Michigan woman pleads no contest to abuse after 3 kids are found living alone for years
Judge Mary Ellen Brennan ruled Bryant can stand trial as prosecutors prepare to present three child abuse counts.
- On Wednesday, Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan ruled that Kelli Bryant, 35, is competent to stand trial; Bryant then pleaded no contest Thursday to three counts of first-degree child abuse, accepting a minimum six-year prison sentence.
- Deputies discovered Bryant's three children—ages 12, 13, and 15—abandoned in a Pontiac apartment in February 2025 during a welfare check, having been locked inside for four to five years surviving on food provided once weekly.
- The children endured severe deprivation, living isolated indoors without attending school or going outside; evidence technicians wore hazmat suits due to garbage piled four feet high, mold, and human waste throughout the home.
- Bryant was sentenced Wednesday to 112 days for each of three welfare fraud counts plus two years probation; her no contest plea spares the children from testifying while ensuring she remains incarcerated until they reach adulthood.
- Bryant's trial on child abuse charges is scheduled for August 24, with sentencing set for September 21 in Sixth Circuit Court; her parental rights were terminated in family court in April.
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In the process, it was discovered that the three minors, aged 15, 13 and 12, lived in conditions of extreme misery, between garbage and feces.
Michigan kids left abandoned for years; mother tries to justify it...
A Michigan woman accused of leaving three children alone for years in a house of squalor pleaded no contest Thursday to child abuse in an agreement that carries a six-year prison sentence, authorities said. Conditions at the Pontiac home were so offensive that police evidence specialists wore hazmat suits when the children were discovered in February 2025. The kids, ages 15, 13 and 12, had lived on their own since 2020 or 2021, with occasional f…
Associated Press News
Michigan woman pleads no contest to abuse after 3 kids are found living alone for years
A Michigan woman accused of leaving three children alone for years in a house of squalor has pleaded no contest to child abuse.
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