Parents locked kids, baby in ‘putrid’ storage unit while they slept with family dog in SUV: cops
A pair of cold-hearted Milwaukee parents locked their six kids — including a 2-month-old baby — inside a storage unit while their dog was allowed to sleep in their car, according to police.
Charles Dupriest, 33, and his 26-year-old wife, Azyia Zielinski, were hit with child neglect charges after bystanders heard the youngsters crying inside the padlocked unit, Fox affiliate WITI-TV reported.
The shocking discovery came around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday after Milwaukee police received a 911 call, with firefighters cutting the padlock and finding the children in “putrid” conditions, with just a mattress, a couch, no electricity or running water, and a bucket full of urine, the outlet said.
One of the children — who were between 9 years and 2 months old — told police they “weren’t supposed to be loud” after they were freed from the unit.
One of the kids, a 5-year-old girl, gave cops a heartbreaking description of their imprisonment.
“She said she tried to open the door but could not,” a court affidavit said, according to Law & Crime. “She reported using a bucket to urinate and defecate, sometimes with a bag placed inside.
“She said she was upset the dog got to sleep in the car while she and her siblings slept in the unit,” the document said. “[The giirl] stated her parents went to bed while the children were still awake. She said her father carried a firearm, pointing to her hip.”
The heartless parents were found nearby later snoozing in their SUV with the family dog.
According to a complaint, Dupriest and Zielinski told cops the family was booted from a local homeless shelter about a month earlier — but admitted they could have left the kids with friends or family.
They said the children were locked into the unit at least three times a week, and said the family was surviving on food stamps and monthly social security payments, WITI-TV reported.
The children also told police their dad had a gun, and would often give them “whoopings.”
Both parents were arraigned last week, with Zielinski charged with six counts of child neglect and Dupriest hit with six counts of child neglect and criminal possession of a weapon.
Zielinski and Dupriest are currently being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on bonds of $10,500 and $10,000 respectively, according to the reports.