On February 14, 2025, police made a horrific discovery at a Pontiac, Michigan, home. Deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office performed a welfare check at a home in the 600 block of Lydia Lane at the landlord’s request. Inside, they found a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a 12-year-old girl living in squalor. Their mother, Kelli Bryant, had allegedly abandoned them years earlier and didn’t look back. In addition to felony neglect charges, prosecutors say she also committed welfare fraud.
The sheriff’s office released photos of the home Bryant reportedly left her children to live in, and it’s nothing short of inhumane. Trash, feces, and mold covered the inside. The woman’s son told police his mother left them there in 2020 or 2021. They survived on prepared food brought up to the porch. They had no personal hygiene items or toilet paper and didn’t attend school.
“Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one, involving abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order. This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for your three children,” Sheriff Michael Bouchard shared in a news release.
“The young girls have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years,” he added. “The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged. We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that she faces the consequences of her actions.”
According to CBS News, Bryant obtained nearly $30,000 in welfare funds from January 2022 to February 2025 after abandoning her children.
“The defendant appears to have effectively abandoned her children while collecting their public assistance,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald shared in a statement obtained by the news outlet. “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.”
Bryant pleaded no contest to the fraud charges and agreed to pay restitution. She will appear in court on January 28 for sentencing in the fraud case. That day also marks the beginning of the pretrial on three felony child neglect charges.
“The resolution of the welfare fraud charges in no way impacts the case against Kelli Bryant on the more serious allegations of child abuse,” McDonald shared, via CBS News. “We fully intend to hold her accountable for the abuse these children suffered because of her alleged neglect.”
If convicted on the neglect charges, a judge in the state of Michigan could sentence Bryant to life in prison. After looking at the photos of where her children reportedly lived, perhaps Bryant would like to spend the rest of her life in a room covered in human waste, trash, and filth. If it’s good enough for the children she birthed, it’s more than good enough for her.
