CARE House aids Pontiac children's recovery after being allegedly abandoned by mother

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Three children are recovering and receiving support after being found living in deplorable conditions after their mother, 34-year-old Kelli Bryant of Pontiac, allegedly abandoned them for years.

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Her children are staying with relatives and have received an outpouring of support from the community.

Some of that support came from the Oakland County CARE House, a child advocacy center, where kids who have experienced abuse and trauma can have a safe place to talk about what happened.

"It’s actually something that people think is really negative and difficult, and it is difficult, but it’s also an honor to hear these kids’ stories and give them an opportunity to talk about what happened to them in a setting that’s comfortable for them," said Vice President Tricia Schuster.

Trained forensic interviewers met with the children who lived in the abandoned home to ask them questions in a safe setting.

"Lots of kids come here to talk about problems or worries, or things that might have happened," Schuster said. "How come you came today? And we want them to then start telling us whatever it is they need to tell us. If they start, and then kind of stop, then what we’ll do is say, I want to hear more about that, tell me all about it, start at the beginning, go all the way to the end, tell me every detail you can, and then I’ll ask you some questions."

Those questions aid the investigation. Behind the mirror could be law enforcement, prosecutors, and child protective services.

"When we do forensic interviews, we will typically will have an earbud in our ear and when we come in the room we’ll let them know this is because there’s some friends of mine whose job is to keep kids safe, and they can see and hear us through the mirror and a microphone," Schuster said.

Beyond the interviews, the teams at Care House also help children build resilience and develop coping mechanisms to process abuse.

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.