An elderly woman, her 50-year-old daughter, and her 24-year-old granddaughter were all arrested Wednesday for the alleged “horrific abuse and torture” of a 7-year-old girl.
Paramedics were sent to a residence in Bayport on December 29, 2025, at about 10:30 a.m. after being alerted about a child who was unresponsive.
‘This was not an alleged single act of violence. It was months of alleged systematic cruelty and sadistic abuse, meticulously documented.’
Jor’Dynn Duncan was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Suffolk, where she was pronounced dead from a cardiac arrest.
Prosecutors said Barbara Renner, her daughter Emily Kelly, and Kelly’s daughter Elyssa Seymore each had a part in the “prolonged torture, abuse, and the brutal murder” of the “defenseless, innocent child.”
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s Office was able to document 90 injuries to the child’s body at her death, which led to a homicide investigation being opened.
Investigators said Duncan was the daughter of Kelly’s fiance, who is incarcerated, and that Kelly requested the child be placed into her care in Dec. 2024 by Child Protective Services. By April 2025, Kelly obtained full custody and guardianship of the girl.
Digital evidence from Kelly’s cell phone and cloud services allegedly revealed “prolonged abuse and torture” of the girl that included physical injuries, prolonged restraint, and lack of medical attention for the injuries since Jan. 2025.
One of the texts allegedly read, “You can’t hit her face. You gotta hit her body if you going to hit her. That’s another thing we gotta hide.”
The girl was also kept from attending school for a total of 40 days, allegedly in order to conceal the torture and her injuries.
Kelly was indicted on numerous charges that included murder in the second degree, Renner was indicted for second-degree manslaughter, and Seymore was indicted for unlawful imprisonment in the first degree.
“This was not an alleged single act of violence,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said. “It was months of alleged systematic cruelty and sadistic abuse, meticulously documented. The child was allegedly left to die while these defendants watched her deteriorate. No child should ever endure such horror, and we will seek justice for Jor’Dynn.”
Officials are now calling for accountability from the government organizations that were intended to detect these kinds of cases.
“How was this child placed in the hands of somebody who could be this unfit and this abusive?” County Legislator Rebecca Sanin asked. “How could the school not see her for 40 days over the course of a year and not ask questions?”
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Neighbors said they were shocked to find out about the horrific abuse allegedly perpetrated on the child.
“The cutest little thing that you want to see in your life,” Tim Lowe said. “I never saw any marks on her face.”
Relatives of the 7-year-old girl refused to comment to CBS News about the case.
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Cardiac arrest, Child murder, Child torture, Child guardian murder, Crime
