Pontiac — A Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her three kids to live in squalor for years was found competent Wednesday to stand trial, despite concerns raised by her attorney.
The finding allowed Oakland Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan to move forward with sentencing Kelli Bryant for a separate welfare fraud case, to which she pleaded no contest in December. Brennan sentenced Bryant to two years of probation and ordered her to pay more than $29,000 in restitution.
Bryant has faced multiple court proceedings after her three children were found in February 2025 living alone in a Pontiac home filled with feces and trash. They were 12, 13 and 15 at the time.
She pleaded no contest in December to charges that she collected public assistance for her children after she allegedly abandoned them. She also faces three counts of first-degree child abuse. She faces life in prison if convicted.
Both Bryant and her attorney, Cecilia Quirindongo, declined to speak before the sentence on Wednesday. But in February, Quirindongo raised concerns that Bryant’s mental health needed to be evaluated.
But the author of the mental health competency report wrote that she found “no compelling information to indicate Ms. Bryant has a mental condition adhering her ability to understand the nature and concept” of the criminal proceedings ahead of her, Brennan said.
When Bryant’s children were found, the home they were living in was so filthy that evidence technicians needed to wear hazmat suits and gas masks, Deputy John Brish said in May during Bryant’s preliminary examination in Pontiac’s 50th District Court.
The kids said their mom had not lived there in years, and the oldest boy only saw her when she dropped off food or had food delivered to the home.
The children were found in soiled clothing with their hair matted and toenails so long that walking was difficult. Police said the children did not know how to use personal hygiene items or how to flush a toilet.
Bryant was arrested after her landlord called police for a welfare check because he hadn’t heard from the woman and because she had not paid rent since October.
A family court judge ruled in April that Bryant’s parental rights would be terminated to her children.
Bryant’s jury trial on the child abuse charges is now scheduled to start Aug. 24 in Oakland Circuit Court.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Pontiac mom accused of abandoning kids sentenced for welfare fraud
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Kara Berg, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
