PONTIAC (WWJ) — Kelli Bryant, the Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her three children for several years and leaving them to live on their own in deplorable conditions, faced a judge Tuesday for the first time since she was arraigned.
Bryant was charged last month with three counts of first-degree child abuse and her bond was set at $250 million.
On Tuesday Bryant appeared in 50th District Court for her probable cause conference in front of Judge Cynthia Thomas Walker.
The judge detailed two motions that have been filed by the defense — one seeking to restrain pretrial publicity and another to set “reasonable bond.”
Defense attorney Cecilia Quirindongo-Baunsoe argued that pretrial coverage — including press conferences such as the one held by the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office after Bryant was charged — could create prejudice that could impact a jury’s ability to be impartial.
Ultimately, the judge denied that motion, but did offer a warning to the prosecutor’s office.
“But should there come a point while this case is within the jurisdiction of the district court, where there’s a massive, pervasive and prejudicial round of publicity, this court will review the issue and make the appropriate determination at that time,” Walker said.
As for the motion to set reasonable bond, Judge Ronda Fowlkes Gross had said at the time she set it extraordinarily high because she was concerned Bryant might “engage in the fear tactics to forbid the children from cooperating with authorities” during the investigation.
Walker approved the motion for a redetermination hearing, saying the court would have to consider multiple factors when it comes to any possible changes to Bryant’s bond. Those factors include the defendant’s criminal record, history of appearance or flight risk, substance abuse, mental condition, and character. Other factors include the seriousness of the offense and the likelihood of conviction.
The defense and prosecution will both return to court on Friday to make their arguments for a possible change to bond.
Tuesday’s probable cause conference was adjourned and is scheduled to resume on April 15.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald said when she announced charges against Bryant that the kids suffered “unimaginable abuse and neglect over a long period of time.”
McDonald said Bryant had been living at an apartment in Pontiac with her four children in 2019. At some point in 2020 or 2021 she moved out, leaving three of the children behind and sending the fourth to live with their father, while the other child went to live with their father.
Police discovered the children at the apartment on Friday, Feb. 14 when the landlord called them to do a welfare check on Bryant, who allegedly had not paid rent since last October. Officers found Bryant’s daughters, ages 12 and 13, hiding in a bathroom that was “filled with feces, piles of trash and completely non-functional,” McDonald said. Their 15-year-old brother was hiding in another room.
McDonald said at the time that police were “astonished to find anyone in the location because it appeared to be uninhabitable with piles of garbage and refuse several feet high, including large amounts of human excrement.”
Bryant allegedly told her children they weren't allowed to leave the home and prosecutors say the kids were afraid to break the rules. The prosecutor's office says the girls never went outside, while the boy only went out twice, but never ventured beyond the mailbox.
Bryant would have food delivered to children from time to time, according to the prosecutor's office.