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The Ohio mom accused of keeping her 16 children in horrific conditions could soon face additional felony charges as her attorney pushes for her release from jail.
Elizabeth Siders was one of four adults arrested on June 30 after police rescued 16 children from a home in rural Vinton County, Ohio.
The 33-year-old currently faces 16 counts of endangering children and has pleaded not guilty, but her legal troubles could deepen as prosecutors consider further charges.
The development comes as Siders' attorney fights to get her released from jail, a move Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer opposes.
Siders' defense attorney, Thomas Stolley, has asked Vinton County Court to release his client on a recognizance bond.
According to The Sun, Stolley spoke about Siders' lack of criminal history and also requested a mental health evaluation to determine whether she is competent to stand trial.
If the request for release is granted, Siders could leave jail while being required to wear an ankle monitor.
However, Archer pushed back against the motion in a filing, contending that Siders is a flight risk and could potentially pose a risk to the children involved in the case.
The prosecutor also revealed that a grand jury is considering additional "serious felony charges" against Siders.
No further details about what those potential charges could involve were provided.
Siders' 16 children are currently in state custody.
Siders was arrested alongside her husband, Gary Siders Jr., 36, as well as his parents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders.
All four were charged with 16 counts of endangering children and have pleaded not guilty.
The children, who range in age from one-and-a-half to 18, were allegedly found living in dreadful conditions after spending at least four years inside a cramped 12-by-12-foot room.
Authorities have alleged that the children were not attending school and that some suffered from severe medical neglect.
Officials previously revealed that two of the children had to be airlifted to specialist trauma centers because of their injuries.
Another seven were transported to hospitals in Columbus, while one child was admitted to intensive care and placed on a ventilator.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the conditions inside the property as "horrific" and said responding officers were left "sickened by it".
"Our investigators will continue following the evidence wherever it leads," Cain said.
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Siders' defense has strongly challenged the way officials have described both the family and the conditions inside the home.
Stolley has pushed back against comments from Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, who described the conditions as "pure evil".
He has also disputed claims that the children were effectively "feral".
"She absolutely disputes" those claims, Stolley said during an appearance with Chris Cuomo. "If we're talking about feral children, those are children who do not understand the world."
"This is very clearly a case where my client and the Siders family were living in extreme poverty," he added.
Stolley claims the mom told him that the children spoke to police after being removed from the property and that they all "could talk," although the attorney acknowledged that he has not personally interviewed them.
"If the kids can speak, I think that changes the analysis," he shared.
The attorney has also maintained that Siders was not abusing her children and instead described the family's circumstances as a case of extreme poverty.
"And sometimes when you’re living in a case like that, you’re living in a home and that’s what you’ve known for years and years," Stolley told NewsNation's Chris Cuomo. "You don’t necessarily see how bad things have gotten. You don’t necessarily see this the way that the rest of the world would."
Siders, her husband, and Christina are each being held on a $300,000 bond.
Gary Siders Sr. was released from jail because of a serious medical condition requiring treatment.
Archer said providing that treatment while Siders Sr. remained incarcerated could have "potentially bankrupted" Vinton County, leading officials to agree to a modified bond with GPS monitoring.
"The community is not at risk because of this bond," Archer said.
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