More than 10 years before she and three other adults were arrested in a shocking Ohio child abuse case, the mother of 16 children allegedly found in filthy, feces-stained living conditions had posted an unsettling message from her husband’s Facebook account.
In the June 5, 2014 post, a then-21-year-old Elizabeth Siders appeared to demand that images of her be removed from the platform, writing: “[sic] this is elizabeth i dont want any one putting pictures of me on facebook every one if you have any pictures of me on here please take them off here !” according to The Sun.
After Siders’ arrest last month, another image of her began circulating online — a photo first shared by her mother, Lori Russell, on Facebook in August 2020. In it, Siders is seen smiling with shoulder-length blond hair, a noticeably different appearance from the dark-haired, blank-faced mugshot released in connection with the case.
Russell captioned the birthday post: “Happy Birthday to my daughter Elizabeth it hard to believe. My youngest is 28 today love you, mom and dad,” though the picture itself was not dated.
Siders, now 33, was among four adults charged on June 30 with 16 counts tied to what authorities described as a deeply disturbing child abuse investigation. Officials said the children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years old, were discovered in squalid conditions inside a cramped 12-by-12 room at a home in Hamden, Ohio — a scene Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called “pure evil.”
Wilson said the conditions inside the home were beyond what most people could comprehend, especially for children.
“It was terrible,” Wilson said, adding that “these folks were pretty good at hiding these kids.
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible.”
Elizabeth Siders was just 15 when she married Gary Siders Jr., then 18, in 2008 in West Virginia — where parental consent, at the time, was enough to legally tie the knot.
The couple’s oldest child, an 18-year-old girl, was reportedly born two months later.
Relatives of Elizabeth Siders claim they lost contact with her after she married into the Siders family.
Her attorney requested a recognizance bond for Siders last week that would let her leave jail under certain criteria, arguing that because she doesn’t have a criminal record she would be eligible for time away from Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail.
She is currently being held on a $300,000 bond.
“Through conversations with Counsel, the Defendant maintains that her principal desire (is) to reunite with her children,” wrote Siders’ lawyer, J. Thomas Sully, in a court filing obtained by WOWK 13.
“She understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court.”
The filing claims that Elizabeth Siders is no longer a threat now that the children have been removed from the care of her and her husband, Gary Siders Jr., 36.
On Monday, the state was expected to award Vinton County $1 million to assist in the care of the children.
The children, who were never enrolled in school, can barely communicate — and some cannot even speak, authorities said.
The oldest child is severely developmentally disabled and unable to even write her name, according to investigators.
Grandparents Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, were arrested alongside Gary Jr. and Elizabeth.
Each family member was slapped with 16 counts of felony child endangerment charges.
Elizabeth Siders is currently being held on a $300,000 bond.
