Mother arrested after abandoning her 3 children in an apartment for 4 years, Pontiac MI

[Joe Friday]

City inspectors sent letters to the landlords at the Lydia Lane home in Pontiac five times in 2020 about the unregistered rental and once in 2022, and physically visited the home in June 2024 for an inspection of a new porch, Pontiac Code Enforcement Manager Jack McIntyre said Friday. The June visit was the only time inspectors went to the home physically, McIntyre said, but they did not speak to anyone.

Prosecutors said they think the mother left the kids to live alone as early as 2020 or 2021...

SFSBBM

I posted about the code violations and inspections earlier in the thread. Like I said then, the city dropped the ball.

Now it is coming to light that the city actually entered the apartment last June while the uninhabitable conditions that were described existed and still did nothing about it. Just unspeakable.

JMO

 

[Ontario Mom]

SFSBBM

I posted about the code violations and inspections earlier in the thread. Like I said then, the city dropped the ball.

Now it is coming to light that the city actually entered the apartment last June while the uninhabitable conditions that were described existed and still did nothing about it. Just unspeakable.

JMO

I'm a little confused. Where is it stated that city officials actually entered the apartment?
Visiting for a porch inspection wouldn't require them going inside the residence, I wouldn't think.

 

[Joe Friday]

I'm a little confused. Where is it stated that city officials actually entered the apartment?
Visiting for a porch inspection wouldn't require them going inside the residence, I wouldn't think.

I'm confused to. When I first read it I thought it said the city went into the home physically, but now I see the city only went to the home physically.

Well anyway. The city still didn't follow through with the apartment not being registered and didn't do the required inspections every three years.

 

[Gemmie]

I'm confused to. When I first read it I thought it said the city went into the home physically, but now I see the city only went to the home physically.

Well anyway. The city still didn't follow through with the apartment not being registered and didn't do the required inspections every three years.

I hope heads roll over that. They could have gotten those kids out of that yucky situation long ago.

 

[TMich6811]

SFSBBM

I posted about the code violations and inspections earlier in the thread. Like I said then, the city dropped the ball.

Now it is coming to light that the city actually entered the apartment last June while the uninhabitable conditions that were described existed and still did nothing about it. Just unspeakable.

JMO

I think they did an exterior inspection.

dropped the ball and this would have never happened.

With that being said - had mom not had a place to leave them (as atrocious as this is), I fear something worse may have happened.

 

[CrimeJunkie82]

This Is so sad. I wonder what drove her to do this and how come no one questioned how come 3 children just all of a sudden just disappered. <modsnip - not victim friendly> Does anyone know if the dad has spoken out on this? I read he had been released from prison in 2020.

 

[ErinC]

I skipped a few pages, so forgive me if this has already been posted. This article names the "mother": Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her 3 children given $250 million bond

 

[LadyL]

I'm confused to. When I first read it I thought it said the city went into the home physically, but now I see the city only went to the home physically.

Well anyway. The city still didn't follow through with the apartment not being registered and didn't do the required inspections every three years.

I'm surprised the landlord didn't do inspections, at least annually.

 

[Gemmie]

I'm surprised the landlord didn't do inspections, at least annually.

Do landlords normally do that kind of thing? I lived in an apartment for 13 yrs and never once had one. He was only inside once when I had a leak in the closet, but other than that... no inspections. And I'm the one that called him over to check it out.

 

[LadyL]

Do landlords normally do that kind of thing? I lived in an apartment for 13 yrs and never once had one. He was only inside once when I had a leak in the closet, but other than that... no inspections. And I'm the one that called him over to check it out.

they do where I am but many probably ease up on them with good tenants

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

I'm surprised the landlord didn't do inspections, at least annually.

At public housing? Wouldn't bet money on it. After doing site visits at some (well, many), the absentee landlord aspect is probably the least surprising part of this case.

 

[LadyL]

At public housing? Wouldn't bet money on it. After doing site visits at some (well, many), the absentee landlord aspect is probably the least surprising part of this case.

oh I have no idea about that
why would an absentee landlord be more typical at public housing?
and is public housing the same as low income housing?

 

[Aegon_the_Conqueror]

oh I have no idea about that
why would an absentee landlord be more typical at public housing?
and is public housing the same as low income housing?

Err, low-income. I forget which this one fell under. Also forget what the landlord equivalent would be in public housing (low-income housing can be privately owned, I think). In either circumstance, there's little incentive for upkeep.

 

[YourM0m]

He said that for about six months he has lived two doors down from the home, and about two or three times, the kids yelled out their window to him.


"They would say, 'Hey, nice car!' and I might wave back to them, but that's it," said Johnson. "There’s no way that I could have known that they were in a terrible situation."
Lots of other information in this article.

Neighbor says abandoned Pontiac children would sometimes call out the window

A father himself, Jamarr Johnson, told us that he felt the need to share that he heard the three kids abandoned in squalor in a Pontiac home.

www.wxyz.com

Wow! That article is just full of bombshells. Sometimes she would sit in a car outside for hours with a friend? What?! Her most current address was only 6 minutes away?!

I know it's redundant, but so many people failed these kids. The more details that come out, the more that is blatantly obvious.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Do landlords normally do that kind of thing?

I've lived places in the U.S. that did do annual inspections to ensure smoke detectors were working or to apply something in the kitchens to prevent roaches. I've also lived places in other countries where the owner didn't come through for years.

 

[Izzylizzy]

imo:
It's one thing being able to keep people at bay if it's in a privately owned hoarder residence with children living there but quite another is it's a rental.
Where was the apartment complex manager(s) all these years?
It was reported that the mother told the children to never let anyone enter the apartment and we can gather that the manager or staff must have abided by that for years unless evidence comes to light that the condition of the children and apt were known to them and they looked the other way as long as the rent was being paid?
IIRC: The mother stopped paying rent last October which is what set the wheels in motion ?

IMO:
Just about every tragic story of a child/children being found deceased and/or neglected-abused has a circle of adults encompassing it with many ending up being enablers.

 

[tlcya]

Over the phone, their paternal grandpa, Samuel White, said that he and the kids' father have been trying to see the kids for years.
Neighbor says abandoned Pontiac children would sometimes call out the window

This article confirms who the children has been placed with in the line just above the one I am quoting here. Exactly as most suspected and many feared. I pray the children are being protected from mom's influence behind bars and that the kin caregiver is standing firmly behind the kids and focused on getting them the help they need, rather than defending the mother's actions

 

[tlcya]

At public housing? Wouldn't bet money on it. After doing site visits at some (well, many), the absentee landlord aspect is probably the least surprising part of this case.

It wasn't public housing. It was a privately owned residential property being unlawfully rented for income but not registered as such and therefore not in compliance with city code.

This was no apartment building or complex. It was a townhome. surrounded by other privately owned townhomes.
-------------------------
"They had no way of knowing about the conditions inside of the house or even that people were living there," Pontiac city spokesperson Jacob Jefferson told The Detroit News. "No inspections were ever done inside the unit, and no inspections were ever ordered to be done inside the unit."

Pontiac requires rental inspections be done to ensure the home is up to code.
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...here-kids-lived-alone-in-squalor/79438080007/

ETA IF Kelli was receiving a housing subsidy it would be interesting to know how that was accomplished since her landlord was not in compliance with registering the townhome as rental unit.

 

[Joe Friday]

Just because someone receives low income housing benefits, does not mean they live in a government owned building.

Privately owned units can be rented out to individuals who qualify for low income housing. This is sometimes referred to as Section 8 housing.



This federal program provides rent subsidies for very low income people who find their own housing in private homes and apartment buildings.

https://www.michigan.gov/mshda/rental/housing-choice-voucher/housing-choice-voucher-program-overview

 

[AislingGray18]

A probable cause conference is scheduled for March 4, with a preliminary examination set for March 11.

“Are the allegations troubling and disturbing? Absolutely they are. But the $250 million? So, how much is too much? $20,000 would have done it for her, right, if she’s really indigent,” said Lillian Diallo, attorney and president of the Wayne County Defense Bar Association.

Pontiac mother accused of abandoning her 3 children given $250 million bond

By Joseph Buczek Click here for updates on this story PONTIAC, Michigan (WWJ) — A 34-year-old Pontiac mother accused of child abuse and abandoning her three children was arraigned Thursday morning on three counts of first-degree child abuse. On Thursday, 50th District Court Judge Ronda...

abc17news.com

Look at the image still of the video. This high/medium density housing.

I just want to take another moment to remind us all, this is happening, every single day, sometimes, right next door. I have seen this too often myself, that I'll be honest: This case doesn't shock or surprise me. What shocks me, is that it actually made the news.

I hope I never cross the line from knowing this is "common", to thinking it is "Normal", because I feel like I am about there.