The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office rescued three kids who were living in squalor at a home in Pontiac, Michigan (OCSO).
A mother from Michigan is now in prison for allegedly leaving her three children alone in a house for several years. Officials described the dwelling on Lydia Lane in Pontiac, located about 25 miles northwest of Detroit, as unsuitable even for animals, let alone kids.
The owner of the property reached out to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office last Friday. Concerned because he had not heard from the woman since December and she had not paid rent since October, he requested a welfare check. According to a press release, the deputies who arrived at the residence uncovered a distressing case of what Sheriff Mike Bouchard referred to as “extreme abandonment, neglect, and abuse.”
For more stories from Law&Crime, read about a mother who reportedly used a dog leash to beat her four children, threatened to set their hair on fire, and turned on a gas stove after they refused to admit to dropping tissue on the floor, according to the police.
Three kids, a 15-year-old boy and two girls ages 12 and 13, lived in the home by themselves. The boy allegedly told deputies that he and his sisters have lived alone since 2020 or 2021. According to cops, garbage was stacked as high as four feet, feces was throughout the home and filled the bathtub, the toilet was overflowing and mold was everywhere.
The children had not been to school since their abandonment and spent their days watching TV and playing video games, according to cops. And while the 34-year-old mother, who police did not name to protect the identities of the children, had contact with her son, deputies don’t believe she allegedly had not seen the girls for several years. The boy slept on a mattress while the girls slept on pizza boxes, cops said. Each week their mother or a “stranger” would bring prepared food and drop it off on the porch, deputies said.
Neighbors told cops while they saw the mother dropping off food, they did not know children lived there. The kids were taken to the hospital for evaluation. They wore soiled clothes, had matted hair and had difficulty walking because their toenails were several inches long, deputies said. Cops noted the kids lacked basic hygiene skills.
From Bouchard:
“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. This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for your three children. The young girls have been deprived of any interaction with their mother and have not received an education for years. The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged. We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that she faces the consequences of her actions.”
An evidence technician processed the scene wearing a hazmat suit, according to deputies. Cops arrested the mom at another location. She said the father is not involved in the kids’ lives. Detectives will be turning in their investigation to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office who will file formal charges. Child Protective Services placed the children in the custody of a relative.
