THIS TIME, BUT NO ONE WAS HURT. BREAKING LATE TONIGHT, A JURY JUST CONVICTED A FATHER OF NEGLECT AFTER HE LOCKED HIS SIX CHILDREN INSIDE A STORAGE UNIT. >> THAT VERDICT COMING DOWN IN THE LAST 30 MINUTES. >> WE, THE JURY, FIND THE DEFENDANT, CHARLES ALBERT DEPRIEST, GUILTY OF NEGLECTING A CHILD. >> HANNAH HILYARD JUST STEPPED OUT OF THE COURTROOM AT THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY COURTHOUSE. JURY DELIBERATION LASTED LESS THAN 90 MINUTES. >> YEAH, DEREK, IT WAS A VERY QUICK DELIBERATION, AS YOU MENTIONED. THAT VERDICT READ IN THIS VERY COURTROOM JUST WITHIN THE LAST 30 MINUTES. BUT IT COMES AFTER A JAM PACKED DAY OF CLOSING ARGUMENTS, BUT ALSO DEFENSE TESTIMONY THAT INCLUDED CHARLES DEPRIEST HIMSELF TAKING THE STAND FROM THE WITNESS BOX. >> PLEASE STATE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME FOR THE RECORD. >> CHARLES DUPUIS. >> A DEFENDANT, IN HIS OWN WORDS, CHARLES DUPREE TELLING THE JURY WEDNESDAY HE AND HIS PARTNER ZELENSKYY HAD FALLEN ON TOUGH TIMES LAST SUMMER. >> AS A PERSON, I FELT SLIGHTLY INADEQUATE. I WAS HURT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME I NEEDED THE HELP. >> THE TWO RELYING ON SHELTERS AND RELATIVES FOR A ROOF OVER THEIR CHILDREN’S HEADS. BUT HE SAYS ON SEPTEMBER 15TH THEY USED THEIR STORAGE UNIT FOR SLEEP WHILE HE STAYED IN THEIR TRUCK. >> WE ARRIVED AT THE STORAGE UNIT. ASIA GOES IN WITH THE CHILDREN AND LIKE 15 MINUTES LATER, I FALL ASLEEP. >> SO THEN WHAT HAPPENED? >> NEXT THING THAT I CAN REMEMBER IS BEING WOKEN UP TO THE POLICE KNOCKING ON MY WINDOW. >> YOU COULD STEP OUT. YEAH. >> POLICE FINDING DUPREE AND ZELENSKYY SLEEPING IN THE CAR AN HOUR AFTER THEY FOUND THEIR SIX CHILDREN, AGES RANGING FROM NINE TO JUST TWO MONTHS OLD, ALONE IN THE LOCKED STORAGE UNIT. >> I. WHAT’S GOING ON HERE? >> DURING CLOSING ARGUMENTS, THE STATE SAYS THE COUPLE HAD OTHER OPTIONS FOR SHELTER THAT NIGHT. >> THESE CHARGES ARE NOT ABOUT POVERTY. THEY ARE ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY. AND THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT THESE CHILDREN DID NOT HAVE TO BE LOCKED INSIDE THAT STORAGE UNIT AT THAT TIME. >> AND HANNA’S BACK WITH US LIVE FROM THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY COURTHOUSE. THROUGHOUT THE TRIAL, HANNA, PROSECUTORS REALLY HAMMERED THE CONDITIONS INSIDE THAT STORAGE UNIT. >> RIGHT? DEREK, THE STATE SAYING THAT THE CHILDREN USED A BUCKET FOR THE BATHROOM IN THAT STORAGE UNIT. AND THE ONLY LIGHT THAT WAS AVAILABLE IN THE UNIT CAME THROUGH THE CRACKS OF THE GARAGE DOOR. NOW, BOTH THE PROSECUTION AND THE DEFENSE, THEY DECLINED TO COMMENT AFTER THE VERDICT WAS READ HERE LATE TONIGHT. BUT WE DO KNOW THAT DUPREE WILL REMAIN IN CUSTODY AS HE NOW AWAITS SENTENCING, WHICH IS SET FOR APRIL. >> HANNAH HILYARD LIVE INSIDE THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY COURTHOUSE WITH THIS BREAKING DEVELOPMENT AND GUILTY VERDICT IN THIS CASE, THE CHILDREN’S MOTHER TOOK A PLEA DEAL IN THE CASE. AND AS PART OF THE DEAL, PROSECUTORS DROPPED FOR FELONY
Kids locked in storage room: Jury finds Milwaukee father guilty of child neglect
Charles Dupriest, 33, testified his main goal at the time was finding stable housing for his kids
Updated: 6:07 PM CST Jan 14, 2026
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A Milwaukee County jury has found a father accused of leaving six children alone, locked in a Milwaukee storage unit, guilty on eight counts of child neglect and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.Charles Dupriest, 33, took the stand Wednesday morning to testify in his own defense. Police had found the children, ages ranging from newborn to 9 years, in September at a storage facility on North 27th Street and Silver Spring Drive, after a witness called 911 upon hearing a baby crying inside a locked unit.While on the stand, he said he loves his children and always tries to prioritize them. He said his main goal at the time was finding stable housing after falling on tough times last summer.”As a person, I felt slightly inadequate. I was hurt, but at the same time, I needed the help,” he said. He told the jury he and the children’s mother, Azyia Zielinski, were relying on shelters and relatives for a roof over their six children’s heads, but he said on Sept. 15, they used their storage unit for sleep while he stayed in their truck. “We arrive at the storage unit. Azyia goes in with the children, and like 15 minutes later, I fall asleep,” Dupriest said on the stand. “Next thing that I can remember is being woken up to the police knocking on my window.”Police found Dupriest Zielinski asleep in their nearby car with the family dog an hour after they found the six children alone in the locked storage unit.”I was doing everything within my ability to make sure that they didn’t have to sleep outside or in the truck with a broken back window at night,” Dupriest said. During closing arguments, the state said the couple had other options for shelter that night. “These charges are not about poverty; they are about responsibility. And the evidence shows that these children did not have to be locked inside that storage unit that night,” Asst. Milwaukee County District Attorney Thomas Hasle said. The jury got the case on Wednesday afternoon and deliberated for less than 90 minutes, ultimately finding him guilty on every count.Dupriest is scheduled to be sentenced in April. Zielinski was also charged but took a plea deal last week, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child. As part of the deal, prosecutors plan to drop four felony counts of neglect, and she is scheduled to be sentenced in March.Top HeadlinesOne person killed in high-speed crash on Milwaukee’s south sideApartment arson: firefighters rescue people from burning senior buildingKenosha Co. Sheriff changes course, enters agreement with ICEWATCH Milwaukee family demands answers after autistic child goes missing from school
A Milwaukee County jury has found a father accused of leaving six children alone, locked in a Milwaukee storage unit, guilty on eight counts of child neglect and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Charles Dupriest, 33, took the stand Wednesday morning to testify in his own defense. Police had found the children, ages ranging from newborn to 9 years, in September at a storage facility on North 27th Street and Silver Spring Drive, after a witness called 911 upon hearing a baby crying inside a locked unit.
While on the stand, he said he loves his children and always tries to prioritize them. He said his main goal at the time was finding stable housing after falling on tough times last summer.
“As a person, I felt slightly inadequate. I was hurt, but at the same time, I needed the help,” he said.
He told the jury he and the children’s mother, Azyia Zielinski, were relying on shelters and relatives for a roof over their six children’s heads, but he said on Sept. 15, they used their storage unit for sleep while he stayed in their truck.
“We arrive at the storage unit. Azyia goes in with the children, and like 15 minutes later, I fall asleep,” Dupriest said on the stand. “Next thing that I can remember is being woken up to the police knocking on my window.”
Police found Dupriest Zielinski asleep in their nearby car with the family dog an hour after they found the six children alone in the locked storage unit.
“I was doing everything within my ability to make sure that they didn’t have to sleep outside or in the truck with a broken back window at night,” Dupriest said.
During closing arguments, the state said the couple had other options for shelter that night.
“These charges are not about poverty; they are about responsibility. And the evidence shows that these children did not have to be locked inside that storage unit that night,” Asst. Milwaukee County District Attorney Thomas Hasle said.
The jury got the case on Wednesday afternoon and deliberated for less than 90 minutes, ultimately finding him guilty on every count.
Dupriest is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Zielinski was also charged but took a plea deal last week, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor counts of neglecting a child. As part of the deal, prosecutors plan to drop four felony counts of neglect, and she is scheduled to be sentenced in March.
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