MILWAUKEE (Court TV) — A Wisconsin woman avoided prison time after pleading guilty to misdemeanor counts of child endangerment for locking her young children in a storage unit.
Azyia Zielinski appears in court for her sentencing on March 19, 2026. (Court TV)
Azyia Zielinski was initially charged with four felony counts of neglecting a child, as well as two misdemeanor counts on the same charge. The felony charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement reached with prosecutors.
Zielinski was arrested alongside Charles Dupriest after the couple’s six young children were found in a locked storage unit in Milwaukee. Police were called to the unit on Sept. 16, 2025, after a report of a baby crying. When officers arrived and cut the padlock to open the unit, they found the children, ages 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, and 2 months, asleep on a sectional sofa and a bare mattress inside. In the center of the space was an orange bucket that contained urine. Responding officers described the smell inside as so putrid that they could not stand in the space, even with the door open.
Zielinski and Dupriest had been asleep in their SUV in the parking lot with their dog on the vehicle’s third row of seats. Zielinski told officers that the family was homeless after being kicked out of their housing. She also admitted that she received WIC and food stamps as well as $2,000 in Social Security Benefits.
While the couple was arrested together, prosecutors said at Thursday’s sentencing that Zielinski was less culpable than her partner. “This was not an equal partnership,” prosecutor Thomas Hasle said. “It was a one-directional, controlling relationship.” To that end, after her arrest, Zielinski told police that everything was her fault. Hasle also noted that Zielinski willingly testified truthfully at Dupriest’s trial. At that trial, Dupriest was found guilty of all charges he faced, including six felony counts of child endangerment. He faces sentencing on April 9.
A sectional sofa and bare mattress are seen in a storage unit where six children were locked inside. (Milwaukee Police Dept.)
Zielinski did not speak during the sentencing; she submitted a letter to the Court before sentencing, which was part of a sealed file not available to the public.
Judge Ana Berrios, who described the case as “heartbreaking,” commended Zielinski for her efforts to maintain sobriety and comply with the court’s instructions. She sentenced Zielinski to nine months of incarceration on each count, which was stayed pending the conclusion of an 18-month probation. The defendant is also required to complete a drug abuse assessment, maintain absolute sobriety, undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment and complete a parenting class.
Zielinski will return to court on July 10 for a probation review hearing.
