The case has shocked not just Ohio but the whole country after 16 children were found living like feral animals.
The house was cordoned off by police (Image: WSYX ABC 6)
Traumatized officers responding to the Ohio ‘house of horrors’ where 16 children were found living in horrific conditions have shared a haunting message.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, her husband Gary Siders Jr, 36, and her parents-in-law, Gary Siders Sr, 73, and Christina Siders, 67, have been charged with second-degree felony child endangering. All 16 children – all aged between one and 18 – were allegedly living in The youngsters had reportedly been confined to a single tiny room both day and night for
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described the scene facing officers when they arrived, saying: “Nothing could prepare us even in 22 years of law enforcement. Nothing could have prepared me to to see the scene. I’ve never seen human beings live in that condition before.”
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described what him and his officers saw at the scene(Image: ABC)
He added: “Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children.”
The oldest child, an 18-year-old with developmental disabilities, was unable to write her own name, while investigators revealed that several of the children were incapable of speech.
Authorities uncovered the disturbing scenes after executing a search warrant at the property in Hamden, Vinton County, where they found the children alongside four adults.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson stated that the evidence in the case is “beyond comprehension.”
Gary Siders Jr, 36, and his mom Christina Siders, 67 (Image: AP)
During a press conference, he further stated: “I think if they had waited another 24 hours, there was a very high probability that we’d be dealing with a death or multiple deaths of these children.”
Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer characterized the case as an “intra-family situation” and emphasized it was not a human trafficking matter. He identified the suspects as the “grandma, grandpa, father and mother”.
The four suspects have each been charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony, according to officials.
They pleaded not guilty during their arraignment and their bond was set at $300,000 each. They will likely request court-appointed counsel, officials said.
Elizabeth Siders, the children’s mother, was arrested(Image: Southeast Ohio Jail)
The charges allege the four suspects abused the children, resulting in “serious physical harm.”
The children were rescued on June 30 and since then Ohio has been reviewing a proposed $1 million emergency funding package for the 16 kids.
Elizabeth Siders, mother of all 16 children, filed a court motion requesting release from custody, according to documents obtained by WCMH. The 33-year-old is seeking freedom to reunite with her children, the filing states.
Her attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, said in the filing: “Through conversations with Counsel, the Defendant maintains that her principal desire [is] to reunite with her children. She understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court.”
Gary Siders snr is the grandfather of 16 children rescued from a home left in appalling conditions (Image: WSYX)
Stolly added: “She did not ask when she was getting out of jail. She did not ask what a timeline was for her to get out of jail. She started asking about the kids.”
Elizabeth Siders was only 15 when she wed Gary Siders Jr. and delivered their first child merely two months afterward, investigators have determined.
Stolly said she had only “positive things to say about husband Gary” from jail, adding they wanted a “big family.”
However, her brother, Jeremy Russell, had alleged his sister was “indoctrinated” as a teenager in a social media post.
He continued by saying the mother had “wrapped her life up due to indoctrination,” claiming extreme psychological control over her was “100 percent real.”
Other relatives have stated Elizabeth Siders experienced a “difficult home life” when she was still a teenager and claim she fled to be with Gary Siders Jr. and his parents.