Michigan Mother Charged After Abandoning Three Children in Squalor

Kelli Bryant, a 34-year-old mother from Pontiac, Michigan, has been charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse for allegedly abandoning her three children, aged 15, 13, and 12, in deplorable living conditions for several years. Authorities discovered the children living in a home filled with trash, human waste, and mold after a welfare check was requested by Bryant's landlord, who had not received rent payments since October 2024. The children were found in such poor condition that they struggled with basic hygiene tasks and had been absent from school during the entire period of neglect. Prosecutor Karen McDonald described the environment as a 'biohazard', with the eldest child having only left the house twice in years. Following their rescue, the children were hospitalized for evaluation, and authorities are now investigating how the neglect went unnoticed for so long. Bryant's arrest highlights severe systemic failures in monitoring the welfare of vulnerable children.