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Elizabeth Siders’ parents gave permission for her to marry her then-18-year-old husband, records show
Further details about the family who resided at the property dubbed the ‘Ohio House of Horrors’ have surfaced.
Local residents and relatives of the Siders have been speaking out in recent days after police raided the dilapidated pad where 20 of them lived in Vinton County on 30 June.
Now, court records have shed some further light on the family dynamic that was at play – and what transpired after Elizabeth, 33, married into the brood when she was still a teenager.
The US has been left reeling by reports that have emerged since Elizabeth, her husband Gary Siders Jr., 36, and his parents Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 67, were arrested more than a week ago.
Officials described the scene as ‘pure evil’ and said the 16 kids found at the Ohio home have been living in ‘unimaginable conditions’ – while likening them to ‘feral animals’.
The 16 children were living in squalor at the property, police said (YouTube/NBC4i)
Many of the children, whose ages ranged from around 18-months-old to 18-years-old, were unable to speak. The eldest could not write her own name, police said.
The children spent most of their time in a room that was roughly 12 feet by 12 feet (3.5 meters by 3.5 meters), according to investigators, who noted that human waste was all around.
Several of the youngsters were in need of medical attention and were taken to nearby hospitals. The Siders children are currently under the custody of authorities in Vinton County.
The four adult family members were each charged with felony child endangerment and are being held on $300,000 (£224,482) cash bonds – but Gary Sr has since been released.
The pensioner ‘fell and had a medical issue that required treatment and assessment’, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said and doctors then discovered he has a ‘serious medical condition’.
The father and son were arrested on 30 June along with their wives (YouTube/WCHSTV)
As he was in custody, this meant that the county would be burdened by his medical bills – and officials claimed the costs of this had the potential to ‘bankrupt’ them.
“We were not going to put that burden on our taxpayers and so it was agreed that we would do a recognizance bond so he could get the medical treatment that the doctors say he needs and won’t cost the county that money,” Archer said. “If he’s released from then, he will then be equipped with a GPS monitor.”
This bond – which is also known as a Personal Recognizance/PR bond – allows an arrested person to leave jail without paying money. All four adults have pleaded not guilty to the charges they are facing.
The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) are now reportedly seeking $1million in emergency funding to help support the rescued children through foster care placements and court proceedings.