Authorities said three children found themselves living alone in “absolute tort” at a rental home in Pontiac, Michigan, after their mother abandoned them a few years ago.
The 34-year-old mother was arrested last week, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Sunday. Her name has not been made public to protect the identity of children, ages 15, 13 and 12.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard called the child’s living conditions “abuse of the highest order.” According to the sheriff’s office, human waste and molds were found inside the house, trash was thrown everywhere, and children survived with weekly prepared food drop-offs.
“This situation is deemed sad and unbearable for animals, and completely unacceptable for three children,” Bouchard said in a statement.
“They are deprived of interactions with their mothers and have not been educated for years,” he continued. “The widespread consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged.”
The news release says he was called to the house to do a welfare check Friday afternoon after the landlord said he hadn’t heard from his mother. The landlord said his mother last paid the rent in October, and he was worried that something might have happened.
When deputies arrived, they found a “deplorable shape” house, the news release said. There was a child, a 15-year-old boy, a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl inside.
“The garbage was stacked four feet in some rooms, mold and human waste piled up all over, toilets overflowing and poop in the tub,” the sheriff’s office said. “The deputies checked the residents and found the boy and his sister.”
The girls were locked in the bathroom, but when asked, they opened the door, authorities said.
The boy told deputies that his mother abandoned them in 2020 or 2021. Bouchard said at a press conference Tuesday that investigators believe the first abandonment will be in the spring or summer of 2020.
Prepared food was left at the entrance every week for the children, the sheriff’s office, to survive. Bouchard said his mother or delivery driver would leave the food.
According to the sheriff, it was in 2020 that investigators believed their mother had left sanitary items, when they unloaded their garbage bags, gloves and Febreze.
“Finally, the kids apparently dropped bread, which is expected to last three or four days,” he said at a press conference.
The boy slept on the mattress on the floor, and the girl slept on a pizza box.
The condition inside the house was very bad and evidence engineers had to wear a suit made of dangerous materials to dispose of the site, authorities said.
The sheriff’s office said her mother was in contact with the boy, but said, “But it appears she hadn’t seen the girl in years.” The sheriff’s office said none of the children had been in school since they were abandoned.
Bouchard told reporters that the district received a record request from another Pontiac school, but it was never confirmed that the children had moved to a new school. When they did not appear at the new school, they were excluded from registration.
“No one knew they were anywhere,” he said.
The girls seemed not to be outside for several years. The boy was out twice because he wanted to follow the time to check another time, ‘I felt the grass’,” the sheriff said.
“It’s about shattering my soul on so many levels when I hear he comes out to touch the grass,” he said.
They spent their time watching TV and playing games, the news release said. When they were found, they were wearing dirty clothes, their hair was covered, their toenails were very long, making it difficult for them to walk.
The neighbors didn’t know that their children were living in the house and never saw them outside, but told deputies they saw their mother dropping things.
The sheriff said the child’s father had been jailed for a while and was incarcerated when he filed documents in court for a visit. An agreement was reached in 2022, but the mother allegedly refused to see the children, the sheriff said.
The children were taken to the hospital for evaluation. They have since been placed under the control of relatives by child protection services. In a Facebook post Monday, the sheriff’s office said it was collecting donations to children.
Bouchard said the case will be filed with Oakland County Prosecutors.
