OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – The Oakland County mom accused of abandoning her three kids and leaving them to live alone in filthy conditions for years was back in court on Tuesday.
Kelli Bryant, 34, of Pontiac, is facing three counts of first-degree abuse after authorities found her three kids -- a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a 12-year-old girl -- living alone.
The mother was also later charged with welfare fraud and appeared in court virtually before Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker for a probable cause conference on those charges on March 25.
During the hearing, Bryant’s defense attorney, Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe, said she received around 600 pages of discovery to review and asked to set another probable cause conference.
The second hearing will take place at 2 p.m. on April 15, which is also when another probable cause conference for Bryant’s child abuse charges will be held.
Click here to see all of our previous coverage of this case.
Bond was also discussed during this hearing.
Quirindongo-Baunsoe said Bryant was given a cash bond of about $14,000 in the welfare fraud case, and that she believes “there was an abuse in discretion when the court set her bond.”
The defense attorney said that this wasn’t a violent crime and claimed the court should have issued a personal recognizance bond with conditions.
Quirindongo-Baunsoe mentioned that Bryant is still in the Oakland County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond for the child abuse charges, but said in the welfare fraud case, the mother is entitled to a personal recognizance bond by law.
Erica Smith, who appeared on behalf of The People, asked that if the judge were to grant a personal bond, that it be set at about $29,000.
That’s because a review of the support payments by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services shows an overpayment of $29,397 from January 2022 and February 2025.
“The defendant appears to have effectively abandoned her children while collecting their public assistance,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said at the time the welfare fraud charges were announced. “This crime is, first and foremost, a theft from Kelli Bryant’s children. These resources were intended to ensure they had the basic necessities denied to them. The children deserved better.”
Walker said this wasn’t a violent offense and noted that pretrial services recommended release with conditions.
For these reasons, the judge modified the bond to a $29,397 personal bond with the conditions that Bryant can’t possess a weapon of any kind or have any assaultive conduct while the case is pending.
The mother is still being held on the first-degree child abuse charges. Bryant was initially given a $250 million bond, but that was later reduced to $50,000.
You can watch the full hearing in the video below:
