As Elizabeth Siders faces felony charges in one of Ohio’s most disturbing child neglect cases, her attorney says the first question she asked after her arrest was “telling” of her true character.
On June 30, police searched a rural home in Vinton County, Ohio, where they discovered 16 children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, allegedly living in conditions investigators described as “deplorable.”
Authorities believe more than half of the children had spent the previous four years confined to a single 12-foot-by-12-foot room.
The alleged neglect extended well beyond the cramped living space. The home was reportedly covered in dirt and feces, and Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the the years of neglect had taken a visible toll on the 16 children, all belonging to Elizabeth Siders, who married their father, Gary Siders Jr., when she was 15, according to the Associated Press (AP).
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible,” the attorney general said, according to CBS News. Sheriff Cain offered another grim assessment, saying, “Most of their livestock was kept in better condition than their children.”
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