Mother Allegedly Kept 9-Year-Old Daughter At Home Since 2017

A 9-year-old girl in Florida reportedly has not been allowed to leave her house for over six years. NHermother has been arrested and charged with felony child neglect for not allowing her daughter to leave their residence since 2017, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department.

According to ABC News, Kelli McGriff-Williams did not allow her daughter, who has not been named, out of their home from 2017 to 2023. The 9-year-old was confined “the majority of the time to a bedroom.” The report also stated that the daughter has never been enrolled at school or educated.

Based on what is written in the arrest report, “The victim is unable to read and write. The defendant has never taken the victim to a doctor even when she has been very ill.”

Sometimes, McGriff-Williams allegedly did not give the girl food.

“The victim would have to beg to eat, and the defendant would not always provide food to the victim,” police wrote in an arrest report.

McGriff-Williams was involuntarily admitted under the Baker Act criteria at Jackson South Hospital last month on Aug. 26.

The Baker Act is a Florida law that enables families and loved ones to provide emergency mental health services and temporary detention for people who are impaired because of mental illness and unable to determine their treatment needs.

McGriff-Williams was hospitalized due to her “altered mental state” after a police officer went to the home after an investigation into allegations from the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Police officers interviewed the daughter at her father’s residence on Aug. 30, and she confirmed the allegations. Her father, who is not living with McGriff-Williams, had informed police that he had been trying to gain custody of his daughter since 2017. He also told police officers that the allegations were true.

The mother was taken into custody on Sept. 1 when she was released from Jackson South Hospital. According to Miami-Dade County records, she was booked on Sept. 3 and is currently being held on a $5,000 bond.

At a court appearance on Thursday, Sept. 7, McGriff-Williams pleaded not guilty. A public defender was assigned to her case. No other information has been released.