As investigators continue investigating the disturbing case involving 16 children found living in a rural Ohio home, a relative of one of the accused has offered rare insight into the Siders family.
Authorities arrested four family members after children ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years old were discovered inside a feces-covered home in Hamden, Ohio, during what officials said was an unrelated police raid.
The kids were allegedly kept for much of the past four years inside a single 12-by-12-foot room in a Vinton County home-
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the case is among the most disturbing child endangerment investigations the state has ever seen.
“I can tell you this… this is pure evil what we saw down here,” Yost said.
Investigators also said some of the children had suffered “serious physical harm,” while others described the living conditions as being “worse conditions than livestock.”
Gary Siders Jr., 36, Elizabeth Siders, 33, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, who are identified as the children’s parents and grandparents, have all been charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment.
“He was kind of like the golden child”
While covering the case, Los Angeles Magazine contributor Lauren Conlin said she reviewed Facebook posts written by the niece of Gary Siders Jr., who shared her thoughts on the family following the arrests.
According to Conlin, the relative had difficulty reconciling the allegations with the family members she knew.
“So she’s kind of thinking, is something wrong with them mentally? She she did say in her experience that Gary Siders Jr. could do no wrong. He was kind of like the golden child, if you will. So again, I’m tracking everything on Facebook. I’m tracking what the family says, but until law enforcement confirmed certain aspects of this case, so much is still unknown,” Conlin said, according to VT.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth Siders’ attorney has also shared his first impressions after meeting with her following her arrest.
Ohio ‘house of horrors’
Attorney Thomas Stolly told Criminally Obsessed that he spoke with his client after she was taken into custody. He said her appearance differed from the public image that had emerged in media coverage surrounding the case.
“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.
“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.”
What happenes now?
All 16 children are in the temporary custody of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Finding foster placements for 16 children, many with severe developmental needs, is expected to be extremely challenging.
The case remains ongoing as prosecutors pursue charges against the four adults. Each of them faces 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment, and each count carries a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of 12 years in prison. If convicted on all counts, each defendant could face up to 192 years behind bars. All four have pleaded not guilty.
Elizabeth, Gary Jr., and Christina Siders are being held on $300,000 bond, while Gary Siders Sr. has been released on a recognizance bond due to a “serious medical condition.”
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