Pontiac mother found competent to stand trial after children found living in filth

Kelli Bryant, a 35-year-old Pontiac woman accused of abandoning her three children to live alone in squalor for years, was sentenced Wednesday on welfare fraud charges and found competent to face trial on first-degree child abuse counts.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Mary Ellen Brennan sentenced Bryant to two years of probation and ordered her to pay $29,397 in restitution, according to court records. Bryant pleaded no contest to three counts of welfare fraud in December 2025.

"Welfare fraud, with the financial damage being over $500, that you be placed on probation for a period of two years. That you serve 112 days in the Oakland County Jail, credit for 112 days," Brennan said in court, according to the Detroit News.

Bryant already served the 112 days while awaiting trial. She remains locked up in the Oakland County Jail ahead of her child abuse trial.

Children found sleeping on pizza boxes in Lydia Lane townhome

The case began in February 2025 when the landlord of a Stonegate Pointe townhome on Lydia Lane in Pontiac contacted the Oakland County Sheriff's Office for a welfare check. The landlord said Bryant had not paid rent or communicated with him for months, according to a sheriff's press release.

Deputies discovered three children, ages 12, 13, and 15, living alone in what officials described as uninhabitable conditions. Investigators found garbage stacked as high as 4 feet, mold throughout the home, an overflowing toilet, and a bathtub filled with feces, according to the sheriff's office.

The children had not attended school since 2020 or 2021, according to court testimony. They survived on weekly food deliveries from DoorDash and Instacart, dropped off on the porch by Bryant or an unidentified person, according to deputies.

"Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one, involving abandonment, neglect, and abuse of the highest order," Sheriff Mike Bouchard said in a press release. "This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for your three children."

An evidence technician processed the scene wearing a hazmat suit, according to the sheriff's office. The children were taken to a hospital for evaluation. Officials said they were wearing soiled clothing, had matted hair, and had toenails several inches long.

Trial set for August 24

Bryant faces three counts of first-degree child abuse, punishable by up to life in prison, according to the Oakland Press.

At Wednesday's hearing, a psychiatrist's report concluded Bryant was competent to stand trial. Her attorney had raised concerns about her mental health. Attorney and former judge Vonda Evans, who is not involved in the case, told ClickOnDetroit that mental health issues could still be a factor at trial.

"A competency finding only determines whether you know what you're being charged with and that you are being charged in a court," Evans said. "What I do surmise will be an issue are mental health issues that will say she did not, she could not knowingly or intentionally cause this."

Bryant's trial was originally scheduled for March 2 before she requested a competency evaluation. The trial was delayed multiple times. Bryant missed an April 16 evaluation appointment because she was an inpatient at the mental health facility Common Ground, according to the Oakland Press. The judge revoked her bond and remanded her to jail.

Judge Brennan set the trial for August 24, according to WXYZ and ClickOnDetroit.

'I sacrificed my children'

During a preliminary hearing last year, Oakland County Sheriff's Det. John Brish testified that Bryant admitted to putting herself before her children.

"'I hurt my children,'" Brish said Bryant told him. "'I sacrificed my children, probably.'"

Prosecutors noted that data extracted from Bryant's phone listed her children in her contacts as "My oldest," "Kid 1," and "Kid 2," according to courtroom reports from WDIV and WXYZ. The children had Bryant listed as "World's greatest mom."

Child Protective Services placed the children in the custody of a relative, according to the sheriff's office. Bryant said the father is not involved in the children's lives.

Neighbor Ron Williams told WXYZ he believes Bryant should be held accountable.

"I think she'll be held accountable for the actions that she took with the kids. I think it's warranted and just gotta wait and see what happens," Williams said. "So, yeah I think it's a bad situation for the kids and I hope the kids are doing well now."