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Published 16:15 07 Jul 2026 GMT
Birth and death records have revealed that the couple at the centre of the Ohio 'house of horrors' case had two other children - conjoined twin girls who were born and died on the same day in 2022.
Bailey Lee Siders and Faith Lee Siders were born on November 20, 2022, at a hospital in Columbus.
They were joined at the chest, sharing organs, after being born at just 24 weeks' gestation - roughly four months premature.
Records show both girls lived for approximately one hour.
The cause of death was listed as respiratory failure linked to extreme prematurity.
Their parents are Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33 - the same couple now facing 16 counts each of felony child endangering after authorities discovered 16 children living in conditions described as 'unimaginable' inside a home in Hamden, Ohio.
On June 30, officers from the Vinton County Sheriff's Office arrived at the property on Ohmer Street in Hamden to execute a search warrant connected to a separate criminal investigation.
They were not expecting to find children.
Inside, they discovered 16 children - aged between 18 months and 18 years - allegedly living in a single 12-by-12-foot room contaminated with human waste.
The home had five rooms and one bathroom for a household of 20 people.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described what investigators found as 'pure evil'.
'They looked like almost feral animals,' Wilson said of the children. 'It was terrible.'
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said deputies were shocked by what they encountered.
"Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children," he said.
"Just a disgusting scene."
Seven children were transported to hospitals in Columbus.
Two had to be flown to trauma centres by helicopter.
One was placed in intensive care. Some of the children were unable to speak.
The eldest, an 18-year-old woman, was unable to write her own name and was described as having severe developmental disabilities.
Four adults were arrested and arraigned on July 1: Gary Siders Jr., 36; Elizabeth Siders, 33; Gary Siders Sr., 73; and Christina Siders, 67. They have been identified as the children's parents and grandparents.
All four face 16 counts each of second-degree felony child endangering.
Each count carries a minimum sentence of two to eight years and a maximum of 12 years.
If convicted on all counts, each defendant faces up to 192 years in prison. They have all pleaded not guilty and are being held on $300,000 bond.
Marriage records from Mason County, West Virginia, show Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders were married on March 31, 2008, at the Mason County Courthouse.
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He was 18. She was 15. The eldest child was born just two months later.
Elizabeth's lawyer, Thomas Stolly, revealed that the first thing she asked him when he visited her in jail was not about her own case, but about her children.
"She asked if her children were OK, she asked if I knew where they were, and she asked when she'd be able to see them again," Stolly said.
He confirmed that Elizabeth told him all 16 children are hers. He also said he had not seen anything to support the Attorney General's description of the family as 'pure evil'.
"I think that this is more so a case of isolation than a case of evil," Stolly said, "and I think that there's an important distinction there."
According to the American Heart Association, thoracopagus - the condition Bailey and Faith were born with - is the most common form of conjoined twins.
The National Institute of Health describes it as having a 'dismal prognosis', with non-operable cases resulting in near-100% mortality and operable cases carrying a survival rate of around 50%.
The twins' deaths are not currently included in the criminal charges.
The 16 counts filed against each defendant relate to the 16 living children found in the home, and the criminal complaint does not list any charges connected to the twins' date of birth or initials.
However, the existence of the twins had already prompted intense speculation online after social media users spotted a headstone in Hamden bearing the names Bailey Lee Siders and Faith Lee Siders, with both birth and death dates listed as November 20, 2022.
The death records have now confirmed they were part of the Siders family.
This is the question that has dominated coverage of the case since it broke.
None of the 16 children had ever been enrolled in school.
The Vinton County School District confirmed it had no records of any of them.
Investigators believe the family moved across multiple Ohio counties dating back to at least 2008, avoiding creating medical or government records that might have revealed the alleged abuse and neglect.
Neighbor Joseph Stewart, who lives three houses away, said he had never seen a single child at the property.
"It's a sad situation," the 60-year-old said. "I saw no kids at all."
Another resident, Josh O'Dell, said the house appeared abandoned.
"It was a shock because we had never seen or heard anything from that house. I had never seen a child in that yard."
Former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told NewsNation that the family's strategy was deliberate: "You get away with it because you conceal it by moving over and over again.
"You don't let the children out of the house, and you keep them in that basement."
She also raised the possibility that investigators could pursue additional charges as the case develops, particularly concerning the older children and questions around DNA.
As more details have emerged, social media users have drawn comparisons to the case of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and fathered seven children with her in a concealed underground space.
While the circumstances in Hamden are different, the scale of the alleged concealment - 16 children hidden from the outside world for years - has prompted the comparison repeatedly.
Criminal defence attorney Mark Geragos told NewsNation that the age range of the children was the most striking detail.
"Eighteen months to 18 years is just stunning in terms of that," he said.
The investigation remains in its early stages.
Prosecutors have indicated that additional criminal charges are expected as evidence continues to be reviewed.
Gary Siders Jr. is also separately scheduled to appear in court on Thursday for unrelated indecent exposure charges that were filed the same day the children were discovered.
Elizabeth Siders' family has told reporters they believe she was 'indoctrinated' by the Siders family after marrying Gary Jr. at 15.
Her brother-in-law, Ronnie Fletcher, said he and his wife had no idea there were that many children in the household, though they knew there were likely at least 10.
He says he only ever met the eldest two or three 'years and years ago'.
All 16 children are now in the temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The twins, Bailey and Faith, are buried in Hamden. Their headstone lists a single date: November 20, 2022.
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Published 16:03 03 Jul 2026 GMT
New details have emerged after 16 children were rescued from what authorities have described as a "house of horrors" in rural Ohio, with many people online drawing comparisons to one of Europe's most infamous captivity cases.
Four adults have now been charged after investigators discovered 16 children allegedly living in appalling conditions inside a home in Hamden, Ohio.
According to officials, those arrested are Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders, who have been identified as the children's parents and grandparents. They are all facing felony child endangerment charges.
The children, whose ages range from just 18 months to 18 years old, were allegedly confined for much of their lives inside a single 12-by-12-foot room contaminated with human waste.
Speaking to WCMH, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the children as being "almost feral."
The case has stunned the local community, with neighbors telling the Associated Press they had no idea so many children were living inside the property. The children were also reportedly not enrolled in school.
As investigators continue piecing together what happened, experts have questioned how such a large family managed to avoid detection for so long.
Appearing on NewsNation's CUOMO, former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer suggested the family's constant movement may have helped them stay off authorities' radar.
"You get away with it because you conceal it by moving over and over again," Coffindaffer said. "You don't let the children out of the house, and you keep them in that basement."
Criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos said the sheer age range of the children was one of the most disturbing aspects of the case.
"I think probably the thing that strikes me the most is the span of the ages," he said. "Eighteen months to 18 years is just stunning in terms of that."
Authorities have repeatedly described the children as "feral," a term Geragos said unfortunately fit the allegations.
"That's actually a pretty good use of the word," he explained. "It's not civilized, is, I guess, the best way I'd put it."
Coffindaffer also believes investigators could pursue additional charges as the case develops.
"I think there are going to be other charges," she said. "I believe these older children, the females that were able to be of childbearing years, I think they're going to have to do full DNA."
The investigation remains ongoing, and officials have not said whether the family had previously come to the attention of child protective services.
As more details have emerged, social media users have drawn comparisons to a notorious European captivity case involving an Austrian man, Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and fathered seven children with her inside a concealed underground space.
While there is currently no suggestion the Ohio case involves the same type of offences, some online have pointed to similarities involving prolonged isolation and children allegedly being hidden from the outside world.
One person wrote on X: "What's scary is that most people don't know their own neighbors…. There was a case like this in Austria a while ago... it was so sad. Prayers for these kids, only God's strength can help them through this. (The survivors... are living quietly, recovery takes years — their privacy is being respected and protected.)"
Authorities have not linked the two cases, and the Ohio investigation remains active as detectives continue gathering evidence.
Published 10:42 02 Jul 2026 GMT
After 16 children, some with severe injuries, were rescued from a home full of excrement, four people, believed to be their parents and grandparents, have been charged with 17 counts of child endangerment.
The children, aged between one-and-a-half and 18, were discovered inside a crumbling house by the Vinton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio on Tuesday, June 30, and were described to be "kept in worse conditions than livestock”.
Law enforcement officers described the scene as “pure evil”, while Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson told a news conference they were found in “Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in.”
Tragically, he added, “Some of these children couldn’t even speak.”
The area the children were held captive in for “most of the last four years” was reportedly no larger than 12 by 12 feet and had a high presence of human excrement.
The house they were found in, which is believed to belong to a deceased owner, was in such terrible condition that the children were “literally about to fall through the floor”, according to Wilson.
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.
Although the neglected brood were only thought to have been held in the decrepit Ohio property for four years, it is presumed that they had been mistreated and kept captive for the majority of their short lives, as the 18-year-old could not spell her own name and many of the others were completely mute.
According to WBNS, neighbours told authorities that they were completely unaware of any children living in the home and believed that the adults who were keeping them captive were not locals and appeared to be travelling.
The neglected children were only discovered by local law enforcement while investigating another crime entirely.
While officials have not yet commented on the relationship between the children, they did confirm it was not a case of human trafficking, and the four adults responsible for their neglect have been cited as parents and grandparents, so it is assumed that they are a large group of siblings.
Since their arrest on Tuesday, Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders of Hamden, Ohio, entered not guilty pleas at a digital hearing.
Each sickening adult faces a minimum of two to eight years and a maximum of 12 years in prison for each of the 17 charges.
Published 12:12 07 Jul 2026 GMT
A relative of the 16 children found in a feces-filled rural Ohio home made a shocking admission about the discovery.
More details have emerged about the horrific situation, as the adults responsible for the kids have been arrested on child felony charges.
The children were found in a 12 x 12 room which was crumbling, with all 16 aged between one-and-a-half and 18.
After being found by the Vinton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio on Tuesday (June 30), they were described as being "kept in worse conditions than livestock”.
As a result of the awful conditions, the children suffered “serious physical harm,” resulting in two being sent to specialist trauma centres, while another seven were taken to Columbus Hospitals, with one admitted to the ICU and intubated.
Now, a relative said they were not aware that there were 16 of the "almost feral" children living in the tiny home.
Authorities found the children, aged between one and 18 years old, living at the family’s neglected Vinton County home last week.
Ohio Authorities have arrested and charged four family members after discovering the children in the rural home.
These suspects include the parents, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, as well as the grandparents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67.
Ronnie Fletcher, who is married to the grandparents' adult daughters, said while they knew the couple had a large family, he only believed there were 10 children.
Speaking to local news outlet WOWK 13, he admitted that he only learned of the 16 children when news of the arrests broke.
He explained that the news left the extended family “horrified” and “worried about the kids,” adding: “It’s been awful for the people that had no idea that was going on [in] the house that are related to this family.”
Fletcher claimed that relatives would have got involved if they knew what was really happening, saying: “If we would have known that it was like that in that home, we would have done something about it – even if it was just to go there and take the kids ourselves or give them money.”
But it had been almost seven years since Fletcher and his wife knew where her relatives were living, as the suspects kept the family at "arms-length."
He said: “We might have known whereabouts, like in a county or in a spot, [but] most of the time we felt like that wasn’t really the truth.”
"The last time we heard from them, we gave them a car, and that’s probably close to a year ago now – other than Lynn [Christina] calling us and asking for money or [saying] they needed help with the water bill," adding that they found out about the existence of the decrepit home on the news.
Fletcher said that at the time of the couple's oldest child's birth, around 18 years ago, the Siders raised children who became "successful members of society."
He went on: “I’ve known this family since grade school. I’ve been with their daughter for 20 years. Gary and Lynn did not raise their children that way.
“The four daughters that got out are successful members of society.”
“I can’t believe it because we always thought there was homeschooling going on,” Fletcher admitted.
“We knew they didn’t go to school, but we were always told they were being homeschooled.”
Rumors of "generational incest" have circulated online, as Fletcher further pointed out: “This is all in that one home.”
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson had also described the reported abuse as “intra-family.”
The children can barely communicate, with many found to be mute, say authorities.
Investigators said that the eldest child, 18, is developmentally disabled and struggles to write her own name.
The four suspects each pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of child endangerment on Wednesday (July 1), when a judge set their bail at $300,000 each.
If they are found guilty of all charges, each defendant could face a maximum sentence of up to 192 years behind bars.
Published 15:28 02 Jul 2026 GMT
A neighbor who lived just a few houses away from the Ohio home where 16 children were discovered living in horrific conditions has revealed he had no idea they were there.
Authorities say the children, who ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years old, had been living in a dilapidated home in Hamden, Ohio, surrounded by human waste and confined to a single room for much of the past four years. Officials said some of the children were unable to speak, while one 18-year-old with developmental disabilities could not even write her own name.
The children's parents, Gary Siders Jr. and Christina Siders, along with grandparents Gary Siders Sr. and Elizabeth Siders, have each been charged with felony child endangering. A judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf Wednesday and set bond at $300,000 each. They have not yet been assigned attorneys.
Neighbor Joseph Stewart, 60, said he was stunned after learning what authorities had uncovered just three houses away.
"I saw no kids at all" since the family moved into the home, Stewart told The Associated Press, explaining that he could clearly see the house and yard whenever he passed by.
"It's a sad situation," he added, describing the area as."
The property sits along a road beside a steep railroad embankment. While neighboring homes are separated by trees and thick brush, the house itself is visible from the road.
On Wednesday, the home's doors and windows were left open as investigators continued their work. Trash could be seen inside, while the yard contained piles of discarded items, including tires, a high chair, two broken bicycles, a plastic play table, a beach pail, and two infant carriers.
Authorities discovered the children Tuesday while serving a search warrant connected to an unrelated investigation, according to Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson.
"We didn't know there were going to be 16 kids there," Wilson said.
Officials said the children were not enrolled in school and appeared to have been hidden from public view for years.
"These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids," Wilson said.
Investigators are also reviewing whether the family had ever been reported to children's services agencies.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said the children had apparently spent most of their time inside a room measuring roughly 12 feet by 12 feet. Although investigators did not find cages inside the home, Cain described what deputies encountered as shocking.
"Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children," Cain said. "Just a disgusting scene."
Wilson also described the children's appearance after they were rescued.
"They looked like almost feral animals," Wilson said. "It was terrible."
Seven children were transported to hospitals in Columbus, while two others were flown by helicopter. Officials said one child was in critical condition Tuesday, while several others were admitted for treatment. All 16 children are now in the temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.
Vinton County Prosecuting Attorney William Archer said the four adults face second-degree felony child endangering charges because the allegations involve "serious physical harm."
Officials said the children are all members of the same family, although authorities have not disclosed the exact relationship between each child.
Published 09:29 07 Jul 2026 GMT
More disturbing details have emerged a week after 16 children were found living in a tiny room in horrific conditions in Ohio.
The children, aged between one-and-a-half and 18, were discovered inside a crumbling house by the Vinton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio on Tuesday, June 30, and were described as being "kept in worse conditions than livestock”.
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.
Andy Wilson, Ohio’s attorney general, described the 12-foot by 12-foot room the children were held in as “almost indescribable.”
“It really looked third world. It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America,” he added.
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. They have all since pleaded not guilty.
Since the children were discovered and the four arrests were made, more horrifying details about the family have come to light.
The siblings’ mother 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.
As she 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.
The elder Siders are believed to have four daughters who are "quite a bit older" than Gary Jr. The women did not remain in close contact with their parents and were shocked when they learned about the hidden children and subsequent arrests.
Ronnie Fletcher, the husband of one of Siders Sr. and Christina’s daughters, claimed his family was completely unaware of the horrific conditions at the Ohio home and only learned about the arrests through news reports.
Fletcher told WOWK-TV he was “Horrified. Worried about the kids.”
“It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family. What can I do to help? That was the original reaction to it,” he added.
The estranged son-in-law described his and his wife’s relationship with the Siders as “distant family” because the relatives had not seen each other in over eight years.
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