The mother of 16 children found living in squalid conditions at an Ohio “house of horrors” is pregnant again, her lawyer confirmed Monday after she was ruled competent to stand trial.
Elizabeth Siders, 34, has remained in custody since police in Hamden found her children living in a 12-by-12-foot room inside the family’s dilapidated home on the 180 block of Ohmer Street.
Siders initially denied being pregnant when she was booked into the Vinton County jail. On Monday, however, her attorney, Tommy Stolly, confirmed that she is expecting another child, WOUB reports.
Stolly declined to say when his client is due or provide further information about the pregnancy.
Siders married her husband, Gary Jr., 36, when she was 15. The couple went on to have 18 children, including conjoined twins who died shortly after birth.
She now faces 19 counts of child endangerment involving the care of her own children, along with two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The latter charges are believed to involve her niece or nephew.
Siders has pleaded not guilty. At a hearing Monday, she was declared competent to stand trial.
The decision followed an initial evaluation that described Siders as experiencing depression and anxiety. Her attorney said the report also noted that she has no documented history of mental illness, according to WMCH.
Elizabeth Siders, 34, pictured at her September arraignment, is pregnant, her lawyer confirmed Monday, as she was ruled competent to stand trial
Siders has been held in custody since Hamden police found her children living in a 12-by-12-foot room at the family’s dilapidated home
Authorities said they found the 16 children covered in human feces at the Hamden, Ohio, home pictured here
Stolly said he plans to seek a second psychiatric evaluation, arguing that a 90-minute Zoom session was not long enough to assess both Siders’ competency to stand trial and her mental state when the alleged child abuse occurred.
“The fact that this evaluator conducted both of these evaluations at the same time over Zoom and essentially spent approximately an hour and a half with my client—that is simply not enough to understand her mental condition,” he said.
The attorney said he is interviewing experts while searching for someone to carry out the additional assessment.
“They tell me that it’s going to take hours and hours of time to interview not only Elizabeth, but her family to get a complete understanding of how she grew up, what the conditions were like in the home when she was growing up and potentially what these conditions were like when she was in the family with the rest of the Siders,” Stolly told reporters outside the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas.
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Meanwhile, Siders’ mother-in-law, Christina Siders, was found incompetent to stand trial during a separate hearing Monday. Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers said, however, that her mental acuity could potentially be restored.
The 67-year-old grandmother underwent an initial competency evaluation on September 5. Dr. Brian P. O’Reilly concluded that she “has several risk factors for cerebrovascular dementia” and requires a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to determine whether her cognitive impairment is connected to dementia symptoms, PEOPLE reports.
At Monday’s hearing, officials said Christina had not been diagnosed with dementia. She will undergo further assessment at a behavioral health facility to determine whether she can regain competency before trial.
Her husband, Gary Siders Sr., 73, was previously ruled incompetent and unlikely to regain competency. A judge subsequently dismissed the charges against him.
Attorneys representing Gary Jr. have also requested competency evaluations, but those assessments have not yet been scheduled.
Christina Siders, 67, was found incompetent to stand trial during a separate hearing Monday, although Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers said her mental acuity could potentially be restored
Christina’s husband, Gary Siders Sr., 73, was previously ruled incompetent to stand trial. Source: Facebook
Gary Siders Sr. (top left), Christina Siders (top right), Elizabeth Siders (bottom left) and Gary Siders Jr. (bottom right)
The family members face charges stemming from a police investigation into allegations of child sexual abuse. Two other relatives have also been charged in connection with the case.
The investigation began after “diligent Dollar General clerks” contacted police last December to report concerns about children they had observed, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said at a news conference.
Police later sought Gary Jr.’s DNA as part of the child sexual abuse investigation. During that process, investigators discovered the “existence and condition” of the Siders family home, where authorities said the children were covered in human feces.
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described a cramped room where investigators believe the children had been confined for roughly four years.
“Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,” Cain said.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the children had been forced to endure “unimaginable conditions” that were especially difficult for them because of their young ages.