A Michigan mother who authorities said abandoned her three young children to live alone in squalor — reportedly for almost five years — could receive life in prison.

Kelli Marie Bryant, 34, was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse. Each charge carries a maximum jail time of life in prison, WJBK-TV reported.

'Morally, there is plenty of responsibility to go around for how this was allowed to happen.'

Prosecutors also intend to file a petition removing Bryant's parental rights, the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said, adding that Bryant has been held in jail and was expected to be arraigned Thursday.

Deputies were called Friday to the house in the 600 block of Lydia Lane in Pontiac for a welfare check, authorities said.

The landlord contacted authorities after not hearing from the mother since December, figuring something must have happened, the sheriff's office said, adding that the rent hadn't been paid since October.

Deputies found three siblings — a 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 13 and 12 — living in squalor, the sheriff's office said.

Garbage was piled as high as four feet in some rooms, authorities said, adding that mold and human waste were found throughout the home. What's more, a toilet was found overflowing, and feces were found in a bathtub, authorities said, adding that the scene was processed by an evidence technician dressed in a hazmat suit.

Image source: Oakland County (Mich.) Sheriff's Office, composite

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Bryant lived in the home with four children in 2019 and moved out with one in 2020, according to WJBK, which added that Bryant left behind the other children to live by themselves for almost five years.

In an earlier story, WJBK said the children would have been just 11, 9, and 8 when they started living alone.

They survived on food their mother or a stranger left on the porch each week, authorities said, adding that the mother didn't leave toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff's office said the children had not attended school since the abandonment, and they passed time watching TV or playing games. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor while the girls slept on pizza boxes, the sheriff's office said.

"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," McDonald said, according to the station. "And the evidence suggests that she effectively abandoned them to a revolting pit of refuse and squalor."

'All three children expressed fear about what their mother's response would be if they left the home.'

McDonald said the child Bryant took with her ended up living with the children's father, WJBK reported.

When deputies first entered the home, the three children hid in separate rooms and were afraid to come out initially, the station said. Once the children emerged, deputies said they were overstimulated just by being outdoors, WJBK said. Since their mother left, the two girls never left the home once, WJBK said, adding that the boy left only to touch grass and check the mail.

The children were taken to a hospital for evaluation, authorities said, adding their clothing was soiled and their hair matted. Their toenails were several inches long, which made it difficult for them to walk, the sheriff's office said.

"At the hospital, the children struggled with completing basic hygiene tasks like flushing a toilet and brushing their teeth because they had not done it in years," McDonald said, according to the station.

McDonald added to WJBK that the children were too scared to leave the house: "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."

The station added that McDonald said that "it was unbelievable what they were living with for years. Unbelievable. It wouldn't be, surroundings where you would want any living creature or animal or particularly human beings. I mean, these kids, not to have even basic hygiene tools. And I guess what stands out the most for me is no, no, love."

The children are now with a relative who McDonald said didn't know what they were going through, WJBK said.

You can view a video report here about the charges.

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