OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – An Oakland County mother who allegedly left her children to live alone in squalor for years was charged with child abuse and is being held on $250 million bond.
Here’s a timeline of everything that’s happened so far, from deputies discovering the kids -- a 12-year-old girl, a 13-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old boy -- at the home, to the arrest and arraignment of Kelli Bryant, 34, of Pontiac.
Deputies called for welfare check
In the afternoon on Friday, Feb. 14, deputies responded to a townhouse in the 600 block of Lydia Lane after a landlord called for a welfare check for Bryant.
The landlord told authorities that he hadn’t heard from her since December 2024, and she hadn’t paid rent since October. He was concerned that something might have happened to Bryant.
Three children found living in squalor
When deputies arrived, they found the home in deplorable condition.
Trash was piled as high as four feet high in some areas and mold and human waste were found throughout the home.
Authorities said the toilet was overflowing and they also found feces in the bathtub.
Bryant wasn’t there, but they found her three children who were wearing soiled clothing. Their hair was also matted and their nails were several inches long.
Investigators learned that the boy slept on a mattress on the floor, while the girls allegedly slept on pizza boxes.
“Her daughters were hiding in a bathroom that was filled with feces, piles of trash, and completely non-functional, while her son was hiding in another room,” said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. “Police were astonished to find anyone in the location, because it appeared to be uninhabitable, with piles of garbage and refuse several feet high, including large amounts of human excrement.”
The prosecutor said that the girls also had a difficult time physically walking outside of the home.
Kids abandoned years ago
Bryant allegedly lived at the Pontiac home with her four children in 2019, but at some point between 2020 and 2021, she allegedly moved out and left three of the kids to live there alone, while the fourth child went to live with their father, according to McDonald.
Detectives learned that she was living at another address in Pontiac.
No contact with mother; surviving on food deliveries
While the three children were living alone, they had no physical contact with their mother. The only child that ever communicated with Bryant was the 15-year-old boy.
He told investigators that he would text his mother when their food supply was low.
Bryant would then allegedly use companies like Instacart and DoorDash to send the three children food, but in the entirety of their abandonment, she never sent them toilet paper, soap or shampoo.
Toward the end, the kids were being sent one loaf of bread to share that was supposed to last them several days.
Boy only stepped outside home twice
During their yearslong abandonment, the only child to have ever stepped outside was the boy, and he only did twice. He told investigators that he stepped outside one time to touch the grass, and another to check the mail.
Bryant had allegedly instructed the kids to never open the door or leave the home.
“All three children expressed fear about what their mother’s response would be if they left the home,” said McDonald.
Read -- Why didn’t abandoned Oakland County kids ask for help? Here’s what the sheriff said.
Abandonment hidden from family members
The mother is also accused of concealing the kids from her family members and lying about their whereabouts.
“The defendant took the active steps of lying and concealing to make sure the children went undiscovered, and she took these actions knowing that her children would suffer serious physical and emotional harm as a result,” McDonald said.
In addition, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Bryant would claim the children were with a babysitter when family members asked where they were.
Father wasn’t allowed to see kids, officials say
Bryant told investigators that the father wasn’t in the kids’ lives, but they later learned that he had tried to be.
The father of the three children was incarcerated for a while and didn’t have any contact with the kids, according to Bouchard.
But, when he got out, he filed the paperwork for visitation and was granted those rights in 2022, but Bryant allegedly still wouldn’t allow him to see the kids.
Kids taken to hospital
After the three children were found on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, they were immediately taken to the hospital for an evaluation and they all showed severe signs of neglect, according to the prosecutor.
“At the hospital, the children struggled with completing basic hygiene tasks like flushing a toilet and brushing their teeth, because they had not done it in years,” McDonald said.
The prosecutor also noted that the children appeared to be doing OK considering everything they had been through.
Child Protective Services placed all three children into the custody of a family member.
Mom arrested
Bryant was found at another location and arrested without incident on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025.
Sheriff hands case to the prosecutor’s office
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard held a press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025, and said that the case was handed over to Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald for review.
This is when we first learned more information about the deplorable conditions the kids lived in and about how the neglect went on for so long without anybody knowing about it.
Legislation proposed to amend school code
Bouchard said that a gap in Michigan’s school code allowed for the status of the children to go undetected.
One school received a request for records from another school in Pontiac, but no verification ever moved to that school.
So, when the children didn’t show up to their initial school, they were dropped off the enrollment list since a new school had already requested their records.
Bouchard said his department is proposing legislation to amend the state’s school code that would make it so that before a child is unenrolled the school would need to obtain written confirmation that the child is attending another school. Then, if a child doesn’t show up at school for some time, a follow-up would be required to ensure the child is OK.
Mom charged
Bryant was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse on first-degree child abuse on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025.
The prosecutor’s office is seeking to terminate Bryant’s parental rights.
If convicted, she faces up to life in prison.
In addition, McDonald said while no one else has been charged at this time, that doesn’t mean additional charges won’t happen at a future time.
Judge sets bond at $250 million
On Thursday, Feb. 20, Bryant was arraigned on the child abuse charges and given a $250 million bond.
If she is released, she cannot have any contact with her children or any minor, and she also cannot possess alcohol, drugs or weapons. She also must wear a GPS tether.
Why the judge set an extraordinary bond
When Oakland County Judge Ronda M. Fowlkes Gross set the bond, she said she believed Bryant was a flight risk and a danger to children.
“She’s from here, she’s from there,” said Gross. “We don’t know where she resides. I do find her an acute risk and danger to the community and to any minor children under the age of 18, let alone the three minor children that she is a mother to.”
Gross also said she’s concerned about Bryant being able to contact her children since they are currently with a family member.
“I am concerned that she still may have contact with the family member from the jail with instructions to continue to engage in the fear tactics to forbid the children from cooperating with authorities in their continued investigation in this matter,” the judge said.
“For that reason alone, I’m giving her a $250 million bond in this matter,” said the judge. “Cash only.”
Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe, the public defender representing Bryant, said she was aware of how serious this case was, but argued for a personal bond, claiming that Bryant was a lifelong resident of the county, with ties to the community and therefore not a flight risk.
The judge also said that if they discover Bryant is making intimidating phone calls to her children from jail, then her phone privileges will be taken away.
Next court dates
Bryant will appear in court again on March 4, 2025, for a probable cause conference. Her preliminary examination is scheduled for March 11, 2025.
To see every story we’ve posted about this case, visit here.
How to help the kids
Bouchard said they received “bags and bags” of clothing for the children, so now they are pivoting to gather financial support for them.
“We appreciate the community’s response in supporting the three neglected Pontiac children,” the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. “At this juncture, we have sufficient clothing donations and are shifting our focus to accept donations for educational supplies and to allocate resources for their future well-being. We are accepting donations to a tax-deductible qualified fund, with 100% of the contributions going directly to the children."
Recent coverage:
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald’s press conference -- where she announced charges and gave horrific details about what the kids endured:
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard’s press conference -- where he discussed how nobody, including family members, schools and neighbors, knew that the kids had been abandoned:
