How school transfer requirements could have helped Michigan kids found living alone in filth

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Earlier this year, three children were rescued from a filthy Pontiac home where they had lived alone for years.

The children, ages 15, 13, and 12, lived in the home full of trash and feces undetected for at least four years. Now, authorities are pushing to change laws to make sure other children don't end up in the same position.

What they're saying:

After the children were found, Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) introduced a bill that would change how school transfers work. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Prosecutor Karen McDonald are both throwing support behind the proposed law change.

According to the sheriff, there is a gap in the Michigan school code that allowed the children to be removed from school without detection. Bouchard said that the children had left a school, which un-enrolled them after assuming they had moved to another school. The previous school had received a transcript request from the new school, but never received confirmation that the children had actually enrolled.

House Bill 492 would close that gap by requiring confirmation that a student was actually enrolled in a new school district before their old district can un-enroll them. 

"Basically, (it) simply says that once you send those transcripts, you can't assume that the other school has those kids," Bouchard said. "You've got to follow up and ask a question before you un-enroll them from your school."

If no answer is given, Bouchard says it will either trigger a truancy investigation or get police involved to figure out where a student is, if they are not attending school in either district.

Authorities say that the requirement would ensure all children are accounted for. Had such a requirement been in place previously, it could have stopped the three abandoned kids from slipping through the cracks because they were not in school during the time they were living alone.

"It just fills that void that these kids fell through and hopefully prevents that from ever happening to another child," Bouchard said.

What's next:

Bouchard and McDonald testified in support of the bill in front of the Michigan Senate's Education Committee on Wednesday.

Though the bill has not been passed yet, the goal is to get it signed into law soon, especially as school resumes.

The backstory:

The law change was spurred by a welfare check in February.

WARNING: The details of this story are disturbing.

Bouchard said deputies were called for a welfare check at a home on Lydia Lane. The landlord called after he said he had not heard from the mother since December and that rent was last paid in October.

He told officers that he was concerned something had happened.

Deputies arrived and found the home full of garbage – piled as high as four feet in some rooms. The rooms were also covered in mold and human waste. The toilet was overflowing, and the bathtub was full of feces.

The home was being lived in by the three children, alone.

The boy, the oldest of the siblings, said they lived in the home with their mother but that she abandoned them in either 2020 or 2021 – at least four years ago - when the children would have been just 11, 9, and 8.

The children survived on food that was dropped off on the front porch each week by either their mother or a stranger.

But they had no access to toilet paper or personal hygiene items. The sheriff said they were unfamiliar with personal hygiene and didn't even know how to flush a toilet.

They had also not attended school since she left them and instead passed time by watching TV or playing games. The sheriff said the girls had not been outside in several years.

The boy slept on a mattress on the floor, but the two girls slept on pizza boxes.

"This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children. They 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 this mother faces the consequences of her actions," Bouchard said.

According to deputies, neighbors were unaware that children lived in the home and had never seen them. They said they had seen their mother at the home each month.

The kids were all wearing soiled clothing with matted hair and toenails so long that it was difficult to walk.

Dig deeper:

The children's mother, Kelli Bryant, was found living in a different home, authorities said.

She has been charged with three counts of first-degree child abuse. Her case is currently making its way through Oakland County Circuit Court, and she is due back in court next month.

Watch FOX 2 News Live