PONTIAC, Mich. – The Oakland County prosecutor described the horrific scene when three children were found inside a home where they had been abandoned and left to fend for themselves for several years.
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald stepped to the podium Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, to announce charges against Kelli Marie Bryant.
Bryant, 34, of Pontiac, is accused of leaving three children -- a 12-year-old girl, a 13-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old boy -- alone in a home for several years.
SHERIFF: How nobody knew 3 abandoned kids were living alone for years
McDonald officially charged Bryant with three counts of first-degree child abuse on Wednesday, which means the mother faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.
After she explained the charges, McDonald revealed the details of the case that have already been placed on the record.
“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,” McDonald said. “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 children were afraid to come out of their hiding places and to speak with the police. Police had to repeatedly advise the children that they were there to help, and they were safe. The children’s bodies and clothing were covered in feces and the girls had difficulty physically walking outside of the residence.
“In addition to the physical difficulty, they appeared to be and were immediately overstimulated upon leaving the residence. All three children were transported via ambulance to the hospital and showed signs of severe neglect.
“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. The children were forensically interviewed and described having virtually no physical contact with their mother, suspect Bryant, or the outside world in several years. The girls had not left the residence in several years, and her son had only left the home to go into the yard approximately two times, never venturing away from the house more than to check the mailbox.
“During his interview, her son stated that he would text their mother when their food supply was running low and she would have food delivered to the residence. The children shared that during the years they were concealed in the home, suspect Bryant failed to provide toilet paper, soap, or shampoo.
“The defendant instructed the kids that they were not to answer the door or leave the house. All three children expressed fear about what their mother’s response would be if they left the home.
“Defendant concealed the children from family and friends and lied about who was caring for the kids and 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.”
The prosecutor did say that considering what the children have been through, they “appear to be doing OK.”
Investigators believe Bryant was living with her four children in that Pontiac home in 2019, but in the spring or summer of 2020, she moved out and left three of those children at the home.
She went to live with the fourth child and that child’s father, police believe.
The last rent payment on the Pontiac home was in October 2024, and the landlord called police there for a welfare check on Feb. 14, 2025.
Bryant is expected to be arraigned sometime Thursday, Feb. 20.
