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Judge lowers $250 million bond for Pontiac mother accused of abuse
Kelli Bryant was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse last month and given a $250 million cash bond. That bond was dropped down to $50,000 cash. Her attorney, Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe, argued Friday that there is no indication that Bryant will not return to court if she is able to post bond.
PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - A huge bond set for a Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her children for years was dropped significantly during a court hearing Friday.
Kelli Bryant was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse last month and given a $250 million cash bond. That bond was dropped down to $50,000 cash.
Bryant's initial bond was set to high to prevent her from bonding out of the Oakland County Jail while her case moves through the legal system. According to FOX 2 legal expert Charlie Langton, a suspect can only be denied bond for certain charges, and child abuse is not one of those charges.
Her attorney, Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe, argued Friday that there is no indication that Bryant will not return to court if she is able to post bond.
Quirindongo-Baunsoe wanted Bryant to be given a personal recognizance bond, but this request was denied.
According to Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker, the purpose of a bond is to make sure someone returns to court, not to punish a person. She said the $250 million bond equates to having bond denied.
After reducing the bond, Walker set a long list of rules for Bryant if she posts bond. That includes having no contact with her children and the people caring for them. She would also be on house arrest if released from jail.
The backstory:
Bryant is accused of abandoning her three children, ages 15, 13, and 12, in a Pontiac condo four or five years ago. Bryant lived at another home and would occasionally drop food off at the home, authorities said.
The children were found on Feb. 14 after the condo's landlord requested a welfare check. According to authorities, the landlord hadn't heard from Bryant since December, and rent hadn't been paid.
WARNING: The details of this story are disturbing.
Deputies arrived and found the home full of garbage – piled as high as four feet in some rooms. The rooms were also covered in mold and human waste. The toilet was overflowing, and the bathtub was full of feces.
The children survived on food that was dropped off on the front porch each week by either their mother or a stranger.
But they had no access to toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff said they were unfamiliar with personal hygiene and didn't even know how to flush a toilet.
They had also not attended school since she left them and instead passed time by watching TV or playing games. The sheriff said the girls had not been outside in several years.
The boy slept on a mattress on the floor, but the two girls slept on pizza boxes.
According to deputies, neighbors were unaware that children lived in the home and had never seen them. They said they had seen their mother at the home each month.
The kids were all wearing soiled clothing with matted hair and toenails so long that it was difficult to walk.
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