A Michigan woman is in custody after authorities found her three children living in squalor at their deteriorating home where she allegedly abandoned them several years ago.
Oakland County deputies made the horrific discovery on Friday when they performed a welfare check after receiving a call from the landlord who said there had been no word from the woman since December and that she had not paid rent since October, which led to concern that something bad had happened.
The 34-year-old mother, who has not been named, was arrested at a different location after the children were found, according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
Her 15-year-old son told deputies that he and his two sisters, 13 and 14, had been living in the Pontiac home all alone after they were abandoned by their mother in either 2020 or 2021.
They had been surviving only on food drop-offs made by their mother or a stranger that were left on the porch each month.
Sheriff Michael Bouchard said deputies found the house to be in “deplorable shape” and that the conditions were “utterly unacceptable for three children.”
“Garbage 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,” Bouchard said.
The mother did not leave toilet paper or personal hygiene items for the children, who were found wearing soiled clothing, and with matted hair and toenails that were several inches long.
Bouchard said it was evident that the children were not familiar with personal hygiene and that they did not even know how to flush a toilet.
The boy slept on a mattress on the floor, the two girls slept on pizza boxes, the sheriff added.
Instead of attending school, they had spent the last few years watching TV or playing video games as the garbage grew around them. They had not been outside in years and many neighbors told deputies they didn’t even know children lived there.
All three children were taken to a local hospital for evaluation on Friday. They have since been placed in the custody of a relative by Child Protective Services.
Their mother was being held at the Oakland County Jail while investigators and prosecutors reviewed the case.
“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,” Sheriff Bouchard said.
“This situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children.”
