US3 min(s) read
Published 13:33 09 Jul 2026 GMT
On June 30, 16 children, aged between 18 months and 18 years old, were discovered and rescued after spending at least four years “kept in worse conditions than livestock”, and their responsible adults were arrested in Ohio.
The latest twist in the gut-wrenching story, which has gripped the nation, is that the children’s uncle, Elizabeth Siders’ brother, has spoken out about what happened to his sister and claimed that “everyone knew about it”.
Heartbreakingly, the children had suffered such “serious physical harm” that two had to be flown to specialist trauma centres, while another seven were taken to Columbus Hospitals, with one admitted to the ICU and intubated.
The children's father, Gary Siders Jr., 36, mother Elizabeth Siders, 33, and grandparents Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 77, were arrested and charged with 16 counts of child endangerment. However, they have all since pleaded not guilty.
Elizabeth’s attorney Thomas Stolly told the Associated Press that Elizabeth married Gary II in 2008, when she was just 15, and their eldest daughter was born just two months later, leaving many members of the public fascinated by the case believing that she was indoctrinated by the Siders family.
As the expectant teenager was underage, both her parents, Brian Russell and Lori Ann Russell, would have had to sign the marriage certificate, as would Gary Jr’s parents, the Siders.
In a shocking revelation posted on social media by Elizabeth’s brother Jeremy Russell, the estranged family member claimed that his sister was indoctrinated and everyone knew about it.
In a series of posts, he said: “My sister just rapped her life up. Due to indoctrination. It is 100 per cent real.”
According to Russell, the siblings recently reconnected after 15 years without contact. Recalling the moment he saw his sister and her husband, he said: “I met this dude couple months ago. Shook my hand like a baby would, super soft hands. Definitely never worked a day in his life.
“I should have took him out that night. I was thinking about it but my sister. I was happy to see. Been 15 years. You lost touch with your family followed another look what happened.”
In another bold statement posted to Facebook, Russell claimed that his sister Elizabeth has 20 children, although this has not been confirmed by any officials, and only 16 children were removed from the Siders’ home.
In an attempt to silence the inevitable keyboard warriors that would criticize him for not trying to help his sister and her children, Russell told his now 6.7k followers: “I love my sister, however everyone knew about it.”
He also wrote: “I told everyone, welfare supporters to the maximum. So the state knows something. I don’t get it, just leave me alone.”
