The Pontiac mother of three children who were discovered living in squalor after years on their own has been bound over to Oakland County Circuit Court for trial.
50th District Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker ruled at a Friday, May 16 hearing that there’s enough evidence for the case against Kelli Bryant to proceed. The 34-year-old is charged with three counts each of first-degree child abuse and welfare fraud in connection with the alleged abandonment in 2021 of her three children, ages 12, 13 and 15.
Bryant remained in custody on a $50,000 cash bond as of May 16.
Her son and two daughters were found living in abhorrent conditions in a town house on Lydia Lane in February. Feces and garbage were piled throughout the house, and two children slept on pizza boxes, police said.
The children survived on food drop-offs by Bryant or a delivery company, authorities said. Bryant allegedly told them not to leave the house — an order they heeded, save for two trips outdoors by her eldest son to check the mail and touch the grass, authorities said.
Bryant has an undisclosed mental health condition, her attorney said at a March bond hearing.
She has no criminal record and at the time of her arrest had a unspecified job with the state and stable housing elsewhere in Pontiac, defense attorney Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe said this spring.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pontiac mom whose kids lived in squalor to stand trial
Reporting by Violet Ikonomova, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
