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Published 11:40 08 Jul 2026 GMT
Neighbor who had view of Ohio 'house of horrors' backyard where 16 kids left to rot reveals everything he saw
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A neighbor who had a view of the Ohio home backyard where 16 kids were allegedly "left to rot" has revealed everything he saw.
On Tuesday (June 30), the Vinton County Sheriff's Office discovered the children, aged between one and 18, at a small home in Hamden after executing a search warrant linked to a separate criminal investigation that began four to six weeks earlier.
The children were allegedly confined to a single 12-foot-by-12-foot room surrounded by human waste.
Authorities arrested Gary Siders Jr., 36, Elizabeth Siders, 33, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, at the scene. They have each been charged with 16 counts of child endangerment.
According to court records, the children are aged 18, 16, 15, 14, 13, 11, 10, 8, 6, 5, four-year-old twins, two-year-old twins, and one-year-old twins.
Elizabeth's attorney, Thomas Stolly, has confirmed that the kids are hers and that she married Siders Jr. when she was just 15 years old.
Investigators believe they had been living in those poor conditions for at least four years and say none of the children had ever been enrolled in school.
"One of the investigative challenges is that [the children] are limited. They can communicate, but it's extremely limited, and some not at all," Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said during a news conference.
Seven of the children were taken to hospitals in the Columbus area following the rescue, while two were airlifted to Level I trauma centers by helicopter. One child was reported to be in critical condition.
A first responder who drove four of the children to the hospital spoke about the 20-minute journey.
"It was just quiet... blank expressions," the acting fire public information officer said in a police interview. "Of course, they were scared. They've never endured anything like that before. They didn't know where they were going, you know, that kind of situation."
He was asked whether the children spoke to him during the ride, and he said: "They didn't speak to me. I try to have limited contact, unless I was asked to help."
He also recalled their heartbreaking condition, saying the house had "cockroaches and stuff like that," adding: "Bugs just in general and the conditions, you know, bugs get on the children and stuff and they scratch, and they bite and all that stuff. So, their condition wasn't the greatest."
Neighbor says he never saw any children
The Independent reported that the small house is located on a quiet road beside a steep railroad embankment, where trains regularly pass on their way to a nearby rail yard in the village of fewer than 1,000 people.
While trees and thick vegetation separate the property from its nearest neighbors, the house itself is clearly visible from the road.
One nearby resident, Josh Odell, whose home overlooks the backyard, said he never saw any children at the property.
"I really hope they all get better. But, I mean, it obviously weighed on my conscience that I wished I could have done something," Odell told WSYX-TV.
Another neighbor, Joseph Stewart, 60, said he also never noticed any children after the family moved into the home three houses away. "It’s a sad situation," he said.
Stewart has lived on the street for six years and calls it "a quiet neighborhood".
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During a court hearing on July 1, all four defendants formally pleaded not guilty.
Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers ordered that they have no contact with one another or with any of the children if released from custody.
The judge confirmed that all four bonds are set at $300,000, and each charge could land a prison sentence of two to eight years.
If each of the four family members is found guilty on all counts, they could face 192 years in prison individually.