$250M bond: Why Pontiac mom charged with abandoning kids for years got such high bond

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - The Pontiac mom charged with of leaving three children alone to live in squalor was ordered held with a quarter-billion-dollar bond on Thursday, nearly a week after police discovered the horrific conditions in which they lived.

The $250 million bond for Kelli Bryant was intentionally astronomically high, according to FOX 2's Charlie Langton. Langton has practiced law for decades in Michigan and has been a FOX 2 reporter for the past 15 years. 

"Bonds are set to ensure (suspects) will show up in court," Langton said.

There are only a few cases in the state of Michigan where a defendant would be held without bond, Langton said, and that includes murder. Bryant was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse, which is not one of the charges that allows a defendant to be held without bond.

Under Michigan law, a person accused of a crime is entitled to bail that is not excessive and the judge must consider three factors: the seriousness of the charged offense, the danger to the public upon release, and the probably of a defendant returning to court.

"I find her a continued danger to the children. My main concern (is) I don’t know who the children have been given to. If it is a family member, I’m concerned she still may have contact with them from the jail with instructions to continue engaging in fear tactics to forbid the children from cooperating with authorities," Judge Ronda Fowlkes said in court on Thursday. "I’m concerned pretrial services has indicated two different reported addresses for you. I don’t believe anyone knows where you have been staying madam."

Kelli Bryant, 34, is charged with three counts of child abuse after authorities said she left abandoned her kids for years in squalor in her Pontiac home.

Because of that, the judge had to set some kind of bond – and settled on $250 million. 

"She's got to give some cash bond," Langton said.

Bryant waived a formal reading of the charges and stood mute, entering a not guilty plea through her defense attorney, who was court-appointed.

What's next:

Bryant is due back in court on March 4 with a preliminary exam on March 11.

Langton said it's likely that the bond will be asked to be lowered at a later date. 

"At her first hearing, it will be asked to lower bond," Langton said.

The backstory:

Authorities discovered Bryant's children, who are 15, 13, and 12, after the homeowner called for a welfare check Friday at a home she was renting on Lydia Lane. He said he hadn't heard from Bryant since December, and she hadn't paid rent since October.

Prosecutor Karen McDonald said the law enforcement who arrived at the home could not believe what they found.

"The three children in this case suffered unimaginable abuse and neglect over a long period of time," McDonald said on Wednesday. "Police were astonished to find anyone in the location because it appeared to be uninhabitable with piles of garbage and refuse several feet high, including large amounts of human excrement."

Timeline:

On Wednesday, the day Bryant was formally charged, Prosecutor Karen McDonald said that she lived in the Pontiac home in 2019 with four children. She moved out in spring or summer of 2020 – during the height of the pandemic – and one of her children went to go live with their father.

The other three children remained at the home, alone. 

During that time, McDonald said the children all had cell phones but were instructed to never open the door or leave the home.

"During his interview, her son stated that he would text their mother when their food supply was running low and she would have food delivered to the residence. The children shared that during the years they were concealed in the home, so the suspect, Bryant, failed to provide toilet paper, soap or shampoo," McDonald said. "The defendant instructed the kids that they were not to answer the door or leave the house. All three children expressed fear about what their mother's response would be if they left the home."

A relative who was not aware of the conditions is now caring for the children. McDonald said that the investigation has not found reason to charge anyone else. But that doesn't mean nobody else is to blame.

"Morally, there is plenty of responsibility to go around for how this was allowed to happen. However, these three kids were entrusted to the care of their mother, Kelli Bryant. And the evidence suggests that she effectively abandoned them to a revolting pit of refuse and squalor," she said.

The children last had physical interactions with her in 2020, according to Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

"(Their) mother dropped off some trash bags, gloves, and Febreze, and that was the last thing related to hygiene," he said. 

Bouchard said on Tuesday that food would be delivered from services like DoorDash over her four+ years away from kids.

"Towards the end, the children were getting a loaf of bread that was getting dropped off and that was to last 3 or 4 days," he said.