The 16 children were found in a property in the Ohio town of Hamden, with conditions described as “terrible” by authorities, as four adults face child endangerment charges.
Items including a high chair are seen in the home(Image: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Authorities have disclosed disturbing information about the youngsters discovered in what’s being called the “Ohio house of horrors”, including the oldest victim, who was 18 years old.
The eldest child is said to have had developmental disabilities, with Ohio Attorney-General Andy Wilson stating: “The 18-year-old can’t spell their name.”
“They looked like almost feral animals,” he told the media while describing the children, who were discovered at a residence in the Ohio community of Hamden last month under circumstances characterized as “terrible”. The childrens’ parents, Elizabeth Siders, 33, and her husband, Gary Siders Jr. , 36, along with his parents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, were all taken into custody on child endangerment charges.
Officials say that none of the 16 youngsters were registered in school. According to Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain, the minors “can communicate, but it’s extremely limited and some not at all.”
The community of Hamden reportedly has a population under 1,000, and locals have expressed their astonishment upon learning about the youngsters and the circumstances they were purportedly enduring. They also noted there was no “sign of any child” at the residence.
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Police tape surrounds the home where authorities found the children(Image: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A Hamden local told WOWK 13 News, “My grandkids and my kids, we’ve all walked up and down that street; there’s never been a sign of any child. As a mother and a grandmother, I just don’t understand the logic.”
The children discovered at the residence likely endured challenging circumstances, as their mother, Elizabeth Siders, became a child bride at just 15 years old. Gary junior wed Elizabeth Russell on March 31, 2008, when she was 15 and he was 18.
The couple married in Mason County, West Virginia, just over the state border from Gallipolis, Ohio, where they resided. At that time, Virginia marriage laws permitted minors under 18 to wed with parental consent and judicial approval.
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Elizabeth Siders is the mother of the children(Image: Southeast Ohio Jail)
Within months of their wedding, their first child arrived. Elizabeth’s formal schooling ended in eighth grade, while Gary junior completed ninth grade, according to News Nation.
Multiple media outlets report that Gary junior was employed by DoorDash at one point, though the exact timeframe remains uncertain.
Authorities initially found the children living in filthy conditions after executing a search warrant at the Hamden, Vinton County residence in connection with a public indecency investigation involving Gary Siders Jr.
Wilson characterized the evidence uncovered as “beyond comprehension.”
He disclosed that responding officers encountered conditions that could have led to far graver outcomes if left undiscovered any longer. At a press conference, he 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.”
SOURCE: https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/ohio-house-horrors-teenage-girl-1956596?int_source=nba
