Ohio ‘house of horrors’ mom whose 16 kids were found locked away in squalor is pregnant again
The mom at the center of an Ohio “house of horrors” case — where her 16 children were found locked away in squalor — is pregnant again.
Elizabeth Siders, 34 — who was arrested in June and charged with 19 counts of child endangerment, two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor — appeared in Vinton County court Monday for a competency hearing.
Siders denied she was pregnant when she was booked into the county jail, but on Monday, her attorney, Thomas Stolly, confirmed she is expecting another child, WOUB reported.
Stolly did not provide a due date or any other details about his client’s pregnancy.
At Monday’s hearing, the judge ruled Siders is competent to stand trial. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The ruling followed an initial report that found Siders has depression and anxiety but no documented history of mental illness, her lawyer said.
Stolly has filed a motion seeking an evaluation of his client “to determine if she is not guilty by reason of insanity, because she was suffering from a condition which would produce legal insanity at the time of the alleged offenses,” according to People.
Stolly wrote that he had spent extended time with Siders on “numerous occasions,” allowing him “to observe [her] demeanor, conduct, and comprehension.”
He said he believed she “may be suffering from significant mental health issues,” adding that her “competency may be an issue and a clear impediment to [her] ability to assist in her own defense.”
Siders’ husband, Gary Siders Jr., who faces the same charges, is also undergoing a competency evaluation, though no hearing has been scheduled yet.
Just an hour before Siders’ ruling, the same judge found that her mother-in-law, Christina Siders, is not competent to stand trial, WOUB reported.
Christina Siders’ psychological evaluation found she could potentially be restored to competency, and she will be sent to an inpatient facility for treatment.
Her evaluation also noted signs of dementia, and her attorney is asking the court to pay for further evaluation by a specialist.
The rulings followed last month’s dismissal of the case against Christina Siders’ husband, Gary Siders Sr., after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
Because the case was dismissed without prejudice, the charges could be refiled later.
Gary Siders Sr. will remain under the court’s jurisdiction until a civil commitment is filed in county probate court.
The four adults were arrested in June and each initially faced 16 counts of felony child endangerment, after investigators said the 16 “almost feral” children — all believed to be the couple’s — had been kept locked in a 12-by-12 room inside a home reeking of cat urine.
The victims, aged 1 to 18, were mostly confined to the cramped space for at least the past four years, according to authorities, who described the grisly scene as “deplorable” and “third-world.”
