Michigan woman pleads no contest to abuse after 3 kids are found living alone for years

An Oakland County Courthouse building is shown in Pontiac, Mich., Oct. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

PONTIAC, Mich. — 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 food drops on the porch and amid trash and feces, police said. Sheriff’s deputies entered when a landlord said he hadn’t been paid in months.

Kelli Bryant, 35, who was living elsewhere in Pontiac, pleaded no contest to abuse and will return to court in September for her sentencing. A message seeking comment from her attorney was not immediately returned.

“This plea will spare the children from testifying at trial and ensures Bryant remains incarcerated until they are all adults,” Oakland County prosecutor Karen McDonald said. “I’m hopeful the children she victimized will continue to have the space and resources to heal from this abhorrent trauma.”

The father lost contact with the kids while in prison in an unrelated matter and was barred by their mother from seeing them when he was released, Sheriff Mike Bouchard said when Bryant was arrested.

The Associated Press