Police Make Horrifying Discovery as Michigan Mom Is Charged After Children Found in House of Horrors

Lifestyle
Paul Johns
February 20, 2025
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8 minutes read

Photo by Oakland County Sheriff

A Michigan mother has been charged with child abuse after police made a horrifying discovery inside a suburban Detroit home—three children abandoned in a house so filthy, officers were shocked they had survived.

Kelli Bryant, 34, was arrested Wednesday after Oakland County prosecutors identified her as the mother of the three children found living in unlivable conditions. She is currently in custody, and awaiting a court hearing.

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“These three kids were entrusted to the care of their mother … and the evidence suggests that she effectively abandoned them to a revolting pit of refuse and squalor,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald.

The shocking case came to light Friday when the landlord of the Pontiac home, who hadn’t received rent since October, called authorities. When police entered, they were met with what McDonald described as an uninhabitable mess—trash stacked several feet high, a non-functioning toilet, and a stench of human waste.

“Police were astonished to find anyone in the location because it appeared to be uninhabitable with piles of garbage and refuse several feet high,” McDonald said.

Inside, officers found three siblings—a 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 12 and 13—hiding. The children were covered in feces, and the girls struggled to walk when brought outside, likely due to prolonged confinement. At the hospital, they had trouble with basic hygiene, such as flushing a toilet and brushing their teeth, because “they had not done it in years,” McDonald explained.

“What stands out the most for me is, no love,” she said. “There was nobody there to care for them.”

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Investigators believe the children had been living alone in these conditions since at least 2020 or 2021. They reportedly communicated with Bryant only through text messages when they needed food. Meanwhile, Bryant was living elsewhere in Pontiac, just 20 miles north of Detroit.

Authorities are now focused on ensuring the children receive proper care and support while Bryant awaits her day in court. This shocking case serves as a stark reminder of the horrors of neglect and the importance of community vigilance in protecting vulnerable children.