A woman from the United States, Kelli Bryant, aged 34, has been charged with child abuse after authorities discovered her three children living alone in a house filled with trash and excrement. The grim situation came to light when police responded to a landlord’s call concerning unpaid rent since October, finding a 15-year-old boy and two girls, aged 12 and 13, hiding in the filthy home. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald expressed alarm at the appalling conditions, likening the environment to a “revolting pit of refuse and squalor” and highlighting the lack of care provided to the children.
McDonald noted that the children were likely left unsupervised since 2020 or 2021, communicating with their mother only via text for food. When admitted to a hospital, they faced difficulties performing basic tasks like flushing a toilet and brushing their teeth due to prolonged neglect. Authorities were shocked to find anyone living in such an uninhabitable space, with the toilet non-functional. Bryant remains in custody and is awaiting a court hearing. The prosecutor emphasised the absence of love and care the children should have received from their mother during this distressing ordeal.