A Michigan mother has been arrested after her three children were found abandoned in horrific conditions for four or five years.
A 34-year-old mother was arrested after her children, a boy aged 15, and two girls 13 and 12, were found to have been staying in a feces and trash covered home.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said the conditions in which the children were found were ‘unconscionable.’
‘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,’ he said.
‘This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children…The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged,’ he added.
Deputies were called to a home in the 600 block of Lydia Lane on Friday afternoon to perform a welfare check.
The children had been found after the condominium’s landlord became concerned that he hadn’t heard from their mother since December, and rent was last paid in October.
Upon arrival, deputies discovered the shocking conditions the children had been left in after they were abandoned in 2021.
A 34-year-old mother was arrested after her children, a boy aged 15, and two girls 13 and 12, were found to have been staying in a feces and trash covered home for years
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said: ‘This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children…The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged’
Trash was piled as high as four feet in some rooms, mold and human waste was found throughout, with the toilet overflowing and feces in the bathtub, the sheriff’s office said.
The boy told them he and his sisters lived alone after being abandoned, and they survived on prepared food that was dropped by their mother or a stranger on the front porch each week.
No personal hygiene items or toilet paper was provided to the kids, they also appeared to be unaware of how to use such items or know how to flush a toilet.
Their mother had contact with her son, but not her two daughters, sheriffs said.
‘The children had not attended school since their abandonment, passing the time watching television or playing games,’ the sheriff’s office said.
‘It appeared the girls had not been outside the home for several years. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor while the girls slept on pizza boxes.’
Neighbors said they didn’t know the kids were living in the home and never saw them outside, but did see the mother drop things off at the home each month.
One neighbor, Emma Gross, told WXYZ-TV: ‘Everybody’s upset about this… this is right in our neighborhood, how could something like this happen?’
After having a hospital evaluation, the children were placed in the custody of a relative by Child Protective Services. The children were found wearing soiled clothing, with matted hair, and toenails several inches long to the point where it became difficult for them to walk
Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel said: ‘It’s horrific, I mean it really is – it’s not just the material neglect, the health neglect, but the emotional and psychological abuse that this entails’
After having a hospital evaluation, the children were placed in the custody of a relative by Child Protective Services.
The children were found wearing soiled clothing, with matted hair, and toenails several inches long to the point where it became difficult for them to walk.
Their mother was found and arrested following their discovery and told deputies that the children’s father was not involved in their lives.
Pontiac Mayor Tim Greimel said: ‘It’s horrific, I mean it really is – it’s not just the material neglect, the health neglect, but the emotional and psychological abuse that this entails.’
Oakland County Sheriff’s Office asked for clothing and shoe donations for the children on Monday.
One donator, Linda Kisse, told Fox 2: ‘It’s just heartbreaking that someone would do that to their children.’
Her daughter, Jackie Kisse, told the outlet that she brought the children toiletries, soap, feminine products, shampoo and conditioner and lotion.
‘It’s just terrible,’ Linda said. ‘I can’t imagine. I’m a nurse, so I’ve seen some things but never something like that.’
