Sentenced: Children Aged 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, And 2 Months Found Locked Inside Milwaukee Storage Unit

[Sugar Cookie]

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, six children were discovered inside a Milwaukee storage unit at around 1:36 a.m., according to ABC News.

Milwaukee Police Department told ABC News that the eldest child was 9-years-old and the others were 7, 5, 3, 2, and 2 months.

Officials initially thought there were only two children inside the storage, according to dispatch audio obtained by ABC News.

The locker was opened after fire crews were called for assistance. No one was reportedly harmed.

Authorities have arrested two people, a 26-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man.

A spokesperson from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office told local newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that they will review charges as the investigation remains ongoing.

Read more here

2-Month-Old Among 6 Children Found Locked Inside Milwaukee Storage Unit as 2 Are Arrested

Six children, including a 2-month-old, were found locked inside the StorSafe storage facility in Milwaukee at around 1:36 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16

people.com

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Charles A. Dupriest, 33, and Azyia C. Zielinski, 26, were taken into custody earlier this week and charged with six counts each of child neglect, court records obtained by Law&Crime show. Dupriest was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Upon arriving at the facility, first responders said they could hear 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.

"Inside, they observed a bucket containing urine in the middle of the room and six children ranging in age from two months to nine 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 children's ages were 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 2 months.

Police said they woke up the 9-year-old, who was able to provide the names of his parents, telling the detective that "he was responsible for caring for his five younger siblings" when the adults were away.

"[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 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.

Parents locked 6 kids, including baby, in storage unit with 'putrid' bucket for bathroom: Cops

Charles A. Dupriest and Azyia C. Zielinski allegedly locked their 6 young kids in a Wisconsin storage unit while they slept in a roomy SUV in parking lot.

lawandcrime.com

The 5-year-old is going to testify against the parents and make sure they do some real time - she is pissed.

 

[Freyja]

View attachment 189837

Parents locked 6 kids, including baby, in storage unit with 'putrid' bucket for bathroom: Cops

Charles A. Dupriest and Azyia C. Zielinski allegedly locked their 6 young kids in a Wisconsin storage unit while they slept in a roomy SUV in parking lot.

lawandcrime.com

The 5-year-old is going to testify against the parents and make sure they do some real time - she is pissed.

I hope she tells me court everything that went on! Her sperm and egg donors put the kids and the dog in a shitty situation and there was nothing she could do about it at age 5, so she fought back the only way she knew how.

 

[Busy Bee]

What a mess! The 9 year old cares for the other children, going to the bathroom in a bucket !! 6 children in a storage unit !! The stench was so bad the investigators had to leave!! Those poor children, I sure hope they get a good home. The two “parents “ should be sterilized and kept away from the children!

 

[Sugar Cookie]

 

[HijabiGirl]

She could've asked family for help but chose not to?! WTF? She slept in an SUV while a two month old infant was in a nasty storage unit? I just can't mount any sympathy for her. There would've been a dead man and I would be wearing orange if he tried to stop me from getting my kids somewhere safe.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A father who was convicted of locking his six children in a storage unit has been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision.
https://www.courttv.com/news/man-sentenced-to-prison-after-locking-young-children-in-storage-unit/

Court TV reports that on Sept. 16, 2025, police were called about a baby crying inside a locked storage unit. Responding officers cut open the padlock and found six children, ages 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 2 months. The storage unit contained a bare mattress and a sectional sofa that the children were sleeping on.

The storage unit did not have a light source and the children had a bucket to use as a restroom. Police found the children’s father, 34-year-old Charles Dupriest, and mother, Azyia Zielinski, asleep in a car outside. Both were arrested.

Zielinski pleaded guilty and was sentenced in March to a stayed term and avoided prison, Court TV reports. In addition, Dupriest requested a stayed term; he has already served 205 days.

Dupriest was convicted in January of five counts of felony child neglect, three counts of misdemeanor child neglect, and one count of possession of a gun by a felon, Spectrum News reports. The five-year sentence will be for the gun charge, and each of the felony neglect charges are for 18 months, to be served concurrently. Following prison time, Dupriest will have five years of extended supervision.

Dad gets 5 years behind bars for locking 6 kids in storage unit

MILWAUKEE (TCN) -- A father who was convicted of locking his six children in a storage unit has been sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision.Court TV reports that on Sept. 16, 2025, police were called about a baby crying inside a locked storage unit. Responding...

truecrimenews.com