Lawyer shares new details about living conditions inside Ohio home where 16 children were found
Elizabeth Siders' attorney has shared new insights into the living conditions in the Ohio home that has been dubbed a 'house of horrors'.
Elizabeth, 33, was arrested alongside her husband Gary SIders Jr. 36, and his parents Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 67 after police visited their Ohio home and found 16 children living like ‘feral animals’.
The four adults have since been charged with 16 counts of felony child endangerment.
Officials described the scene as 'pure evil' and said the 16 children found at the Ohio home have been living in 'disgusting conditions'.
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However, Elizabeth’s attorney Tommy Stolley has previously pushed back against the use of the phrase ‘pure evil’ when talking about the family.
In a new interview with 10TV, has shared new details on the case and what Elizabeth had told him during their first meeting.
Stolley told the outlet there was ‘no evidence’ to suggest the children were forced to stay inside a 12ft by 12ft room, as some reports had claimed.
“There's no indication that the kids were not free to move about the home. There's no indication from my conversations with my client that the kids were not allowed to go outside,” he said.
He also said that Elizabeth told him her kids had phones and that the older one had been on social media.
"I think the big thing with that is it doesn't jive with the way that this case has been characterised in the public," Stolley said.
"When you use language like feral kids, you're imagining people that have been isolated away from human contact. People who have never interacted with any sort of social media, with the internet, with humans outside of their own home, or even humans in general, who completely lack the ability to use language.
“There's nothing to suggest that that is the case here. And in fact, we've seen some things to contradict that.”
The attorney hasn’t met the children but said that the first thing she asked him when he walked into the jail and introduced himself ‘was about her kids’ and if they ‘were OK’.
Stolley said he believes that all 16 children, who are aged from 18 months to 18 years, are Elizabeth and Gary Jr’s and said that she ‘repeatedly’ told him that she and her husband ‘wanted a big family’.
He added: “She said that kids are a gift from God and that she was open to that.”
The family were originally being held on $300,000 (£224,482) cash bonds, but on Wednesday (8 July) Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer announced at a press conference that Gary Siders Sr. had now been released on a recognisance bond following a medical emergency which resulted in him being rushed to hospital.
A recognisance bond or Personal Recognisance/PR bond allows an arrested person to leave jail without paying money.
Stolley has filed a motion to have Elizabeth’s $300,000 modified to a recognisance bond, saying she cannot afford to pay it.
A timeline of the allegations against the Siders family
31 March 2008
Gary Siders Jr, 18, and Elizabeth Siders, 15, are married in Mason County, West Virginia with the consent of Elizabeth’s parents
30 May 2008
The couple’s eldest child is born. More children are born in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 (twins), 2024 (twins), and 2025.
2021
The superintendent of the Gallia County Local Schools in southeast Ohio told WSAZ3 there are records from this year showing Gary Jr. and Elizabeth were parents with a local school at the time.
10 November 2022
Elizabeth Siders prematurely delivers conjoined twins, who die an hour after they are born. Named Faith Lee and Bailey Lee Siders, they were joined at the chest, face-to-face, according to birth certificates obtained by WCMH.
2022
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the Siders family moved to Vinton County, again in southeast Ohio, around this time.
23 and 27 May 2026
A criminal complaint against Gary Siders Jr accused him of ‘recklessly exposing his private parts’ on two occasions on these dates.
30 June 2026
An arrest warrant is issued for Gary Siders Jr related to four alleged counts of public indecency.
Police attend the Siders’ home in relation to this investigation and find 16 children living in what police describe as deplorable conditions.
Authorities claim the children were confined to a 12-foot by 12-foot space for four years.
Gary Siders Sr, 73, Christina Siders, 67, Gary Siders Jr, 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, are arrested and charged with 16 counts of endangering children, second degree felonies. All have since entered not guilty pleas.
3 July 2026
In an interview with WSYX ABC 6, Elizabeth Siders’ lawyer Thomas Stolly said on meeting his client for the first time: “I met a woman who was timid and who was exhausted. It looked like she had been crying quite a bit. She looked distraught.”
When asked if Elizabeth is also a victim in the case, he says: “I don’t think she would classify herself as a victim.”
He says the initial coverage of conditions at the Siders’ home is ‘not the whole story’.
7 July 2026
All four of the defendants waive their right to a preliminary hearing, meaning the case will now go before a grand jury.
They will decide whether to indict the four accused family members.
On the same day, Gary Sr.’s legal team ask for his $300,000 bail to be waived. They argue it is excessive, saying the 73-year-old has ‘significant health issues’ and ‘very limited mobility’, and doesn’t have the capacity to post any bail money.
His lawyer, Dorian Keith Baum, says Gary Sr. ‘has denied any and all allegations against him’ and has ‘a vested interest… to clear his name’.
Baum also says he has concerns about Gary Sr’s competency to stand trial.
That day, Gary Sr. is transported to OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital in Athens. If released from hospital, he will be required to wear a GPS monitor. His bond is changed to a recognisance bond, which means he doesn’t have to pay the money upfront.
Topics: US News
Claire Reid