Ohio mom of 16 ‘feral’ kids trapped in 12×12 room makes disturbing request as she begs for release
WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT: Elizabeth Siders, 33, told her attorney that she wanted to be reunited with her 16 children, who were rescued from their home after being found in horrifying conditions
Elizabeth Siders’ attorney said she just wants to see her kids(Image: Police)
The mother of 16 “feral” children who were rescued from deplorable conditions had one request after she was placed behind bars.
Police made the horrifying discovery last week when they happened upon the home in rural Hamden, Ohio, during an unrelated investigation. One member of law enforcement described what they saw as “pure evil,” and explained that the children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, were likely confined to a 12×12 room for most of the last four years.
On Thursday, a court filing reviewed by WCMH revealed that Elizabeth Siders, the mother of all 16 kids, asked to be released from custody. Siders called being freed and reunited with her children her top desire, according to the filing. Her attorney argued that she has no known criminal record and has shown the court no indication that she would be uncooperative with law enforcement. “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. It comes as the mom-of-16 was pictured in a shocking throwback photo from before her life inside the house of horrors.
Siders’ attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, argued that she does not pose a flight risk, and has agreed to wear a GPS monitor, check in with her bond officer, and provide the court with a stable living address.
He told WBNS that the 33-year-old is only focused on one thing, “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.”
Elizabeth Siders, 33, faces 16 counts of felony child endangerment(Image: Instagram)
Investigators found that Elizabeth Siders was just 15 years old when she married Gary Siders Jr. and gave birth to their first child just two months later.
Stolly said that Elizabeth had only “positive things to say about Gary” from jail, saying that they wanted a “big family.” However, Elizabeth’s brother, Jeremy Russell, shared a social media post arguing that his sister had been “indoctrinated” as a teen.
The house was in horrendous condition when authorities found the children, with human waste and insects all over it
Russell argued that Elizabeth had completely “wrapped her life up due to indoctrination,” emphasizing that the extreme psychological control over her was “100 percent real.”
Relatives indicated that Elizabeth experienced a “difficult home life” as a teen and eagerly fled by running away to live with Gary Siders Jr. and his parents, Gary Sr. and Christina Siders, NewsNation reported.
Elizabeth is currently being held on a $300,000 bond after she was arrested alongside Gary Siders Jr., 36, her mother-in-law, Christina Siders, 66, and Gary Sr., 73.