Mum of 16 kids found living like 'feral animals' in horror house gave birth to conjoined twins as tragic details emerge
Tragic new details about the 16 children who were rescued from a house filled with faeces have emerged.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, and Gary Siders Jr., 36, were arrested alongside the children’s grandparents Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, in the family’s home in Vinton County, rural Ohio.
The arrests came after authorities discovered 16 children, aged between one to 18, living in squalor in a cramped and filthy 12 feet by 12 feet space at the house.
Authorities from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Vinton County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at the family's home in Hamden on Tuesday, 30 June.
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The warrant was connected to a separate investigation and was not initially about child welfare. But while searching the property, officers found the 16 children living in what officials described as horrific, unsanitary conditions.
“We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there,” said Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson at a news conference, via AP. “It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America."
The children were forced to live like ‘feral animals’ in a single room which was covered in human waste for at least four years. Authorities have described the home as ‘deplorable’ and said livestock live in better conditions than the children.
Some of the children are unable to speak and none of them were enrolled in school. The eldest child, aged 18, is unable to write her name, according to investigators.
The children were transported to hospitals across Ohio following the rescue. Officials said several were in serious condition, including two who were airlifted to trauma centres and at least one who required intubation.
Back in November 2022, Siders delivered conjoined twin daughters Bailey Lee and Faith Lee Siders at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, according to local news outlet WOWK 13.
Born at just 24 weeks’ gestation, the twins had thoracopagus, a condition where their faces and chests fused together in the womb. The twins died later that same day of natural causes, according to records.
On Monday, the children's shocked uncle said the rest of the family had no idea how many children Elizabeth and Gary Siders Jr. had.
Ronnie Fletcher told WOWKTV he had no idea of the conditions at the house but has still received death threats.
He said: "We've been told that we need to be put in front of an execution line of guns and, you know, killed and burned. I mean, it's been bad.
"We've had our pictures taken off our accounts and we've had to delete all our social media.
"My wife's not been able to go to work because she works within the public and she's scared."
The four defendants have each pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of child endangerment. A judge set their bail at $300,000 each.
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 recognizance bond, which means he doesn’t have to pay the money upfront.
Greg Harris