Elizabeth Siders, 33, one of four adults arrested last month in connection with the discovery of 16 children living in squalor in a rural Ohio home, has denied that her children lived like “feral animals.” Her attorney, Tommy Stolly, attributed the deplorable conditions to “extreme poverty” and stated that the children were simply “messy.”
Authorities described the children, aged 18 months to 18 years, as living in a home filled with trash and feces, and the Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson stated they were living “like almost feral animals.” Some of the children could barely communicate and could not speak, officials previously reported.
Stolly, however, disputes these claims. "I mean, if we’re talking about feral children, those are children who do not understand the world," he said on Chris Cuomo's podcast. "Those are children who we really would want to examine the conditions in which they were living for some sort of abuse. If the kids can speak, I think that changes the analysis."
He further claimed that the children spoke to police during the raid and that the attorney general's remarks were made before a thorough investigation was complete. Stolly also noted that some of the children of appropriate age had social media pages, providing evidence of online activity.
Siders herself reportedly told her attorney that "with 16 kids, things could get messy fast." Stolly emphasized that the family was living in "extreme poverty" and that they may not have recognized the severity of their living situation because it was all they had known.
Authorities found the young victims, who had never been to school, mostly confined to the cramped home for at least the past four years. The scene was described as “deplorable” and “third-world,” with officials stating that local livestock had better conditions.
Following their rescue on June 30, the children were transported to hospitals across Ohio. Some were in serious condition, with two airlifted to trauma centers and at least one requiring intubation.
In addition to Elizabeth Siders, her husband Gary Siders Jr., 36, and grandparents Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, were arrested. Each has been charged with 16 counts of felony child endangerment. Elizabeth Siders is being held on a $300,000 bond.