After their mother reportedly abandoned them for years, three Michigan children lived in filth in a feces-filled house, with the two girls sleeping on pizza boxes.
However, a detective stated Friday at a preliminary hearing that the mother had her hair done, was dressed in clean clothes, and had false nails on when she appeared for a police interview.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Det. John Brish described his interview with the mother, 34-year-old Kelli Bryant, in courtroom records.
Brish stated in his testimony that Bryant’s appearance and manner caught him off guard. She allegedly acknowledged prioritizing herself over her two children, ages 12 and 13, as well as a 15-year-old guy.
Brish claimed that Bryant informed him, “I hurt my children. I sacrificed my children, probably.”
According to reports, Bryant also asked investigators if there was “anything I could do to help myself.”
Prosecutors also allegedly saw that when they pulled data from Bryant’s phone, her children were labeled in her contacts as “My oldest,” “Kid 1,” and “Kid 2” rather than by their names. Prosecutors claimed that the kids had her classified as the “greatest mother in the world” or something similar.
Following a welfare check in February, the youngsters were rescued by police.
In her testimony, Brish allegedly stated, “She knew that her actions were selfish, that’s her wording and that it made her children sick and that she had ultimately sacrificed her children for her own purposes.”
The children’s terrible living conditions were detailed by deputies. When the first responding deputy entered the house, he discovered cobwebs, trash, and excrement everywhere. When the boy came out, his toenails were so long that he had trouble walking. The two females stooped and held hands as they emerged from another room.
“I’d never smelled a home that bad without a decomposing body present,” Brish testified.
In conversations with investigators, Bryant’s lawyer contended that the youngsters appeared to be clever and eloquent, suggesting that they were not experiencing mental harm.
However, Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker thought the prosecution had enough proof to send the case to trial on allegations of welfare fraud and child abuse.
She allegedly stated, “There is no question that this is an extraordinary case.”
Because he hadn’t heard from Bryant since December and hadn’t received rent since October, the landlord of the house on Lydia Lane in Pontiac, which is roughly 25 miles northwest of Detroit, called the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office on February 14 to finish a welfare check, according to a press release.
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Sheriff Mike Bouchard described the deputies’ findings at the house as an instance of “abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order.”
The youngster reportedly admitted to deputies that since 2020 or 2021, he and his sisters have lived alone. Officers reported that there was mold everywhere, excrement all over the house and in the bathtub, garbage piled up to four feet high, and the toilet overflowing.
According to police, the kids had not attended school since being abandoned and had instead spent their days playing computer games and watching TV.
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Additionally, deputies claimed that although Bryant maintained communication with her son, she had not seen the girls in a number of years.
According to police, the girls slept on pizza boxes while the kid slept on a mattress. According to deputies, their mother or a “stranger” would bring cooked food once a week and leave it on the porch.
When the mother dropped off food, the neighbors informed the police that they were unaware the children lived there. The children were brought to the hospital for assessment.
According to deputies, they had matted hair, dirty clothes, and trouble walking due to their several-inch-long toenails. The children lacked fundamental hygienic skills, according to the police.
Deputies said an evidence technician in a hazmat suit processed the area. According to Bryant, the father does not participate in the children’s life. A relative was given custody of the children by Child Protective Services.
