Left: A photo of the inside of Teriomas Johnson's home (Oakland County Sheriff's Office). Right: Teriomas Johnson (Oakland County Sheriff's Office).
A Michigan mother was arrested and charged with child abuse after police discovered the "deplorable" living conditions inside her home.
Teriomas Johnson, 31, faces three counts of child abuse after police arrested her on Wednesday, days after an investigation into the condition of her home in Pontiac. According to a press release from the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, Johnson's 12-year-old daughter called 911 on Nov. 7 to report a possible break-in at the home. When police arrived, they found the 12-year-old and her 9-year-old siblings, a boy and a girl, three cats, and no sign of their mother.
On top of the children allegedly being home by themselves, police found the state of the home to be "deplorable."
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According to the sheriff's office, the apartment was "littered with rotten food and human and animal feces." The home seemingly had no working plumbing, police said, noting that "the sinks were clogged" and the children were apparently using a "cardboard box" as a toilet.
Police said that they located Johnson in Ann Arbor, which is about 54 miles away from Pontiac. The press release stated that Johnson returned to the home three hours after they found her. Her children told police they had not seen their mother since the day before.
Further investigation led police to believe that Johnson "frequently" left her children home without any adult supervision. Police also said that while the children were all enrolled in school, their attendance was "sporadic."
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in the press release, "The complete lack of compassion and humanity is heartbreaking, and I am eager to see justice served for this unconscionable act."
Johnson was taken into custody and appeared for an arraignment via Zoom. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office stated that her bond was originally set at $250,000, but after Johnson "threw a chair and yelled an expletive at the magistrate," she was ordered to be held without bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Nov. 25.
