In a distressing discovery, Milwaukee authorities have found six young children locked inside a storage unit without basic necessities such as power or water. On Tuesday, an emergency call led Milwaukee Police to StorSafe, located at 5555 N. 27th St., where they heard the telltale sounds of distress. Firefighters had to cut through a padlock to find the children aged from 2 months to 9 years living in squalor, as reported by WISN.
The children's parents, 35-year-old Charles Dupriest and 26-year-old Azyia Zielinski, have been charged with six counts of child neglect, and in Dupriest's case, an additional charge of possession of a firearm by a felon; Dupriest and Zielinski were reportedly sleeping in their car with the family dog while their children were in the storage unit, the former faces enhanced charges as four counts involve children under 6 years old reported by jsonline.com.
The revelation of these appalling conditions has led Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Andrea Bolender to remark on the severity of the situation during Zielinski's court appearance, stating, "this is horrific. Ma'am, I see you are broken up. I hope you realize how lucky you actually are that none of these children have died," as disclosed by WISN.
Following the investigation, it was confirmed that the children were "unhoused" according to a statement by the Milwaukee Police Department, as reported by FOX6. The dire straits that led to this alarming situation have yet to be thoroughly unpacked, but the charges suggest severe negligence on the part of the parents.
The details about the bleak living conditions, including the lack of food where the only sustenance found was from garbage, and the putrid smell that emanated from the unit at the time of the children's discovery paint a disturbing picture of neglect and the desperation accompanying it; according to jsonline.com.
