PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — It’s a case that’s shocked metro Detroit: three young siblings found in soiled clothes, abandoned for years and living in a home filled with mold, trash and feces.
“You wouldn't do this to an animal, let alone a child,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said during a media briefing on Tuesday.
You can watch the press conference below:
Bouchard revealed that besides the mother, it appears no one knew about the kids' situation. They were left without hygiene supplies, and food was periodically delivered either by her or by a third party delivery service, which left the food on the porch.
"Towards the end, the children were apparently getting a loaf of bread dropped off that was intended to last three to four days," Bouchard said.
The sisters, ages 12 and 13, were sleeping on pizza boxes. Their 15-year-old brother was the only one who went outside, but just twice in five years.
"The only one of the three who ever came out was the young boy — once because he wanted to feel the grass, which by itself is heartbreaking, and a second time to check the mail," Bouchard said. "Just to hear he came out to touch the grass is crushing, soul-crushing on so many levels."
Related video: Kid in Pontiac case went outside only a few times to 'touch the grass,' get mail
The mother of the children is still in custody, but formal charges have yet to be filed. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald says this case is a top priority, but they are still combing through several gigabytes of evidence.
"All of us are asking how the heck did this happen? How did we lose three kids? How did they fall through the system?" Bouchard said. "The community, the relatives, the school — how did no one know?"
Bouchard says the kids hadn’t been enrolled in school since 2020, and miscommunication caused them to fall through the cracks.
"A school district in this case received a request for records from another school in Pontiac, but no verification the children ever moved to that school," Bouchard explained. "So at some point when they didn't show up, they were just dropped off the enrollment of the school that sent the transcripts. So no one knew they were nowhere.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Pontiac mother arrested after abandoning children in home for 4-5 years
Bouchard says he’s now talking to a state lawmaker to sponsor a bill in Lansing that he says could prevent this from happening again.
“Before a child is un-enrolled, they have to obtain written confirmation that child is someplace else," Bouchard said. "That doesn't happen now”
State Sen. Jeremy Moss represents Pontiac. While he hasn’t heard directly from Bouchard about this proposal, he says he's open to the idea.
“I've talked to a few of my colleagues already, those who are on these relevant committees — the education committees and whatnot — and this is a concept worth exploring,” Moss said. "If the sheriff — as he has more information about this investigation — believes that this is the gap, this is something that would have prevented this situation, then yes, we should absolutely be exploring."
State Rep. Brenda Carter represents Pontiac and also had not heard from Bouchard but believes there's also work that could be done when it comes to laws that impact renters.
Both Carter and Moss say the city of Pontiac requires rental properties to be registered with the city and are subjected to rental inspections. However, they say this property was not registered by the landlord and was therefore being illegally rented. If it had been registered, inspections could have discovered the deplorable living conditions.
"This is where we feel we can effectively address this by putting into statute the renters bill of rights,” Carter said. "There are things we can do to hold bad actors accountable... It's not an isolated incident, it's not something that just happens in Pontiac.”
"Nobody, no kid especially, should have to live in those conditions and if there are things we can do as lawmakers to improve conditions in our neighborhoods, we should explore those solutions,” Moss said. "This is a situation of neglect and the kids have suffered."
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office set up an online fundraiser to support the children.
