The jailed mother of 16 children rescued from a feces-strewn Ohio home is seeking a chance to reunite with the children, whom authorities say were subjected to severe abuse and neglect.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, is among four relatives facing 16 counts of child endangerment after the children, ages 1 to 18, were discovered living in filthy, isolated conditions inside a cramped 12-by-12-foot room. Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the scene as “pure evil.”
Her attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, last week asked the court to grant Siders a recognizance bond, which would allow her release from jail under specific conditions. He argued that her lack of a criminal record should weigh in her favor as she remains held at the Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail on a $300,000 bond.
“Through conversations with Counsel, 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,” states a court filing obtained by WOWK 13.
The filing also argues that Siders would not pose a danger to the children because they are no longer in her custody, and says she hopes to reunite with them while fighting to clear her name.
A judge has not yet issued a decision on the bond request.
Authorities say the children had been largely confined for at least four years inside the small room at the family’s home in Hamden, a village in Ohio. Officials have characterized the conditions as “deplorable” and “third-world,” with some saying local livestock were kept in better surroundings than the children.
After being removed from the home, the children were transported to hospitals across Ohio for evaluation and care.
Some were listed in serious condition, including two who were airlifted to trauma centers and at least one who had to be intubated, officials said.
The children, who were never enrolled in school, can barely communicate — and some cannot speak at all, authorities said.
The oldest child, 18, is developmentally disabled and unable to even write her name, according to investigators.
Grandparents Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina “Lynn” Siders, 67, were arrested alongside their son, Gary “Bub” Siders Jr., 36, and his wife, Elizabeth Siders, 33, and each slapped with 16 counts of felony child endangerment charges.
The younger couple is believed to be the biological parents of all 16 children, officials said.
