Wisconsin Couple Locked 2-Month-Old & 5 Siblings In Storage Unit, Urinated In Bucket
There’s child neglect. And then there’s the Wisconsin couple that locked their two-month-old baby and their other five children in a storage unit. The young children didn’t have food, water, or even a toilet. They had to use a bucket as a bathroom. Police described the stench in the storage unit as ‘putrid.’ What led the parents to leave their children in such disgusting conditions?
Wisconsin Couple Locked 2-Month-Old & 5 Siblings In Storage Unit, Urinated In Bucket
Charles Dupriest, 33, and Azyia Zielinski, 26, are in jail after an alarming situation at a storage unit in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The police went to the storage unit after a 911 call about a child crying inside.
Nothing could have prepared the cops for what they found. They discovered six children, including a 2-month-old baby locked in the storage unit alone. Their parents were nearby in an SUV with the family dog.
The children, 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 2 months, had been living in the storage unit for weeks. The oldest child, 9, told the police that he was responsible for taking care of his siblings, including feeding the newborn. He said that his parents regularly got drunk and gave the kids “whoopings.”
Horrifying Look Inside The ‘Putrid’ Storage Unit
The children’s father, Charles Dupriest, told the police that the family had been homeless for six weeks. He claimed that he used to sleep in the storage unit with the children, but the family dog was misbehaving in the SUV.
According to multiple outlets, the children were in total darkness in the storage unit, except for a crack of light from the door. The police report revealed that a sofa, a bare mattress, and one bucket were found in the storage unit. The red bucket was where the children went to the bathroom.
The storage unit reportedly had a “putrid” smell from all the urine.
Judge Lashes Out At Disturbing Neglect
The conditions the six children were subjected to were among the worst the judge on the case had ever seen. He lashed out at the parents in a direct address during their initial court appearance.
“We have your children stating that they had no food. That the only food they found was from the garbage. They didn’t have a bathroom. They used a bucket. And what’s more disturbing than all of that are the statements that both you and [their] father had made that you and the children could have stayed with family members,” the judge said.
The parents remain in jail. The mother, Azyia Zielinski, is being held on $5,000 bond. Charles Dupriest is also facing gun charges and is being held on $20,000 bond.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
