Records show family in Ohio 'house of horrors' case had at least three teen marriages
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Legal records indicate that at least three members of the Siders family, who have been accused of keeping 16 children in a room in their house, were married as teenagers.
In a 'house of horrors' in Ohio officials discovered 16 children aged between 18 months and 18 years old being kept in their family home in a small room covered in faeces.
Some of the children were unable to speak, and an 18-year-old was developmentally disabled to the point she couldn't write her own name.
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The children's parents and two grandparents, Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders have since been charged with felony child endangerment following the chance discovery, with police and locals unaware of the children's existence since none had been enrolled in schools.
All four of them have entered pleas of 'not guilty' to the charges against them.
Now the Columbus Dispatch reports that legal documents indicate that Elizabeth Siders, nee Russell, was married to Gary Siders Jr in 2008 when she was 15 and he was 18, two months later she gave birth to their first of 18 children.
They also report that 48-year-old relative Richard Siders married pregnant child 14-year-old Tessi Wright in 2002, and in 2003 15-year-old Virginia Siders married Josh Saunders.
The ages and marriages are indicated by Ohio state birth and marriage records.
Nonprofit group Unchained At Last, which works to end child marriage, denounced the 'tragic outcomes' of making children get married.
Their director Fraidy Reiss told the Dispatch: "This heartbreaking case is a powerful reminder of what we've always known, that child marriage is dangerous and often leads to tragic outcomes.
"How many more terrible reminders do legislators need before they finally do what states across the U.S. and countries around the world are doing and ban marriage before age 18?"
Thomas Stolly, a legal representative for the Siders family, urged people not to rush to judgement and hit out at some of the descriptions of the children's living situation.
"We're still at the early stages of this criminal case,” Stolly told WBNS-TV on Thursday (9 July). "And so that's one of the reasons that it's important to push back against language like that.
"And it's important to remember that Elizabeth and the rest of the Siders family are innocent until proven guilty.
"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."
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. Marital records indicate Elizabeth's education topped at eighth grade, while Gary Siders Jr. left school after completing ninth grade.
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.
19 October 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.
Court records obtained by the Columbus Dispatch reveal that Gallia County Juvenile Court filed six truancy complaints against Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders for failing to send their children to school.
2022
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the Siders family moved to Vinton County, again in southeast Ohio, around this 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.
23, 27, 29 and 31 May 2026
Court records show Gary Siders Jr. is accused of exposing himself on four separate occasions on these dates, WOWK reports.
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.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth also asks for her bond to be released from prison and her bond changed to a recognizance bond. Stolly says: "The Defendant maintains that her principal desire [is] to reunite with her children; she understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court."
8 July 2026
Vinton County prosecutor William Archer Jr. tells press that Gary Sr. 'has a serious medical condition that requires specialized care' that would 'potentially bankrupt Vinton County' if he'd remained in jail and the county had to pay for his care. Removing the 16 children from the Siders' home more than doubled the number of children in temporary care in Vinton County, putting further financial strain on local authorities.
Topics: US News, Crime, True Crime
Joe Harker