PONTIAC, Mich. – Three children were found living alone in “absolute squalor” after their mother abandoned them for years in a Pontiac rental home.
The children survived only on weekly drop-offs of prepared food and had not been to school since being abandoned, according to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies discovered the children after the landlord requested a welfare check. He contacted deputies because he had not heard from the mother since December and rent had been last paid in October. The landlord was concerned that something may have happened.
When deputies arrived, they found the home in “deplorable shape.” Officials said garbage was piled as high as four feet in some rooms and that mold and human waste were found throughout the home. The toilet was overflowing and there was human waste in the bathtub.
The children, a 15-year-old boy, a 12-year-old girl, and a 13-year-old girl, were inside the home. The girls had locked themselves in the bathroom but opened the door when asked. The boy told deputies that he and his sisters lived alone in the home and that his mother had abandoned them in 2020 or 2021.
The children survived on prepared food their mother or a stranger would leave on the front porch each week. The mother did not leave toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The mother had contact with the boy but had not seen the girls in years.
Neighbors told deputies they did not know that children lived in the home and never saw them outside. They did see the mother drop things off at the home each month.
“Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one, involving abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children. They have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years. The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged. We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that this mother faces the consequences of her actions.”
The children had not attended school since they’d been abandoned. They passed the time watching television or playing games. The girls had not been outside the home for several years. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor. The girls slept on pizza boxes.
When the children were taken to the hospital for evaluation they were wearing soiled clothing, their hair was matted, and their toenails were several inches long which made it difficult to walk.
Their mother, a 34-year-old woman, was arrested on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, at another location. She said the father of the children was not involved in their lives. Her identity is not being made public to protect the identities of the children.
Child Protective Services have placed the three siblings in the custody of a relative.
The case is expected to be turned over to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office for review in the next few days.
