A Michigan mother has pleaded no contest to abandoning her three children for several years while she pursued what authorities describe as a kid-free lifestyle, leaving the minors to live in deplorable conditions inside a Pontiac apartment overflowing with garbage and feces.
Background
Kelli Bryant, 35, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse after authorities discovered her three children — ages 15, 13, and 12 — living alone at her home on Feb. 14, 2025, during a welfare check. The children told police they had been left to fend for themselves since approximately 2020 or 2021.
According to testimony from Oakland County Sheriff's Detective John Brish, the conditions inside Bryant's apartment were among the worst he had ever encountered. "I have never smelled a home that smelled that bad without a decomposing body present," Brish testified during a preliminary hearing.
The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office described the residence as a squalid apartment lacking running water or functioning toilets. Garbage was stacked as high as 4 feet throughout the home, feces covered surfaces and filled the bathtub, and mold was pervasive in every room. The eldest son slept on a mattress directly on the floor while his two younger sisters were forced to sleep on cardboard pizza boxes.
The children stopped attending school and rarely left the residence during their years of abandonment. They spent their days watching television and playing video games while Bryant lived elsewhere. Food was occasionally dropped off by Bryant along with an unidentified stranger, but she had minimal contact with her children — reportedly speaking only with her 15-year-old son while completely avoiding her two daughters.
Investigators discovered that Bryant had listed the children in her phone under dismissive labels: "My oldest," "Kid 1," and "Kid 2." When Brish interviewed Bryant, he noted she appeared well-groomed with professionally done nails and styled hair — a stark contrast to the conditions where her children lived.
The Charges
Bryant pleaded no contest to three counts of first-degree child abuse in Oakland County Circuit Court. She previously faced separate charges for welfare fraud, which prosecutors said stemmed from her collection of public assistance funds intended to support the very children she abandoned. In June, Bryant was sentenced on the fraud charge after pleading no contest.
Her parental rights were terminated in April, and the three children have been placed with relatives. Bryant is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 1 on the child abuse charges.
During an interview with investigators, Bryant admitted responsibility for her actions. "I hurt my children. I sacrificed my children, probably," she told Detective Brish.
Key Takeaways
- Kelli Bryant, 35, pleaded no contest to three counts of first-degree child abuse in Oakland County Circuit Court
- Her three children — ages 15, 13, and 12 at the time of their discovery — had been abandoned since approximately 2020 or 2021
- The Pontiac apartment contained garbage stacked 4 feet high, feces throughout the home, no running water, and non-functional toilets
- Two daughters slept on cardboard pizza boxes while the eldest son slept on a floor mattress
- Bryant previously pleaded no contest to welfare fraud for collecting public assistance meant for her abandoned children
- Parental rights were terminated in April; children are now with relatives
- Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1
What's Next
Bryant will be sentenced on Sept. 1, where she faces potential prison time on the first-degree child abuse charges. The case continues to draw attention to Michigan's child welfare system and the circumstances that allowed three children to remain abandoned for years without intervention.