PONTIAC (WWJ) A Pontiac woman— who abandoned her three young children in a house filled with almost ceiling-high garbage piles, human waste and mold— was arrested, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said.
The mother, 34, is held at the Oakland County Jail.
The children—a 15-year-old boy, and two girls, 12 and 13— were placed with a relative by Child Protective Services.
“Throughout my extensive career in this field, I have never encountered a scenario as dire and prolonged as this one,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said. “The situation would be deemed deplorable and intolerable for an animal, and it is utterly unacceptable for three children.”
According to the sheriff’s office; deputies were called to perform a welfare check at a house on Lydia Lane, in the area of Elizabeth Lake and Telegraph, on Friday, February 14th.
The landlord reached out to deputies, concerned something had happened to the family— saying he had not heard from the mother since December, and last received rent from her in October.
“Upon their arrival, deputies found the home in deplorable shape,” the press release read. “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.”
Deputies found the boy and his sisters in the house. The girls had locked themselves in the bathroom but opened the door when asked, the sheriff’s office said.
The boy told deputies he and his sisters had lived alone since 2020 or 2021— when their mother abandoned them. They stayed alive on prepared food the mother or a stranger left on the front porch each week. She did not leave them toilet paper or hygiene products, according to investigators.
The boy had contact with the mother, but she had not talked to the girls in years; the sheriff’s office said.
An evidence technician processed the scene in a HAZMAT suit.
According to the sheriff’s office; the children had not gone to school since their abandonment, entertaining themselves only with television and video games. The boy slept on a mattress on the floor and the girls slept on pizza boxes.
Neighbors told deputies they did not know the children lived at the home, as they were never outside. They only saw the mother drop items off each month.
Deputies took the children to the hospital for evaluation.
“The (children) were wearing soiled clothes, their hair was matted and their toenails were several inches long, making it difficult to walk,” the press release read.
They didn’t know how to use hygiene products or how to flush a toilet, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies found the mother at a different location and arrested her peacefully. She said the father was uninvolved in the children’s lives.
“The far-reaching consequences of this abuse must be acknowledged,” Bouchard said. “We look forward to presenting this case to the prosecutor and ensuring that this mother faces the consequences of her actions.”
The mother’s name is not being released, as she shares a name with one of the children.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is collecting donations for the children.