Inset: Charles A. Dupriest (Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Police entering the Wisconsin storage unit where Dupriest allegedly locked up his children (WISN).
Recently released body camera footage reveals Wisconsin police officers breaking into a secured storage unit where they found six young children. This video was shown to jurors during the trial of the children’s father, 33-year-old Charles Dupriest, who faces multiple felony charges, including five counts of child neglect and one charge of illegal firearm possession.
Authorities allege that Dupriest, along with his wife, Azyia Zielinski, and their pet dog, were asleep inside their SUV parked outside the storage area when the children, aged between 2 months and 9 years, were discovered.
Zielinski, who is also the children’s mother, recently admitted guilt to two misdemeanor charges of child neglect. As part of her plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss four felony neglect charges. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19, according to court documents.
According to earlier reports by Law&Crime, Milwaukee Police Department officers were dispatched at 1:33 a.m. on September 16, following a report of a crying child inside a locked unit at the Storsafe location on the 5500 block of North 27th Street. The caller expressed concern about the child’s welfare.
Upon reaching the facility, responders heard continued cries from unit B58, which was secured with a padlock on its garage-style door. Firefighters cut the lock to gain access.
As captured in the video shown in court, an officer announces, “Milwaukee Police, we’re coming in,” before entering the unit’s darkness and questioning, “Hey, what’s going on here?” This footage, parts of which were shared by WISN, a local ABC affiliate, provides a glimpse into the situation.
The footage shows a sectional couch and twin bed surrounded by mounds of items, including a single bucket that authorities say the children were forced to use as a toilet.
Officer Nash Dathe reportedly testified that the unit smelled “like it was being used as a bathroom.”
A criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime provided additional observations made by police after entering the storage unit.
“Inside, they observed a bucket containing urine in the middle of the room and six children ranging in age from 2 months to 9 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 oldest child told investigators that he was “responsible for caring for his five younger siblings” when his parents were not around. Aside from the 2-month-old infant, the children were 9, 7, 5, 3, and 2 years old.
“[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, identified as “LD,” 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.
