Couple Charged After Their 6 Children Were Allegedly Locked in a ‘Putrid’ Storage Unit with a Urine Bucket

Two parents successful Wisconsin person been charged pinch aggregate counts of kid neglect aft allegedly locking their six children successful a retention unit.

Charles Dupriest, 33, and Azyia Zielinski, 26, person been charged pinch 2 counts of kid neglect and 4 counts of neglecting a kid nether 6 years old, according to Milwaukee nationalist tribunal records. Dupriest has besides been charged pinch possession of a firearm, per nan records.

Police responded to a study of a kid crying successful a retention portion adjacent 27th Street and Silver Spring Drive, according to a criminal title revenge successful Milwaukee County, CBS 58 , WISN 12 and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Upon arriving astatine nan scene, officers heard nan sound of a kid crying, arsenic good arsenic different kid coughing, nan outlets said.

The Milwaukee Fire Department arrived connected nan segment and trim nan padlock disconnected nan unit, astatine which constituent six children — ages 9, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 2 months — were recovered inside, per nan complaint, arsenic reported by CBS 58, WISN 12 and nan Journal Sentinel.

PEOPLE reached retired to nan Milwaukee Fire Department connected Saturday, Sept. 20, but did not person an contiguous response.

Authorities stated that nan portion contained a sofa, a bare mattress and 1 bucket utilized for urine. Officials besides said nan interior of nan retention portion smelled “putrid,” and that nan children’s sole root of ray came from a ace astatine nan bottommost of nan car shed door, per nan complaint.

The 9-year-old kid allegedly told authorities that he was responsible for taking attraction of his 5 younger siblings, and that he was tasked pinch feeding nan babe and holding her erstwhile she cried, according to nan complaint, nan Journal Sentinel reported. He besides allegedly said that his parents would get drunk and springiness them each “whoopings.”

The title further stated that officers recovered Dupriest and Zielinski sleeping successful an SUV extracurricular nan retention portion pinch nan family dog, per nan Journal Sentinel. 

The mates told constabulary that they had been bum for astir six weeks, and Dupriest allegedly claimed that he had antecedently slept successful nan retention portion pinch nan children, but stopped because their canine had “tore up nan truck,” per nan complaint, according to nan Journal Sentinel.

Zielinski made her first quality successful tribunal connected Friday, Sept. 19, and became visibly affectional during a connection from nan tribunal commissioner, nan outlet said.

“We person your children stating that they had nary food. That nan only nutrient they recovered was from nan garbage. They didn’t person a bathroom. They utilized a bucket. And what’s much disturbing than each of that are nan statements that some you and [their] begetter had made that you and nan children could person stayed pinch family members,” nan tribunal commissioner said, per nan outlet.

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PEOPLE reached retired to nan Milwaukee Police Department, nan Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and attorneys for some Dupriest and Zielinski connected Saturday, Sept. 20, but did not person contiguous responses.

Zielinski is being held connected enslaved for $5,000, while Dupriest is being held connected enslaved of $20,000, nationalist tribunal records show.

If you fishy kid abuse, telephone nan Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline astatine 1-800-4-A-Child aliases 1-800-422-4453, aliases spell to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is disposable 24/7 successful much than 170 languages.