US3 min(s) read
Ohio ‘House of Horrors’ mom rings her brother and makes shocking admission about what really happened
Months after 16 children, aged between one-and-a-half and 18, were discovered and rescued after spending at least four years “kept in worse conditions than livestock” in June and their responsible adults were arrested, a family member has revealed what the mom claimed really happened.
After being arrested at the scene, the children's father, Gary Siders Jr., 36, mother Elizabeth Siders, 33, and grandmother Christina Siders, 77, were charged with 19 counts of child endangerment each and the mother and father were both charged with two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
However, they have all since pleaded not guilty.
Gary Siders, the children's grandfather, was initially charged with 16 counts of child endangerment, but his case was dismissed in October after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
A family member claims the children's mother was manipulated
In a revealing Facebook post, Elizabeth's brother claims that after speaking to his sister from prison, his "perspective has completely shifted".
According to Jeremy Russell, the mother of 16 was "manipulated by her husband" at a very young age.
The once estranged sibling penned: "Just spent an hour on the phone with my sister and honestly, my perspective has completely shifted.
"It sounds like she was manipulated by her husband, who used a child in need as an excuse to bring her into their home, all while hiding their inappropriate relationship.
"If this is true, I really hope she finds her way out soon."
Supporting Russell's claims, it was revealed months ago that Elizabeth may not be mentally well enough to stand trial, and her legal team has requested a mental health evaluation to determine whether she’s fit to stand trial.
Her lawyer, Thomas Stolly, claimed that she may be “suffering from mental health issues and that competency may be an issue and a clear impediment to the defendant’s ability to assist in her own defense.”
It was also argued in the motion that Siders’ mental state “would also have affected her ability to understand the wrongfulness of her conduct at the time of the alleged offenses.”
Authorities missed multiple signs of neglect within the family
In a report by WSYX, an ABC-run local television station based in Columbus, Ohio, a legal expert explained that authorities should have spotted the signs of child neglect within the family a long time ago.
The children’s mother, Elizabeth, gave birth to her first two children when she was still a child herself, having her first baby at 15.
According to legal expert Ron O'Brien, this should have been a significant red flag for possible statutory rape, warranting questions and potentially a report to authorities.
While a major investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the discovery of 16 children who resembled “feral animals” after being kept in a room of just 12 feet by 12 feet for at least four years, it is a complicated case and is expected to take some time.
The primary reason for the expected delay in prosecution is that the children are believed to have very limited communication skills, with some of the 16 children being completely mute.
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.
They are now believed to be under the care of the state.