Inset: Charles A. Dupriest (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Background: Police entering the Wisconsin storage unit where Dupriest allegedly locked up his children (WISN).
Newly released bodycam footage shows Wisconsin police breaking into a locked storage unit and discovering six young children inside. The footage was played for jurors during the trial for the kids' 33-year-old father, Charles Dupriest, who is facing five felony counts of child neglect and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Dupriest, his wife, Azyia Zielinski, and their dog were allegedly sleeping in their SUV parked outside the storage facility when the children, whose ages ranged from 2 months to 9 years old, were found.
Zielinski, who is also the children's mother, last week pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of child neglect. In consideration for the plea, prosecutors dropped four felony charges of neglect. She is currently scheduled to appear in court for her sentencing hearing on March 19, records show.
As Law&Crime previously reported, officers with the Milwaukee Police Department at 1:33 a.m. on Sept. 16 responded to a report of a crying child inside a locked storage unit at the Storsafe in the 5500 block of North 27th Street. The caller told the dispatcher they were concerned for the welfare of the baby.
Upon arriving at the facility, first responders heard a child still crying inside storage unit B58, which had a garage-style door secured with a padlock. Fire department personnel cut the padlock to gain entry.
After the officer announces, "Milwaukee Police, we're coming in," he enters the pitch-black unit and can be heard saying, "Hey, what's going on here?" according to the video played in court, some of which was posted by local ABC affiliate WISN.
The footage shows a sectional couch and twin bed surrounded by mounds of items, including a single bucket that authorities say the children were forced to use as a toilet.
Officer Nash Dathe reportedly testified that the unit smelled "like it was being used as a bathroom."
A criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime provided additional observations made by police after entering the storage unit.
"Inside, they observed a bucket containing urine in the middle of the room and six children ranging in age from 2 months to 9 years. Detectives later learned that the only light visible to the children came through the crack of the garage door," the complaint says. "[A detective] entered the unit and observed the six children sleeping. Five-year-old 'ED' told [the detective], 'We're not supposed to be loud.' Shortly afterward, ED urinated in an orange bucket in the center of the unit."
The oldest child told investigators that he was "responsible for caring for his five younger siblings" when his parents were not around. Aside from the 2-month-old infant, the children were 9, 7, 5, 3, and 2 years old.
"[The 9-year-old] reported that he stays at the storage unit about 50% of the time and that they use a bucket to urinate and defecate," the affidavit says. "[The 9-year-old] stated he is supposed to give the 2-month-old a bottle or pacifier and pick her up when she cries. [The 9-year-old] told [the detective] he was hungry and had no device to contact his parents or anyone else in an emergency."
Police said the stench from inside was "so putrid they could not remain inside even with the garage door open."
An employee at the facility allegedly told investigators that he remembered in May hearing a male voice inside the unit saying "Sit down and be quiet," and saw surveillance footage of the children being dropped off at the unit by their parents, which he reported to management.
Authorities at 2:11 a.m. located Dupriest and Zielinski sleeping in a Ford Expedition parked in the lot along with their dog. Officers noted that the middle row of the vehicle was completely unoccupied while all of the children, including their infant, were in the storage unit.
Dupriest and Zielinski said the family was "homeless," but admitted the children could have been staying with other family members.
In a forensic interview, the 5-year-old girl victim, identified as "LD," said she "felt 'sad' when locked in the storage unit and 'mad' so she made the unit dirty."
"She said she tried to open the door but could not," the affidavit said. "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. LD stated her parents went to bed while the children were still awake. She said her father carried a firearm, pointing to her hip."
The 9-year-old said his father disciplines him with "whoopings," and that after one such whooping, he thought he should go to the hospital.
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