Police in Aurora, Missouri, say Amy Rinkler made her daughter practice false stories about the girl’s father until the lines were perfect. The 40-year-old mother now sits in the Lawrence County Jail on a child abuse charge. The trouble grew out of a long custody battle that stretched from 2024 into 2026.
Aurora officers opened the file in April after a child abuse call came in. The girl told them her mother ordered her to claim the father had hit her, kicked her, and cursed at her. None of it was true, she said. Rinkler kept the made-up lines in a folder and drilled them into the child late at night and on weekends.
Mistakes brought hits and insults. The girl said her mother called her stupid over and over. Counselors found the child in a bad emotional state. She stared at the floor, stayed silent, and would not let anyone touch her. One counselor tied the trauma to pure fear of facing her mother and sister after the forced coaching.
Custody workers had noticed problems earlier. Statements from the girl and her sister sounded almost the same. Officials believed the mother had pushed both versions. Rinkler denied every part of it. She said she never coached the girl, never threatened her, and never owned any folder of fake claims.
She went into the Lawrence County Jail on Wednesday and remains held with no bond. Court is set for October 19. Aurora is a small city in Lawrence County in the southwest corner of Missouri near Springfield.
The girl told investigators she felt safe only at her father’s home. That detail stayed front and center in the police reports. Officers treated the rehearsals and the threats as the core of the case while the court process moves ahead.
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