Because we’ve got to talk about when it comes to these 16 children that were found in this room, this 12 by 12 room, and they were found emaciated, they were found in terrible conditions, there were feces all over the place, some of them couldn’t even talk or write their own name.
Now, we’re actually going to find out more information about the people and the four suspects who were involved in this case. They’re currently being held in jail on $300,000 bond, so they’re not going anywhere anytime soon, I could imagine. They’re facing 17 charges each. And we want to know who they are because, as you guys are going to hear in this segment, one of them, Junior in this case, he actually had a warrant out and could be one of the reasons that they were able to find more information about this family in the first place.
Check this out from the local news there. Wow. >> Another thing about this house on Omer Street that we’ve showed you, the Attorney General says as officers were doing that search yesterday, they were literally about to fall through the floor there. >> So, who is this family? >> Well, 10TV’s Carleigh Rognier has spent the day reaching out to relatives and digging through records to learn more about the Siders family.
>> She joins us now live from Gallia County, and Carleigh, you’ve been on top of this story since it first broke yesterday. >> Wow. >> Yeah, well, we learned through court records that a police they’ve spent a lot of time in this here in Galli- Gallipolis, Ohio. This is in Gallia County, but we spent the day going to some of their old addresses here and talking to neighbors, and no one recognized the family members, let alone knew there were children living inside those homes.
This morning, the Vinton County prosecutor referred to Gary Senior and Christina as the grandparents and said Elizabeth and Gary Junior were parents, but would not say if Elizabeth was the mother of all 16 children. We learned through a marriage record from West Virginia that Gary Siders Junior wed Elizabeth in 2008 when she was just 15 years old.
That’s the same year the first child was born. We looked through the family’s criminal records. Aside from a few traffic issues, a DUI for Gary Senior in 1998 was the most serious offense we could find. Authorities say the family bounced around southeastern Ohio, even Wisconsin, before landing in the Vinton County home where authorities uncovered this house of horrors.
>> Just almost beyond comprehension that that this stuff can happen in our country and that it can happen in in a house at the at the hands of people who are in charge of of taking care of of kids. >> And the crazy thing is people had seen these kids before. We’re going to talk about that later as well.
It’s not like nobody knew that they had kids. Some of the kids they even took to the store, people saw them and they didn’t think anything of it. >> Yeah, right now all four members of the Siders family are in jail on a $300,000 bond. Authority said this morning the focus now turns towards getting justice for these 16 children.
Reporting live in Gallia County, Carla Rogner, 10TV News. >> Jeez. It’s so important that they are safe now. And Attorney General Andy Wilson did stress that there’s no ongoing threat to the public. This was an intra-family event and they are asking people to come forward if you have any more information about it, if you have any details about the Siders family.
>> Yeah, and there’s a lot of details out there. We’re actually going to hear from the community and the community is going to talk about what happened in this case and just seems like they’re in just utter shock that this happened in their city and no one knew. >> Terrific. >> That’s just nasty. >> Terrific, it really is.
>> It’s stupid this happened to close to Wellston in Vinton County. In Vinton County, I mean, you don’t know what’s going on in this world anymore. >> Shock, disbelief, and heartbreak. That’s how neighbors in the small village of Hamden are describing what they’ve learned. >> I’ve heard there were a lot of animals in the home as well, so I can just imagine what the kids lived in.
>> It all follows a horrible find at this small home. 16 children living in terrible conditions. >> I come up and down through all the time. I’ve never seen a kid out here. >> Neighbors coming down Homer Street to see this house for themselves and they’re asking the simple question, how was this able to happen? >> And I mean, it’s not as secluded as it was mentioned in the previous video.
It looks like people could drive up and down the street. I mean, were the kids quiet? How were they kept quiet? There’s so many questions. >> Or did they know the kids were there? I mean, that’s just where it kind of bothers me. If they knew the kids were there, they should have been removed, I think. >> Thursday night, people who live here say they’re still struggling to make sense of what happened just down the street.
>> But it’s not, I mean, it’s not Vinton County per se, it’s just where they chose to bring their chaos. Because I was told that they weren’t from here. >> Absolutely. I mean, I I was born and raised in Columbus and this here for down here is very sad and shocking. Cuz you wouldn’t expect to hear it in a a village of 200.
>> I’m not used to seeing in America. It really looked third world. >> Most of our lifestyle was kept in better conditions than the children. >> Jeez. >> This is not the time for you to argue your case. >> Count five, count seven, count 12, count 17. >> Each of those felonies of the second degree. >> The children were kept in a roughly 12 by 12 area.
It seems like it’s where they’ve spent the most of the last four years. >> Wow. >> Pure evil. Those were the words used to describe what was happening behind closed doors at a home in Vinton County. >> Four suspects are facing serious charges now after 16 children were discovered in what authorities call a house of horrors.
Sheriff’s deputies searched that home on Tuesday finding kids covered in feces, urine, and filth held in a 12 by 12 room for four years. >> Can y’all imagine? >> Detectives say some of them were so ill they were close to dying. >> We have team coverage of this unprecedented investigation rattling a small town and beyond tonight. Chief investigator Lisa Rontala is digging into how the family kept these children hidden there for years.
First, we begin with Annabelle Kinney who talked with neighbors living doors down from this horrific scene. >> Can you imagine realizing that you’re in the same neighborhood where this is happening and you just had no idea? Uh they had to have been threatening or just had these kids so conditioned that they wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t try and escape. I mean, something.
Run down the street, say something to somebody. Jeez. >> This is the home where the 16 children were being kept. Neighbors that live just across the street say if they would have known what was happening, they would have jumped in to help. >> It’s disgusting and I I didn’t sleep a whole lot last night and I I prayed a whole lot that they that all them kids get better.
>> It looked like something out of a third world country. >> That’s how Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the conditions inside the home where investigators say 16 children were being kept. >> Just almost beyond comprehension that that this stuff can happen in our country and that it can happen in a house at the hands of people who are in charge of of taking care of of kids.
>> Wilson says seven of the kids were sent to Columbus area hospitals on Tuesday. Josh Odell says he can see the backyard of the home where police say the kids were being kept and hidden. >> We have a little girl ourselves, so it immediately alarmed me like there’s some very bad people that was just right there.
>> He said in his five years of living there, he’s never seen any children and wants more answers. >> Did they give birth at the hospital to all these kids? Where is there’s records? And something that struck me is that these people were not from around here. >> Officials say the children were not enrolled in school.
The Vinton County Sheriff says due to the children being isolated and some children being developmentally disabled, it has impacted the investigation. >> And I mean, it’s possible that it’s not their kids. I mean, they’ll do some blood work and they’ll find out if the kids are related, but that’s going to take some time to get back.
But, can you imagine they just picked these kids up as they were moved around from counties county to county? >> One of the investigative challenges we have to face is that they are limited. Uh they can’t communicate. >> Joseph Stortz is another neighbor that lives next door. He says he’s seen the four people charged going to Dollar General every once in a while, but never any kids.
>> Kind of saying that I did they did stuff like that and >> Wow. >> after I seen the pic I seen the pictures of them and the mugshots that I and they look pretty rough. >> Odell says the guilt of not knowing is taking a toll on him. >> I really hope they all get better. But, I mean it it obviously is weighed on my conscience that I I wished I could have done something.
>> Wow. >> Now, investigators say the suspects are the kids’ grandmother, grandfather, and father and mother and that they could have been living in a 12 by 12 room for years. Reporting live in Vinton County and Wellston, ABC 6 News. >> Crazy. >> In Wellston, >> very much. Investigators say that Vinton County home first hit their radar out of a separate investigation.
And that’s why they say they executed their first search warrant and then they found those abused kids. >> ABC 6 on your side. Chief Investigator Lisa Rantala spent the afternoon at the courthouse tracking down those search warrants. Jessica Mike, this afternoon I spoke with two judges, one clerk who tell me here at the courthouse this afternoon.
One county judge did tell me he did sign one search warrant for that home which is sealed tonight. A probate judge confirmed he signed a second search warrant also sealed. Now, a common pleas court judge has the case of a mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather who could face more than 100 years behind bars.
>> That’s it? >> Gary Siders Jr. and senior facing >> can >> 17 counts. Elizabeth Siders and Mom Christina facing 16. >> These are serious allegations and if you are unsure on what to do, I will enter a not guilty plea for you until you can consult with counsel. >> Prosecutors described the four as mother, grand >> And we talked about Elizabeth, the one you guys can see all the way to the right.
She already has an attorney representing her because, again, there’s some strange things going on there. She was married when she was 15. When she was 15 and married to Jerry Siders Jr., that was around the same time that one of the first kids was born. So, again, maybe something crazy going on there. We might have another story that develops as a result of this.
Just make sure you stay tuned. >> grandmother, grandfather, and father, and accuse them of abusing more than a dozen children from 1 year old to 18 years old. >> The first victim, it shows that they are 18 years old. Why is that an in child endangerment charge? >> Good question. Uh the uh young person’s mental capacity, she is, we believe, developmentally disabled.
>> They tell me the 18-year-old could not spell her own name. The others were also not enrolled in school. >> Did these children know how to read and write? >> Yeah, again, we’re we’re we’re working through that right now. Some of these children couldn’t even speak. >> Investigators say the family kept children hidden for years, avoiding being part of any medical or government records since 2008.
>> And we’re actually going to get into the press conference here as well. But again, I want to talk about this arrest warrant that was out there because there is information about one of the reasons the police were there in the first place. Specifically tied to Junior, and y’all can even see Amy talking about in the chat.
Amy says that she does believe the young woman is probably a victim. I think that’s a possibility as well. She says that he met her, talking about Jerry Siders Jr., met her, Elizabeth, when she was 13. Crazy. This is And Amy also says she looks like she had uh restraint bruises on her arm. Amy knows she’s she’s very has a very broad wealth of knowledge when it comes to what can happen in these types of cases.
So, thank you Amy for sharing that. Let’s hear what they have to say about this arrest warrant for Gary Siders Jr. >> Now at 6:00, questions remain on what tipped off investigators to the discovery of 16 children living in deplorable conditions inside a Benton County home. Tonight, we’re pushing for answers.
Thanks for joining us tonight at 6:00. On the air and on the stream, I’m Yolanda Harris. >> And I’m Jeff Hogan. Authorities made that discovery Tuesday after getting a search warrant for the home. They arrested four members of the Siders family. All are charged with 16 counts of endangering children. Law enforcement was working on an unrelated investigation and did not expect to find those kids there.
>> Well, we have live team coverage tonight. We’re going to start with 10 News’ Carla Rogner. >> And she is live in Benton County right now. Carla, what are you learning tonight? >> Yeah, well, investigators have been tight-lipped about what led them here in the first place, but we got court records that show there was a warrant filed for the arrest of Gary Siders Jr.
on public indecency charges. It’s dated the same day that the children were found behind these walls. >> Wow. >> Nobody knew. Well, we’re so close in, I understand. But it’s heartbreaking. >> Out for a walk with her dog, Janet Wilberg couldn’t help but walk past the Siders family home. >> Oh, it’s just heartbreaking.
And poor kids. It’s awful. >> She and other neighbors still grappling with how 16 children could have been living inside the home in conditions that the attorney general has called pure evil. >> But you don’t know. You can’t do anything. >> So, what put the Siders family on the radar of law enforcement? Records from the Benton County court show on June 29th, a request was filed for a warrant for Gary Siders Jr.
>> Thank God. >> was served the next day, June 30th. It lists four public indecency charges for incidents at the Omer Street home on May 23rd, May 27th, May 29th, and May 31st. It’s unclear if this is what led investigators to the house of horror. So far, they’ve only revealed a parallel investigation was underway at the time of the discovery.
But regardless of how it happened, neighbors are just glad the children are now free. >> They come on unrelated charge unrelated incident and then they found stumbled upon the kids. I’m just glad they found them. Cuz they said in 24 hours they could have been dead. >> Jeez. >> Yeah, we stopped by the Vinton County Sheriff’s office today to try to get a copy of those incident reports from the incidents with Gary Saylor Jr.
back in May. We’re still waiting on those. In the meantime, the four Saylor family members are all still in jail on a $300,000 bond. Reporting live in Vinton County, Carli Wagner, 10TV News. >> All right, so we’re going to give you guys more information about this cuz it isn’t done. We’re going to get into the press conference that was held by the Attorney General and the Sheriff in this case.
They’re going to answer some questions. We’ll talk about that in the next video. So make sure y’all stay tuned. Check out the next video and let me know what you think about this in the comments in the chat.
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