Lawyer makes claim about 16 ‘feral’ Ohio children that changes what we knew
Elizabeth Siders' lawyer has again called the characterisation of the 'Ohio House of Horrors' case into question.
Thomas Stolly previously claimed that he has 'seen some things to contradict' statements made by officials in Vinton County about the 20-strong family who were living in squalor.
Now, he has doubled down on this declaration in a new interview, where he again raised objections to Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson comparing the children to 'feral animals'.
Elizabeth, 33, was arrested on 30 June alongside her spouse Gary Siders Jr, 36, and his parents Gary Siders Sr, 73, Christina Siders, 67.
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Police raided the family home in Hamden, Vinton County, due to unrelated indecent exposure charges made against Gary Jr and stumbled across what was described as a 'deplorable' scene.
More than a dozen children were found living in 'conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in', Wilson previously told reporters.
He claimed their medical conditions were so severe after years of isolation that it was getting to the point where 'their lives were in danger'.
"They looked like almost feral animals," Wilson said at a previous press conference. "It was terrible. This is pure evil. Justice will be served for these kids."
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain added: "Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children. Just a disgusting scene."
It was reported that the 16 children were discovered in a room that was roughly 12-by-12-foot, which had a 'high presence' of human faeces.
Officials said the children's ages ranged from about 18 months to 18 years, many were unable to speak and they had not been enrolled in school.
But Stolly has since claimed that this isn't the case - as he alleged that Elizabeth and Gary Jr's offspring 'could talk' and had verbally communicated 'when the police came in'.
During an appearance on Chris Cuomo's podcast Cuomo Crime Time, the lawyer challenged the 'frankly inappropriate remarks' made by Wilson.
Stolly said that he has not seen any evidence to suggest that the Siders children 'were punished in any way for trying to leave the home, for trying to come out of the room'.
"In fact, there's no evidence that these kids were not free to move about the house," he told Cuomo.
He then went on to address the 'feral animals' comment made by Wilson, saying: "We've already debunked the myth that these kids were almost feral.
"The ones that were of appropriate age had social media pages, there's evidence of that online now. We've debunked that. These kids could talk, they spoke when the police came in.
"These kids, you have to remember, were terrified when multiple police officers from multiple agencies with a battering ram came in serving this search warrant. So these kids, as any kids would be, were terrified."
'Nonsense'
Stolly said that his client Elizabeth confirmed this to him and 'absolutely disputes' the suggestion that her children cannot communicate.
Discussing the 'nonsense that we've seen about this case', he continued: "If we're talking about feral children, those are children who do not understand the world. If the kids can speak, I think that changes the analysis.
"My client, the mom of these children, absolutely disputes that."
Discussing why the home was described as being in an inhabitable state, Stolly said: "This is very clearly a case where my client and the Siders family were living in extreme poverty
"What she's said to me is that with 16 kids, things could get messy fast. I don't know more beyond that."
He reminded people that the cast is still in its 'very early stages'.
Elizabeth, Gary Jr, Christina and Gary Sr were each charged with felony child endangerment. They all pleaded not guilty.
Olivia Burke