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On June 30, 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”, and their responsible adults were arrested in Ohio.
It has now been revealed by a legal expert that there were many tell-tale signs of neglect and abuse that were ignored by authorities.
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.
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.
However, this was just the first of many signals something was seriously wrong with the family. Over the next decade and a half, Elizabeth delivered nine more children at the same hospital. She then changed healthcare providers and gave birth to another four at a different hospital.
O'Brien argues that the unusually large number of births should also have prompted healthcare providers to ask about the family's well-being, child care, and access to family planning services.
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 expected to take some time.
During a press conference just days after the gut-wrenching discovery, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson and Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain warned the public, who have been gripped by the case, that the investigation could 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.
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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.”
Almost a week after 16 children, some with severe injuries, were rescued from a home full of excrement and their parents and grandparents were charged with 16 counts of child endangerment, a judge has issued a serious warning to the defendants.
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”.
At the scene, dad Gary Siders Jr, 36, mom Elizabeth Siders, 33, and grandparents Gary Siders Sr, 73, and Christina Siders, 77, were arrested and charged with 16 counts of child endangerment, but they have all since pleaded not guilty.
Law enforcement officers described the scene as “pure evil”. At the same time, 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.”
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 in a serious condition.
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.
At the court hearing on July 1, all the responsible adults pleaded not guilty, and in response, Vinton County’s Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers issued them a grave warning.
According to the Associated Press, she said: “They [prosecutors] are asking that you have no contact with your co-defendants – that means each other. I presume the jail will keep you from having contact with the other two co-defendants if you remain in jail.
“No contact with the alleged victims of the offence; and if you are released, that you be fitted with a GPS monitor at state’s expense.”
Explaining what the different pleas could mean for the alleged abusers, Rodgers said: “You have four pleas available to you. A plea of guilty is a complete admission of your guilt. A not guilty plea is a complete denial of your guilt. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is an admission to the facts that underlie the complaint.
“If you plead no contest, the state would give me a statement of facts, and it would be up to the court to determine whether or not you were guilty of the charged offences based on those facts.”
The judge also 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.
Following the arrest of four family members after 16 children were found “kept in worse conditions than livestock”, questions have been raised over the welfare of the mother who began birthing the brood aged just 15.
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.
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.
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 “quite a bit older” than Gary Jr, who did not remain in close contact with their parents and were shocked when they found out 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 learnt about the arrests through news reports.
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The estranged family member told WOWK-TV that 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.
Fletcher also revealed that Elizabeth had a difficult home life before marrying into the Siders family, saying: “She’s willingly there at the home. She did not have a very good home life when they got together, and she escaped.”
Another man who claimed on social media to be Elizabeth’s brother said she had been “indoctrinated” by the family before she became pregnant and married into the family as a teenager.
Also, on an episode of Jesse Weber Live, host Jesse Weber and former lead trial prosecutor Tommy Pope debated if her background could act as a legal defense.
Weber said: “So, child bride, indoctrinated, had her first baby, allegedly at 13. Is any of this a defense?”
Pope responded with: “I don’t know that it’s a defense. I think it can break down strategically, even on how you trial them, whether everybody has a separate trial, whether they’re in there together.”
A lawyer has opened up on what it was like to speak to Elizabeth Siders, the mom in the Ohio 'house of horrors' case, where 16 children were found in conditions similar to the "third world."
The kids, aged between 18 months and 18 years old, were discovered in the feces-filled rural home by the Vinton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio on June 30.
More details have emerged since the home was found in a horrific state, as the children were described as being "kept in worse conditions than livestock”.
The children were found in a 12-by-12 room which was crumbling, as investigators noted that the children had also suffered “serious physical harm.”
Investigators said that the crime was an "intrafamily" case, suggesting that some of the children in the house may have come from sexual relations within the family.
But now, a lawyer has opened up on what the mother of these kids was really like.
The attorney representing Elizabeth Siders has spoken out about how she was following her arrest.
His description surprisingly doesn't fit into the negative coverage of both her and her husband's parenting, as the attorney admitted she looked "distraught".
Thomas Stolly spoke with her for an hour and a half after she was taken into custody, telling Criminally Obsessed that she seemed "exhausted" during their meeting.
"I had no idea what I was walking into. I saw the same headlines everyone else did. At one point, the term 'pure evil' was used to describe Elizabeth and the home, and at another point, there was a comment that livestock had been treated better," he said on the show.
"I met a woman who was timid and who was exhausted. It looked like she had been crying quite a bit. She looked distraught. And she was willing to talk to me. Able to talk to me."
Stolly said he left out the fact that the case was being heavily covered by the media, as he realised that she had no idea about how the story was being covered.
He said: "We sat down for about an hour and a half to go through the basics of this case. I asked her if she had seen any of the coverage that has been online for the better part of a day now.
"She hasn't. She does not know how the home, the conditions, the investigation is being described."
He said that this was due to how "fragile" she looked at the time, adding that she didn't fit the narrative which was built around her.
"[She's] not someone who comes across as 'pure evil,' because evil requires malice," he said, further adding: "The person that I saw there, Elizabeth, she doesn't have that in her eyes."
A relative also said that he wasn't aware of there being 16 children in the home, believing there were only 10.
Two of them were sent to specialist trauma centres, while another seven were taken to Columbus Hospitals, with one admitted to the ICU and intubated.
Four family members, believed to be the children's parents and grandparents, Gary Siders Jr, 36, Elizabeth Siders, 33, Gary Siders Sr, 73, and Christina Siders, 77, have been arrested and charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment.
All four have pleaded not guilty.
The case is currently under investigation, with all four family members set to appear back in court.
An Ohio native has revealed some of the signs she missed as a Dollar General clerk when Gary Siders Jr and Elizabeth Siders visited the store.
While they were gathering supplies, there were 16 children left behind in a feces-filled rural home, which has been coined the 'house of horrors' case, before being found in conditions similar to the "third world."
Aged between 18 months and 18 years old, the kids were discovered by the Vinton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio on June 30.
Since then, more details have emerged, as children were described as being "kept in worse conditions than livestock”.
Authorities found the kids in a 12-by-12 room which was crumbling, with the children appearing to have suffered “serious physical harm.”
Four family members, believed to be the children's parents and grandparents, Gary Siders Jr, 36, Elizabeth Siders, 33, Gary Siders Sr, 73, and Christina Siders, 77, have since been arrested and charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment.
Now, a store clerk named Ariel Gutierrez has spoken about what she noticed in interactions with the family.
Ariel appeared on the Criminally Obsessed YouTube channel, claiming that "nobody knew" about the truth behind the Siders family.
The mom-of-six spoke about interacting with the family for almost two years, with the family often visiting the store late at night, before closing.
She revealed: "They would come in and buy these two main items. It was a jug of water and oil, but it wasn't a big bottle; it was the little kind.
"Occasionally there would be sugar, other items, and once in a blue moon, not all the time, it would be diapers, but I didn't think anything of it," she admitted.
Ariel also revealed that some employees helped them buy hygiene products and clothes out of their own pockets, but the items appeared unused.
She said that the family only lived a few blocks away, and that she rarely saw children with them when they were out.
Ariel noticed that Gary Sr and Christina were clean and appeared "separate" to Elizabeth and Gary Jr, leading her to believe that they weren't connected.
"I did see the kids twice in two years and when I saw them in the store, they mimicked their mother. So, they looked pale, they were very thin, they had hair over their head," she recalled.
"Honestly, I thought they were visiting because I never saw them with kids. So when I saw them twice, I didn't know they had 16 kids, period."
The kids would avoid eye contact and communicate mostly through pointing or nodding, with it looking like Elizabeth controlled their actions.
Looking back, she said that the warning signs were there: the children’s condition, Elizabeth’s appearance, and Gary Jr.’s controlling behavior, such as guiding his partner by the elbow around the store.
The clerk went on, admitting that while she didn't feel fear from Elizabeth, there was the sense that speaking up would cause problems.
Despite missing out on the signs herself, Ariel said she struggled to understand how others nearby had not noticed the family’s odd behavior.
Looking back, she wondered how the family's purchases kept them nourished, especially their consistent purchases of oil and not much else.
She explained that she has come forward so the children know that someone had seen them, and wishes that she had spoken out at the time, though she did not fully understand the situation.
Ariel concluded by saying that the experience has fully changed how she will respond to similar situations in the future, where she can sense something is wrong.
Investigators said that the crime was an "intrafamily" case, suggesting that some of the children in the house may have come from sexual relations within the family.
On June 30, officers executed a search warrant at the home as part of an unrelated criminal investigation.
Newly released images obtained by The New York Post show the property's basement almost completely overtaken by junk, with only a dining chair and a bicycle wheel seen among the piles of trash.
Outside, there is more garbage surrounding the five-bedroom, one-bathroom house.
Only a handful of children's belongings, including a broken bicycle and a copy of the children's book Jonathan James and the Whatif Monster, hint that children allegedly lived there.
Two neglected cars parked outside the property were also filled with cigarette butts, food wrappers, and other garbage.
