Elizabeth Siders, the Ohio mother of 16 children found living in appalling conditions, is pregnant again, her attorney revealed Monday as she was declared competent to stand trial.
Siders, 34, has remained behind bars since police in Hamden discovered her children living in a 12-by-12-foot room at the family’s decrepit home on the 180 block of Ohmer Street.
She initially denied being pregnant when she was booked into the Vinton County jail. But her attorney, Tommy Stolly, confirmed Monday that she is expecting another child, WOUB reports.
Stolly declined to say when his client is due or provide further details about the pregnancy.
Siders married her husband, Gary Jr., 36, when she was 15. The couple went on to have 18 children, including conjoined twins who died at birth.
She now faces 19 counts of child endangerment involving her own children, along with two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The minor is believed to be her niece or nephew.
Siders has pleaded not guilty. During a hearing Monday, she was found competent to stand trial.
An initial evaluation described Siders as suffering from depression and anxiety but noted that she had no documented history of mental illness, her attorney said, according to WMCH.
Elizabeth Siders, 34, pictured at her September arraignment, is pregnant, her lawyer confirmed Monday
Siders has been jailed since Hamden police found her children living in a 12-by-12-foot room at the family’s decrepit home
Authorities said the 16 children were covered in human feces when they were found at the Hamden, Ohio, home pictured
Stolly said he plans to submit a second psychiatric evaluation, arguing that a 90-minute Zoom session was not sufficient to assess both Siders’ competency to stand trial and her mental state at the time of the alleged child abuse.
“The fact that this evaluator conducted both of these evaluations at the same time over Zoom and essentially spent approximately an hour and a half with my client — that is simply not enough to understand her mental condition,” he said.
The attorney said he is interviewing experts in an effort to find someone who can carry out a second assessment.
“They tell me that it’s going to take hours and hours of time to interview not only Elizabeth, but her family to get a complete understanding of how she grew up, what the conditions were like in the home when she was growing up and potentially what these conditions were like when she was in the family with the rest of the Siders,” Stolly told reporters outside the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas.
Meanwhile, Siders’ mother-in-law, Christina Siders, was found incompetent to stand trial at a separate hearing Monday. Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers said her mental acuity could potentially be restored.
The 67-year-old grandmother underwent an initial competency evaluation on September 5. Dr. Brian P. O’Reilly wrote that she “has several risk factors for cerebrovascular dementia and that a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is required to determine whether her cognitive impairment is the result of symptoms of dementia,” PEOPLE reports.
At Monday’s competency hearing, officials said Christina had not been diagnosed with dementia. She will undergo further assessment at a behavioral health facility to determine whether she can regain competency before trial.
Her husband, Gary Siders Sr., 73, was previously ruled incompetent and unlikely to regain competency. A judge later dropped the charges against him.
Attorneys for Gary Jr. have also requested competency evaluations, but those assessments have not yet been scheduled.
Christina Siders, 67, was found incompetent to stand trial Monday, although Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers said her mental acuity could possibly be restored
Christina’s husband, Gary Siders Sr., 73, was previously ruled incompetent to stand trial. Source: Facebook
The family members face charges after police investigating alleged child sexual abuse uncovered conditions inside the home. Two other relatives are also facing charges in connection with the case.
The investigation began last December when “diligent Dollar General clerks” contacted police about children they had seen, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said at a news conference.
When police later conducted a search for Gary Jr.’s DNA as part of the child sexual abuse investigation, they discovered the “existence and condition” of the Siders’ home. Authorities said the children were covered in human feces.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described a cramped room where investigators believe the children were kept for approximately four years.
“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” Cain said.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the children had been forced to endure “unimaginable conditions” that were especially arduous for young people.
