A mother is striving to reunite with her 16 children, who were rescued from a disturbing home in Ohio, a place described as filled with feces and urine. Elizabeth Siders, 33, along with three family members, faces 16 charges of child endangerment, stemming from the discovery of children aged 1 to 18 living in appalling conditions, confined to cramped 12-by-12 rooms. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson referred to the situation as “pure evil.”
Her attorney, J. Thomas Storey, recently requested that Siders be granted a recognizance bond for her release from the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail, where she is being held on a $300,000 bail. He argued that her lack of a criminal history should make her eligible for release.
According to court documents, Siders has expressed a primary desire to be reunited with her children, understanding that without appearing before the court, any chance of reconnection seems impossible.
The motion further claims that she poses no threat to her children now that they are no longer in her custody. Siders wishes to be with them to clear her name.
A decision from the judge on this matter is still pending.
Authorities noted that many of the children had been confined in their home in the small village of Hamden for at least four years. The scene was described as “deplorable” and so dire that livestock were reportedly in better conditions than the children. After their rescue, the children were taken to various hospitals across Ohio; some were in critical condition, with two being airlifted to a trauma center and at least one needing intubation.
Unsurprisingly, the children had never attended school, and many struggled to communicate, with some unable to speak at all. Investigators mentioned that the eldest child, an 18-year-old, is developmentally disabled and can’t even write his name.
In all, grandparents Gary Siders Sr. (73) and Christina “Lynn” Siders (67), along with their son Gary “Bub” Siders Jr. (36) and Elizabeth Siders, have been arrested and are each facing 16 felony child endangerment charges. It’s believed that the young couple are the biological parents of all the children involved.
