, if you want my honest opinion.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't I have no clue. I was just wondering all the things.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that I mean you you look to your parents or whoever's raising you, and you kind of, you know, mimic their actions and stuff, and then genes obviously play a lot, you know, have a big role in it.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

MS also stated that Kinsley would wait until everyone went to bed and then get into all the cabinets. She stated that she really did not see Kinsley after they moved into the house, and she stated Tony would not bring Kinsley to any family gatherings when she would see the other children.

SPEAKER_00:

MS stated Ryan had to come to the house approximately six months earlier and discussed with her the various issues with Kinsley and Tony that needed to change. She stated Ryan told her that he dealt primarily with the boys, and Tony dealt with Kinsley. Ryan had told her that he had experienced nightmares that he would wake up and find Kinsley deceased. She stated Ryan was afraid Kinsley was going to die. And that Ryan expressed that the relationship between Tony and Kinsley was massively different than the relationship Tony had with her boys. Ryan told her there was resentment from Tony towards Kinsley, and MS stated that she had her heard Kinsley tell Tony and Ryan that she did not like them and that she did not want to be there. She stated Kinsley told them she was going to continue to act how she had, and they would just have to deal with it until somebody took her away from them. She denied knowledge of the closet and how it was being utilized. She stated Ryan did not come to her about the issues after their long conversation, but she did routinely ask Ryan about Kinsley's status. She explained Ryan just told her that everything was moving in the right direction.

SPEAKER_02:

On April 12th, 2024, Detective Nicholson was notified that DCS had just received a report with information that involved Tammy and Kinsley. Plainfield Community School Corporation, Director of Food Services, KC reported the following to DCS.

SPEAKER_00:

Now Tammy is the grandmother, which is Tony's mom, that is also charged in connection with this case.

SPEAKER_02:

Tammy is a kitchen manager at an elementary school, and she previously reported information to another employee. She stated that while Kinsley was staying the night at her home, in order for Tammy to sleep, she had to tie the child to the bed. She did this because Kinsley would not stay in bed as she wanted to get up and eat and drink. It is unknown how the child was tied up or for how long at a time. It is unknown if the child sustained injuries. She has been managing the kitchen since August, and she talked about having the child frequently up until October. It is unknown how many days or nights the child stayed with her.

SPEAKER_00:

On April 12th, 2024, Detective Nicholson interviewed the Plainfield Community School Corporation director. So I'm guessing this was her boss. Now she stated Tammy was one of her food service managers and that Tammy had three to four employees underneath her supervision. She stated the night before that one of Tammy's employees called her and told her that Tammy had watched Kinsley often in the past. She stated that this witness told her that Tammy had talked a lot a lot about it at the beginning of the school year about how bad of a child Kinsley had been. She stated that this witness told her that Tammy had expressed that she had tied Kinsley to the bed so that she could sleep at night. This was because of how Kinsley would get into things at night. She stated that this witness told her that Tammy talked like that about Kinsley from August until the end of October. It was implied that Tammy had taken care of Kinsley a lot during that time. She stated she had also talked with Tammy about the situation earlier that day. She stated Tammy told her that she picked up the boys every day after school and will take them back home on Denver Drive. She stated Tammy told her that she would see Kinsley every day when she took the boys back home, but that she never noticed any issues with Kinsley losing weight or how she had died. She also explained she had also heard from other employees that Tammy had been telling them Kinsley drowned. She stated Tammy had not said anything like that to her previously. She confronted Tammy about the drowning story, and Tammy told her that Tony had said that she was giving Kinsley a bath, but she walked away, and when she did, Kinsley drowned in the bathtub. She stated it appeared to her that Tammy was being dishonest when she told her everything that had happened with Tony and Kinsley. She stated Tammy just appeared disingenuous about the entire situation and that Tammy was hiding her involvement from her with the police.

SPEAKER_02:

I believe that's one of her messages. Yeah. I mean, how bad does a five-year-old little girl have to be to where you have to duct tape them? What you do is is you feed them where they ain't hungry no more and run their little ass off out in the yard, and usually sleep comes next.

SPEAKER_00:

It's natural.

SPEAKER_02:

It is natural.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

What a horrible situation for this little girl. None of it really makes much sense at all to me. But on April 12th, 2024, Detective Nicholson and Detective Davis interviewed Tammy's mother, JB, at the child abuse office. She stated the following. So this would be Tammy's mother, which would be Tony's grandmother and Kinsley's great grandmother. She stated Ryan had called them and told everyone that Kinsley had drowned in the bathtub right after DCS left the house. She stated that she did not see Kinsley during the eclipse on Monday because she has cancer and has been bedridden. She stated that around Christmas of twenty three, she and Tammy observed that Kinsley did not look well. She stated it looked like Kinsley needed vitamins, but Kinsley had baggy clothing on that made her, you know, kind of difficult for her to tell her physical condition. She stated Tammy brought protein shakes for Tony to give Kinsley. She stated Tammy would ask Tony if Kinsley was getting her protein shakes. She stated Tony was a monster that deserved the death penalty for what happened to Kinsley. She stated that there were plenty of family members that would have taken care of Kinsley for Tony, but Tony never asked anyone. That's pretty bad when your own grandma says she deserves to die for that shit.

SPEAKER_00:

It's one thing to have our opinion for it, but for your own grandmother to say that about you, I think if she would have actually seen Kinsley and noticed her condition, I I think that she would have called and got help for her, but somebody was, you know, steadily making phone calls to DCS. I it was like pretty much from November to January, every every couple of weeks, calls were being made, and DCS was just closing them.

SPEAKER_02:

She wasn't really seen by the public much, I don't think if I saw a little kid like that with poop in her hair and bugs on their face and all over man, I would I would definitely have to say something or intervene.

SPEAKER_00:

You could not.

SPEAKER_02:

No, hell no, I couldn't.

SPEAKER_00:

So on April 12th, 2024, the detective interviewed Tammy Halsey at the child abuse office. The detective read Tammy her Miranda warning, to which she stated she understood. She agreed to speak with detectives further about the case. She signed the advice and waiver of rights form, and here's what her interview stated.

SPEAKER_02:

Tammy stated that on Tuesday, April 9th, 2024, she received a text message from Ryan that advised he wanted to call him. She wanted her to call him. Tammy stated around 6 30 P.M. she called Ryan and he told her that Tony had been given Kinsley a bath when she walked away from the bathroom. Tammy stated Ryan then explained that Tony told him that when she returned to the bathroom, she found Kinsley underneath the water and unresponsive. She stated she still believed that to be what happened until the recent media stories had shown what Tony had said to detectives. She stated that she had spoken to Tony while she had been in jail, and she told her that she did not understand why Ryan said that it was a drowning. Tammy stated that during her recent conversations with Tony, she had not talked with Tony about what happened. Tammy just admitted she told Ryan to lie to the police slash DCS about how long he had had the children. Tammy stated she just did not want to lose the other children.

SPEAKER_00:

As Tammy explained the events of the past year, it appeared that Tammy was trying to minimize her role and participation with everything that happened with Kinsley. Detective Nicholson presented several photographs of Kinsley's physical condition at the hospital from the day she died. Tammy did not appear to be surprised and admitted she should have done something to get Kinsley help when she first noticed that things were not right with her. Tammy stated DCS had been at their house in Mooresville four times looking for Kinsley and Tony due to reports on Kinsley's condition. Tammy stated she never helped DCS locate Tony for any of the reports. Tammy stated she wanted to give Tony a chance to get everything together for Kinsley. Tammy stated that she had seen Kinsley on Sunday, April 7th, 2024 for a party at LM's house. Tammy stated as soon as Tony arrived, she immediately told Kinsley to go to the corner because she was in trouble. Tammy stated Kinsley had to stand up and remained face directly into the corner. She stated Kinsley remained like that for as long as they were at the party. She explained that the next day, April 8th, everyone came to their house in Plainfield for the eclipse. Tammy stated Tony had put Kinsley in the corner again in the same manner because Tony said that she was in trouble. Tammy stated Kinsley remained like that for several hours of the eclipse party. Tammy admitted she would watch Kinsley alone at various times when Tony and Ryan and the rest of the children went somewhere to do things. Tammy stated she watched Kinsley twice at Tony's house. The first time was right after Christmas of 2023 when Tony and Ryan went to South Carolina. The second time was when Tony gave birth to her newborn baby in March of 2024. Tammy explained she observed how Kinsley's physical condition worsened over the course of the last five to six months. Tammy stated that Kinsley was last completely normal around October of 2023. Tammy stated she thought about calling the police or getting Kinsley medical can attention, but she never did because she did not want to risk Tony losing custody of her other children. Tammy stated she first discovered that Tony was putting Kinsley into the closet just before Christmas of 23. Tammy explained Tony had first shown her Kinsley inside of the closet while they were on a video call. She stated she observed the closet in person and what it had been used for just after Christmas of 23. She observed fecal matter on the wall inside of the closet at that time. Tammy stated she learned from Tony that Kinsley had escaped the closet, and Tony had to put a gate inside of the closet to prevent Kinsley from getting to the door.

SPEAKER_02:

That's a shame that they put that baby in the corner for you. I mean, at all. The whole thing's a shame, but to miss the eclipse.

SPEAKER_00:

The eclipse was what? April 8th. I'll never forget that day. And here's why I won't forget that day. So we have a a neighbor who on Eclipse Day, um, she had a baby, but she didn't go to the hospital because she was on some drugs and she had drugs in her system. So she had this baby, and I remember there was like police, ambulances, everything like down our road. And it was horrible. They even the police said it looked like a murder scene inside this house. And the reason they had called the police is because the girl that had the baby was like had lost so much blood, and they were afraid that she was the person who was there with her was afraid that she was gonna die.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, not only I think she was on some kind of drugs and everything, but I'm pretty sure she had a couple warrants for her arrest. So she was like, fuck it, I'm just gonna have the kid here.

SPEAKER_00:

And then Kinsley passed away on April 9th the next day. And I'm and I remember that because that's my dad's birthday. So she had been in the corner the day before for several hours. I don't know, I just feel like there's more people that have more culpability in this. I mean, sh two days before she died, she's at this gathering at LM's house. Um, and she's standing in the corner for all these hours, and nobody, not one adult there, looked at her and thought that something's wrong. You know, I mean, she's got fecal matter in her hair. Uh I'm sure she wasn't cleaned up.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, keep in mind this is a five-year-old that weighed 21 pounds. Yeah, I mean, if that don't look right, you know.

SPEAKER_00:

And then she was at, you know, the eclipse party standing in the corner. It's just wild to me that no other adult stepped in to help this baby.

SPEAKER_02:

I wonder if like she was lying to some people.

SPEAKER_00:

Like she was lying to everybody.

SPEAKER_02:

She was saying something about she her uh bronchal flap floppy trachea. Yeah, floppy trachea.

SPEAKER_00:

And that she had mild dwarfism.

SPEAKER_02:

That's what she was telling, some bullshit, though. I mean, so you you never know. A lot of family might not wanted to get involved in her. They really believed that the little girl had, you know, birth defects or, you know, that type of situation.

SPEAKER_00:

Not her mom and her sister.

SPEAKER_02:

No, they knew. They knew exactly what the fuck was going on.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely, they did.

SPEAKER_02:

One of our kids would have had to done something real. I don't know what our kids could have done to make me let them miss the eclipse. I mean, that's just one that was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. I'm still in shock by that.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, I got a story about that, but that's later on.

SPEAKER_02:

We can't just say, Oh, I got a story about that, and then just shut us down. That's kind of BS.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'll tell it when we get done telling it.

SPEAKER_02:

Tammy stated that around mid-February of 2024, Tony mostly kept Kinsley in the closet except for when she left to go anywhere. Tammy stated that in mid-March of 2024, she had been at the house and observed that Kinsley was in the closet. She explained it was around mid-afternoon, and she told Tony that it needed to stop. She did not get Kinsley out of the closet at that time and knew that Tony was not going to let her out when she left the house. Tammy stated that she knew Kinsley was in the closet most of the day by that time because Tony had told her that. She recognized That it was wrong for Kinsley to be in the closet like that, but she did not do anything about it because she did not want Tony to lose custody of her other children. She stated that she would receive whatever punishment because she did not do anything to help Kinsley.

SPEAKER_00:

Additionally, Tammy explained that she had watched Kinsley a lot during the summer of 23. Tammy stated that she used duct tape, here we go with the duct tape, to try and keep Kinsley from getting up at night. Tammy stated that she used the duct tape twice on Kinsley in the same night. She explained how she put the duct tape on Kinsley to keep her from getting out. Tammy stated she first put the duct tape over her legs and taped it to the bed covers. Tammy stated Kinsley was able to get out of this, so she put more duct tape over the top of her shoulders, upper legs, and lower legs. Tammy stated she had taped it to the bed covers again. After about 20 to 30 minutes, she said Kinsley was moving out of it, so she just ripped up the duct tape and gave up. She stated that this had occurred at her house in Plainfield. Could you I couldn't imagine being duct taped to the bed at all? Like, I move around a lot when I sleep and flip around and just how uncomfortable that would be, how scared this poor little girl probably felt. Like, why is this person duct taping me to the bed?

SPEAKER_02:

That would have to be pure torture for a little five-year-old girl who has, you know, a lot of energy.

SPEAKER_00:

And they leave her sitting in the closet or the corner all day long.

SPEAKER_02:

And then duct tape you to the freaking bed to so you'll not move.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't I really don't see how she had any energy because she's not getting fed the proper amount of food. She's malnourished.

SPEAKER_02:

I was gonna say something about that too. I mean, they said that just what the day before or two days prior, she was standing in the corner all day.

SPEAKER_00:

The day before.

SPEAKER_02:

If you look at the images of this little baby's legs, it doesn't even look like she had the energy, the muscle mass, or anything to even stand up.

SPEAKER_00:

It looks like just a bone that you would see with skin over it.

SPEAKER_02:

That's exactly what it looks like.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, you don't you don't see it's like you don't see muscles or posted this picture on the internet.

SPEAKER_02:

We're definitely not gonna post it, but I just cried whenever I seen it.

SPEAKER_00:

That's how heartbreaking it was. But if you want to see it, you can go to the um pleadings in the lawsuit on my case. It's not hard to find.

SPEAKER_02:

And it will break your heart. So with uh after the interview, April 12, 2024, Tammy was placed under arrest. PCO Copeland transported Tammy to the CJC. Tammy had been in possession of a black Samsung cellular phone at the time of her arrest. The phone was seized as evidence. I bet that cop was sitting there in the interview thinking, I'm about to put the cuffs on this on this chick, man.

SPEAKER_00:

Could you I mean I don't know how police officers do it. I'm sorry. I I I don't I don't understand how they do I wear my emotions on my on my face.

SPEAKER_02:

I mean, you can see if I'm like disgusted or pissed off. I can only imagine they they must train to have the game face that they do in interviewers. We watch that shit all the time on TV, and a lot of them are just stone faced when they're hearing some of the most vile bullshit like this. The day after Tammy's arrest, she had a co-worker that got interviewed. The coworker stated that she worked as an employee under Tammy's supervision. She stated Tammy had only been working with her since around December of 23. She could not recall when exactly, but she had overheard Tammy talking about how Kinsley was over hyper and exhibiting ADH-related behaviors. She stated Tammy talked about how she would have to tie or hold Kinsley down to prevent her from getting into things at night. She could not recall any further specifics about what Tammy had said. I couldn't imagine doing this shit, let alone going to work and telling everybody. Yeah, I had to duct tape my whole granddaughter last night to the bed and her legs.

SPEAKER_00:

It's like there's no shame at all in the things she's done.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like they don't see anything wrong with it. Like we we could there's no way I could uh call DCS or the cops to help my granddaughter live because I didn't want the other kids to suffer.

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, what about them to know that I was duct taping her to the bed.

SPEAKER_02:

Insane.

SPEAKER_00:

So on April 13th, 2024, the detective interviewed Tony's sister, LM. Here's what she had to say during her interview that she did not know about anything until her mother, Tammy, called and said Kinsley was dead and that Tony had been arrested. She explained that she had seen the fire truck and ambulance come through the trailer park. She lived in the same mobile home community as Tony did. She stated that Tony had called her Tuesday afternoon and told her that DCS was coming out to the house. She stated Tony asked her to take J.H., to which she agreed. She stated she went and picked up J.H. from school and called Tony, but Tony did not answer. Later that same day, she received a Facebook message from Ryan. She stated Ryan assumed that she had already knew what had happened, but she did not. She stated that she only knew what Tammy had told her that evening. She stated that she did not see Kinsley at the party on Sunday that was at her house. So this party's at your house, and you didn't even see her standing in the corner of your own house. I'm sorry, but I don't buy that. I think you're a liar. So Elm stated she did not see Tony or Kinsley at Tammy's house for the solar eclipse the next day because she had left before Tony arrived. She stated that she did not see Kinsley at Easter, but she did see Tammy and JB. Who the fuck goes to a solar eclipse party and don't they all had to be there at the same time because they're all there for the same reason, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, I mean the whole ordeal was like 15 or 20 minutes long, like three or four minutes, solid blackout.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, we had a comment on one of our posts about Kinsley that said, allegedly, now this is allegedly, that the sister, Tony's sister, had made a post about how everybody was at um this eclipse party and that she had got to see everybody. Well, anyway, the news came out about Kinsley. Dot had passed away, and one of the uh the girls who commented this was asking questions about it. Well, well, if she was just at your house the day before, you know, why didn't you say something or or do something? Well, I guess she deleted that entire post about the eclipse party and blocked that girl. So something must have rattled her cage.

SPEAKER_02:

Something's awful weird there. And you know, you don't see your your five-year-old niece at Easter. I mean, that's always that was always a thing, like when we were growing up, the little girl Easter dresses. I mean, everybody wants to see how all the you know the the little girls are dressed up in their hats and Easter dresses.

SPEAKER_00:

Even if we don't see them, our kids in his pictures, all of our grandkids. So she stated that she last saw Kinsley on Christmas Day of 2023 at her house, even though she was just at your house two days before this, standing in the corner. Okay. And she explained Kinsley was very quiet, but she had always been quiet. So what is it?

SPEAKER_02:

Is she this ADHD hyperactive child, or is she is she a quiet kid or a kid that won't shut up so bad you gotta duct tape her and put her in a closet with a gate on it?

SPEAKER_00:

Now she stated it did look like Kinsley needed more protein. It's weird how they're calling it just protein. It's food for a baby, you know what I mean? It's not just protein, it's it's it's called dairy. Uh yeah. So that's that's dry oh, she needs more protein. No, she needs more food. That drives me nuts. So she stated Tony told her she was trying to figure out Kinsley's diet because of a prior G tube-related issues. She stated that she gave Tony ham and turkey to give Kinsley because of the protein. She stated that she told Tony she needed to give Kinsley vitamins. Tony told her that she knew and that she was working on it. She stated she always checked in with Tony about her children, and Tony had told her that everything was good. She stated she never watched or or took care of Kinsley. Tony never reached out for help or advice on how to take care of any of her children. She stated she never agreed with Tony's parenting styles, but stated she'd wished she had seen something because it was devastating what happened to Kinsley. And I believe she did see something. I mean, she was in your house two days before she died. Um I just don't believe her. I think she's lying through her teeth.

SPEAKER_02:

On April 13th, 2024, the detectives interviewed Ryan's cousinslash really good friend. And this is what he said during his interview. He stated that he was Ryan's cousin and close friend. He stated that on Tuesday, April 9th, Tony had called him and told him that she needed to talk with Ryan. He stated that he and Ryan went to pick up the one of the boys from school and they brought him back to their shop. C.S. stated that he did not know why or what happened. He said that he worked with Ryan and then he picked Ryan up for work and drove him to work every day that they did have work. He stated that he drove a white Chevrolet Malibu. He would usually hang out with Ryan for an hour or so after work, and he would do that about every other day. He said that he never saw Kinsley much, and Ryan did not talk to him about the children. He said he stayed the night at the house a few times when they first moved into the trailer, and he said that he knew that Kinsley was in the closet that time, but never asked why or anything like that. He stated that he never saw Ryan interact with Kinsley. He stated that he did not know that Tony, or he stated that he did know that Tony would go back in the boys' room and deal with Kinsley, but he did not know how those interactions went. He did not know anything further that could assist the detectives. Man, when when dudes go to work, I'm just telling you right now, we we talk about pretty much everything. You know what I mean? If I was wrong with my cousinslash best friend or whatever, but why in the fuck y'all got that little kid in the closet for, bro? What's what's really going on? What's really going on in there? Some weird shit. I mean, some of these people that weren't family, like you said, maybe they could have thought it was dwarfism or, you know, I mean, you do see skinny kids, but it wasn't just the fact she was skinny, it was her whole outward appearance.

SPEAKER_00:

All of it together.

SPEAKER_02:

And I understand the cops can't arrest every single person that ever looked at the baby, you know what I mean? But I don't know. It just seems like there should have been more people to say something.

SPEAKER_00:

I feel like there's more people that knew what was hadn't, let's say, had an idea.

SPEAKER_02:

Even an inkling, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Of what was going on. But I want to read some of the comments under our last post that we made about Kinsley. And you know, the community is on fire because of this. They are hot. And some of them say, This dude that did this is one of my competitors, competitors in business, and it makes me sick. Okay. And one of these comments says, I live down the street from this business. Every time I drive past it, I think about that poor little girl that was abused and died because of her abuse. Can't help but think about it. And then he's been recognized a couple of times and asked to leave by homeowners. So I'm guessing this Ryan Smith is works on people's homes. That'd be scary to have somebody come in your home and or at your property or whatever and work on it. And them being part of something like this, I think I would lose my mind.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and we were talking about how I wear my emotions on my face. I don't think I could keep a like a not fuck you face. Looking at this dude, you know what I mean, knowing all the shit that's gone on.

SPEAKER_00:

I guess you know, people drive past and they they scream, baby killer, and things of that nature. But you know, call it as you see it. This little girl lived in your home. You've seen her every day. You were a father figure in that home. And you let this, you and this woman, I'm sorry, like starved and neglected this little girl and did not take care of her and mentally, physically, emotionally, abused her. It's beyond me. I'm surprised that the death penalty is not on the table. But here's why I think it's not on the table is because death penalty cases cost 10 times more to prosecute than, you know, like a life without parole or something like that. And the politicians and stuff, they they have to weigh, you know, how they spend taxpayers' money versus, you know, the punishment that they know they can probably get.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sure she's she's gonna be getting it in the jail because there's a lot of women in there that don't are missing the shit out of their kids and have motherly instincts, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00:

And they're like I wonder if she's gotta be kept in like PC, protective custody.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sure they got her in a in a block with a bunch of other women that's probably in the same boat.

SPEAKER_00:

That's killed their children. I mean, I'm telling you, the thing with mothers these days, it's just like it's blowing up with all these mothers and parents doing the most horrible things to their children. What's that one story that we just seen in Wisconsin, out of Gaming County, Wisconsin? They starved these uh three adults in this house. They starved this 14-year-old girl, and I think she only weighed 35 pounds at 14. And I'm telling you what, I'm not saying anything about these these people, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

How much did she weigh at 14?

SPEAKER_00:

35 pounds.

SPEAKER_02:

35 pounds at 14. And all the people that was arrested looked like they weighed between four and six hundred pounds.

SPEAKER_00:

A piece. Not together.

SPEAKER_02:

Not together, a piece.

SPEAKER_00:

There was a couple 600 pounders in there.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely.

SPEAKER_02:

So this poor little girl was locked in her room, not eating and shit.

SPEAKER_00:

Why her why her dad and her what was it?

SPEAKER_02:

It was the mother and the and I think the older daughter.

SPEAKER_00:

Why she's got a pound of pound, literally, pound a pound of sausage and twelve a dozen eggs for her breakfast alone, and you're not giving this little girl anything. Thank God she's still alive and she's in the hospital. But I think we might tell that story next, too. It's so disgusting.

SPEAKER_02:

It is. And if it's not shocking enough that all the people that was real close to this little girl didn't say something. We don't know, they may have called CPS, but something else should have been done. I'm just saying that. DCS was called several times.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

And I guess around was it 2021, they made this new law or this.

SPEAKER_00:

It was yeah, it was in 2021, and it was called the Safe DAC. Safe act, and what that did was like expediate things because of COVID and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02:

Mainly if a DCS worker would come out and they couldn't put eyes on whatever the call was about, they could put it in front of their supervisor, and the supervisor could okay it's for an expediate closure.

SPEAKER_00:

And this had happened four times from November 6th to January 11th. So we know that Kinsley's biological father and her biological grandfather have filed a lawsuit against DCS for green lighting expedient closures. Not only that, but for failure to act on all these times DCS was called. And I'm telling you, it started November 6th and it went like every two weeks. Every two weeks it would they they were getting called bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. And not once did they lay eyes on Kinsley at all. But what was weird is that her uh older brother, they called DCS on Tony relating to the older brother. Well, the next day she's like, okay, let DCS come and see him. And he had the headlights and had to go um, maybe she had to get that cleared up, then they go back to school. But he was okay. Now, at the same time that these DCS workers are coming into the house, they came in for the older brother, they came in for the younger baby. Um, when they know they haven't been able to find this mom for Kinsley, they know, hey, this is Kinsley's mom and Kinsley's siblings, but guess what? They didn't care to look for Kinsley at all these other times. And that's during all of this.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sure though it was just so sloppy and neglected. Disgusting. I mean, it's it's as your DCS worker, it's your job to make sure you put your eyes on the kid. I think that's that new safe act law is a crock of shit.

SPEAKER_00:

And to know that DCS was there that day, just hours before Kinsley was pronounced dead. I'd like to do that. Had DCS walked through every single room in that entire house like they're supposed to do, they would have. I mean, they come in, they check the water, the lights, food, refrigerator. Just the cleanliness of the home. They go through, they look at everything. And this DCS caseworker did not do none of that. None of that at all.

SPEAKER_02:

I'd like to think that it was Ryan's mom who called the was calling the DCS on him, you know, everyone.

SPEAKER_00:

It had to be somebody close and knew what was going on.

SPEAKER_02:

You gotta look at it from her perspective too. But if it was the sister, she probably didn't know how exact bad Kensley was getting, you know what I mean? Because she didn't see it, right? And then you got she said that Ryan had said something to her about it a few times, and I'm sure he was like, maybe, maybe she was like, maybe we should call DCS or do something about it. And he was like, No, mom, it's it's moving in the right direction, and then they're gonna investigate, you know, because they have a baby together. Like then they're you know, it's gonna get DCS all up in you know, my new baby's business, which is right.

SPEAKER_00:

I wonder if it was her sister. I just I just wonder, because I did a little Facebook digging, and I mean, I don't know just by looking, but she she has some kids and they look like they're very well taken care of. And you know, she said she didn't agree with parenting styles, but I just don't believe some of the shit she says. But she could have been trying to help behind the scenes without You never know. You you don't know, like it could have been weighing on her heart. Who knows who was calling?

SPEAKER_02:

But hopefully it was all up props to whoever was calling CPS.

SPEAKER_00:

Shame that DCS failed this poor baby.

SPEAKER_02:

They absolutely did. That's horrible.

SPEAKER_00:

But they have Ryan Smith's trial, his trial's coming up, I believe, beginning of December, maybe December 7th or 8th or something like that. And I think he is going to trial also with Tammy Halsey, the grandmother. And then Tony's trial isn't set, it's early next year. And they have filed all kinds of motions and all kinds of things in this trial. I would love to go and sit through. Oh, I'll not love to go and sit through something like that, but I want to see what happens. I want to be there.

SPEAKER_02:

It'd be an interesting case to observe from that perspective of it for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

Because there's no rhyme or reason that any of this should have ever, ever, ever taken place. And it it's affected more lives than just poor Kinsley. I mean, her her siblings, her, her grandparents, and you know, in her obituary, shout out to whoever did her services, but they didn't put Tony's name in her obituary or the grandmother's name or anything like that, which I thought that was good. She don't deserve, she's not a mother.

SPEAKER_02:

No. And we was talking earlier about how it's gonna affect the little boys that saw this.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, yeah, they're definitely gonna need some therapy.

SPEAKER_02:

Even even like subconsciously, because the boys were treated, I mean, not to the level they should have been treated as as children, but I wonder if like subconsciously it's affecting them to the aspect of like you you're treating the males good and then you treat the female like this. I mean, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00:

If it yeah, somebody had said in the comments that um Tony couldn't stand Kinsley because she was a girl and that she was gonna steal all the attention away from Tony. And that makes me wonder well, did she really really not like her because she was a girl?

SPEAKER_02:

Because you think it was jealous, like a jealousy issue, or I couldn't imagine being jealous of my own of a five-year-old. Of a five-year-old.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I just I couldn't relate. I'm sorry. I couldn't either, but it had me worried for the youngest baby because I believe she was a girl, the one that she had with Ryan.

SPEAKER_02:

Right.

SPEAKER_00:

Just imagine what her treatment would have been because she was a girl. Do you think she would have done the same thing over again there?

SPEAKER_02:

That had to be in the back of Ryan's head. It really did.

SPEAKER_00:

And for him to say that he loved her, I'm like, I'm sorry if I seen any man or woman, or like say I had a partner and they wasn't good to their own children. What the hell? Why would you love that? You have to love somebody with morals. If they're not going to treat their own children right, they're sure in the hell not gonna treat you right.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like the complete opposite of most mothers. I mean, they like covet their daughters just a little bit more than they do the boys.

SPEAKER_00:

Unless you're a boy mom.

SPEAKER_02:

Unless you're a boy mom. But if you you know, if you had a daughter, it'd be it'd be just be different. You dress them up, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00:

Right. It's that's why I love my grandkids because they're so cute.

SPEAKER_02:

Amen. Anyway, we'll be praying for everybody and hope everybody gets their shit together and everybody can get through this except poor Kensley.

SPEAKER_00:

She's and I hope Tony gets life without parole. I hope they all do, actually. I mean, they admitted to doing all this, so that's just how I feel about it.

SPEAKER_02:

That wraps up this week's episode.

SPEAKER_00:

If you'd like to support 69 South in what we do, go to www.patreon.com forward slash 69 South.

SPEAKER_02:

Until then, have a good day. Good evening.

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Chop

Host
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Julie

Co-host

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