Samantha Sayles, Digital Content Producer
Khalil Maycock, Local 4 News reporter, Detroit
Joel Deaner, Photojournalist
Published:
Updated:
Samantha Sayles, Digital Content Producer
Khalil Maycock, Local 4 News reporter, Detroit
Joel Deaner, Photojournalist
PONTIAC, Mich. – An Oakland County mother accused of abandoning her children and leaving them to live in squalor for years was sentenced on Wednesday on her welfare fraud charges and was also found competent to stand trial on the child abuse charges.
Kelli Bryant, of Pontiac, appeared in court on Wednesday, June 17, for her sentencing and a review hearing of her competency exam.
You can watch the full hearing in the video at the beginning of this article.
In February 2025, Bryant was charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse after authorities found her three children — a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl, and a 12-year-old girl — living alone in squalor.
Officials said garbage was piled as high as four feet in some rooms and that mold and feces were found throughout the home.
They survived on food drop-offs that Bryant sent using services like DoorDash and Instacart, but they allegedly were never sent toilet paper, soap or shampoo during their abandonment.
Previous coverage: Foul smell at Oakland County home where kids were found made deputy think he was searching for body
She was later issued welfare fraud charges for collecting her kids’ public assistance.
On June 17, Bryant was sentenced to two years’ probation on the welfare charges. The judge at Wednesday’s hearing also reviewed her competency exam results and found Bryant competent to stand trial.
A date for Bryant’s trial on the child abuse charges has been scheduled for Aug. 24, 2026.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
Samantha Sayles is an Oakland University alumna who’s been writing Michigan news since 2022. Before joining the ClickOnDetroit team, she wrote stories for WILX in Lansing and WEYI in Flint.
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Khalil Maycock comes to Local 4 from Jacksonville, FL, where he spent three years as a reporter. Before that, he reported in Des Moines, IA, and Savannah, GA.
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