The Ohio mother accused of endangering her 16 children made one request after being taken into custody following the discovery of the family living in shocking conditions.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, is facing 16 felony counts of child endangerment after authorities found her children, who range in age from 18 months to 18 years, at a rural home in Hamden, Ohio. Police came across the property during an unrelated investigation, with one law enforcement officer describing what they found as “pure evil.”
Investigators believe the children were likely confined to a 12×12 room for much of the last four years.
According to a court filing reviewed by WCMH, Siders asked to be released from jail so she could be reunited with her children. Her attorney argued she has no known criminal record and has shown no indication that she would fail to cooperate with authorities.
Elizabeth Siders is the mother of the children. Credit: Southern Ohio Regional Jail
Court filing reveals mother’s request
The filing states that Siders’ priority is seeing her children again.
“Through conversations with Counsel, the Defendant maintains that her principal desire [is] to reunite with her children,” the court filing read. “She understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court,” it added.
Her attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, also argued that Siders is not a flight risk. According to the filing, she has agreed to wear a GPS monitor, check in with her bond officer, and provide the court with a stable living address.
Speaking to WBNS, Stolly said his client had only one concern after her arrest.
“She did not ask when she was getting out of jail. She did not ask what a timeline was for her to get out of jail. She started asking about the kids.”
Family details emerge after arrests
Investigators found that Elizabeth Siders was 15 years old when she married Gary Siders Jr. and gave birth to their first child just two months later.
Stolly said Elizabeth had only “positive things to say about Gary” while in jail, explaining that the couple wanted a “big family.”
Her brother, Jeremy Russell, offered a different view, claiming on social media that his sister had been “indoctrinated” as a teenager. He said she had completely “wrapped her life up due to indoctrination,” adding that the psychological control over her was “100 percent real.
Relatives also said Elizabeth experienced a “difficult home life” as a teenager before running away to live with Gary Siders Jr. and his parents, Gary Sr. and Christina Siders.
Elizabeth Siders remains jailed on a $300,000 bond after being arrested alongside Gary Siders Jr., 36, Christina Siders, 66, and Gary Sr., 73.
