Two parents in Milwaukee are facing serious charges after police say they locked their six young children inside a storage unit, forcing them to live in squalid conditions.
Charles Dupriest, 33, and Azyia Zielinski, 26, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of child neglect, including four counts involving children under the age of six, according to Milwaukee public court records. Dupriest is also facing a firearm possession charge.
Police were called to the storage facility near 27th Street and Silver Spring Drive after someone reported hearing a child crying. When officers arrived, they also heard another child coughing. Firefighters cut the padlock off the unit, revealing a horrifying scene inside.
Six children — ages 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and just 2 months old — were discovered in the filthy space. Authorities said the unit contained only a bare mattress, a sofa, and a single bucket that the kids were forced to use as a toilet. The only light came from a crack under the garage-style door, and the smell was described as “putrid.”
According to the criminal complaint, the oldest child told investigators that he had been left in charge of his siblings, including feeding and comforting the baby. He also claimed that their parents often drank and beat them.
Police later found Dupriest and Zielinski asleep in an SUV outside the unit with the family’s dog. The couple allegedly told authorities they had been homeless for about six weeks. Dupriest admitted he had previously slept inside the unit with the children but claimed he stopped after the dog damaged the truck.
During her first court appearance on Sept. 19, Zielinski reportedly broke down in tears as the court commissioner outlined the disturbing allegations. “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,” the commissioner said, noting that the parents could have stayed with relatives instead.
Both parents remain in custody. Court records show Dupriest is being held on $20,000 bond, while Zielinski’s bond is set at $5,000.
Did they have children to just get money