Ohio’s attorney general says the 16 siblings, ages 18 months to 18, looked “like almost feral animals” when deputies found them on June 30, kept for most of the past 4 years in a single room about 12 feet by 12 feet. Their mother, Elizabeth Siders, was 15 when a West Virginia judge approved her marriage to Gary Siders Jr., then 18.
Attorney General Andy Wilson says the children, some of whom couldn’t speak, were in urgent need of medical care. 7 were taken to hospitals in Columbus and 2 were flown to Level 1 trauma centers. An 18-year-old with developmental disabilities could not write her own name.
The siblings were discovered on June 30 in Hamden, a village of fewer than 800 people in Vinton County, Ohio. Vinton County deputies came to the home to serve a search warrant tied to a separate investigation. Investigators say the children had been kept for most of the past 4 years in a room roughly 12 feet by 12 feet, with serious medical neglect and no school enrollment. Wilson said the family had moved around Ohio since 2008, avoiding the creation of medical and government records.
Authorities arrested 4 adults: the children’s father, Gary Siders Jr., 36; their mother, Elizabeth Siders, 33; and their paternal grandparents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67. Each was charged with 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment, and all 4 pleaded not guilty. Bond was initially set at $300,000 cash each with GPS monitoring and no contact with the children. Gary Siders Sr. was later released on a recognizance bond because of medical issues. On July 7, all 4 waived their right to a preliminary hearing…