Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her 3 children given $250 million bond

    PONTIAC, Michigan (WWJ) -- A 34-year-old Pontiac mother accused of child abuse and abandoning her three children was arraigned Thursday morning on three counts of first-degree child abuse.

On Thursday, 50th District Court Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross issued Kelli Bryant a $250 million bond. If Bryant posts bond, she cannot have contact with her children, or anyone under the age of 18.

"My first knee-jerk reaction was to deny your bond. However, because I find her an acute danger, I find her a continued danger to the children," Fowlkes Gross said. "My main concern is, I don't know who, if anyone, that the children have been given to. If it is a family member, I'm concerned that she still may have contact with the family member from the jail with instructions to continue to engage in the fear tactics to forbid the children from cooperating with authorities in their continued investigation in this matter."

A probable cause conference is scheduled for March 4, with a preliminary examination set for March 11.

"Are the allegations troubling and disturbing? Absolutely they are. But the $250 million? So, how much is too much? $20,000 would have done it for her, right, if she's really indigent," said Lillian Diallo, attorney and president of the Wayne County Defense Bar Association.

While not involved in the case, Diallo says the judge's move may come across as too emotional and could cause issues later.

"This is not a third-world country where we exact vengeance in the street, extrajudicial vengeance. There is a process and the process should be fair. The lady is entitled, no matter how horrible the allegations are, to a reasonable bond, and that's not reasonable," she said.

On Wednesday, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald charged Bryant in connection with a child neglect case where three children were found living in a Pontiac home in "deplorable shape" and allegedly abandoned by their mother nearly five years ago.

Bryant is charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse. If convicted, she faces up to life in prison. McDonald is also moving to have the mother's parental rights terminated.

Three children were found in the home: a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl.

"I guess what stands out the most for me is no love," McDonald said. "There was nobody there to care for them for between three and four years, no parent, nobody physically present to let them know that they were safe, and they were loved."

Oakland County deputies received a call on Feb. 14 from a landlord at a residence on the 600 block of Lydia Lane in Pontiac after not hearing from the mother since December 2024. The landlord said rent had not been paid since October, and he was concerned something might have happened.

When deputies arrived at the home, they found it in vile shape. They observed mold and human waste throughout, garbage piled as high as four feet, and an overflowing toilet. The children were reportedly covered in feces, and the two girls had trouble walking out of the house.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said investigators believe the children were abandoned between 2020 and 2021. According to McDonald, Bryant was living with her four children at the home in 2019 and left with one of her children, who is now living with their father. Officials say Bryant has four children with two different fathers.

"This was one of the worst and longest-running cases of child abuse I have seen in my career," Bouchard said. "I am thankful for the outpouring of support from the community to help these children have better lives. I also am gratified to see this suspect will be held accountable for this unforgivable treatment of these children."

The father of the three children was in jail during the summer of 2020, and while a consent agreement was executed in 2022 for him to see his kids, the mother reportedly did not allow any contact between them.

Officials say the three children survived on food their mom or a stranger dropped off on the front porch for them. The boy would reportedly text his mother when their food supply was running low. Bouchard said typically, a loaf of bread was left for the children and was expected to last them for several days.

Authorities say Bryant did not leave basic hygiene products like toilet paper, soap or shampoo with her children.

"The defendant instructed the kids that they were not to answer the door or leave the house," McDonald said. "All three children expressed fear about what their mother's response would be if they left the home. The defendant concealed the children from family and friends and lied about who was caring for the kids and their whereabouts. The defendant took the active steps of lying and concealing to make sure the children went undiscovered, and she took these actions knowing that her children would suffer serious, physical and emotional harm as a result."

The children were taken to an area hospital for evaluation and are currently in the custody of a relative under the direction of the state.

"All three children received immediate medical attention at a local hospital, and they were interviewed by trained forensic interviewers at Care House," McDonald said. "Considering what they've experienced, they appear to be doing OK."

Deputies arrested the mother without incident at a different location.

On Tuesday, Bouchard said authorities might have been able to help the children sooner if a school code required more action from school officials to reach out to law enforcement if they noticed a student missing for a significant amount of time with no explanation.

"If a child doesn't show up to school for a period of time, then it triggers a follow-up where they have to communicate with either a truancy officer or law enforcement to begin an examination of what happened to these kids," Bouchard said.