A new court filing has been made by the lawyer representing the mother of the 16 children discovered in alleged squalor at a home in Vinton County.
Elizabeth Siders’ attorney, Thomas Stolly, has asked the court to order a mental health evaluation to determine whether she is legally competent to face trial.
The request was submitted on Tuesday, August 4, in Vinton County Common Pleas Court. In the filing, Stolly argued that Siders may be dealing with serious mental health problems that could interfere with her ability to take part in her own defense. Additionally, Stolly has requested that if Siders is found competent to stand trial, the court should order an evaluation to determine whether she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
“Counsel believes that the Defendant’s significant mental health issues would not only affect whether she is competent to stand trial, but would also have affected her ability to understand the wrongfulness of her conduct… such that the Defendant would not have fully understood the consequences of her actions at the time of the alleged offenses, should such actions have actually constituted criminal conduct.”
The latest development follows the rescue of 16 children from a remote Ohio property last month, where authorities said they were living in conditions described as both “deplorable” and “pure evil.” Elizabeth Siders is now the only defendant among the four charged who has sought a competency evaluation, following similar motions already approved by the court for her husband Gary Siders Jr., his father Gary Siders Sr., and his mother Christina Siders.
Four relatives were arrested on June 30 in connection with the case: Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, Gary Siders Jr., and Elizabeth Siders. Each was charged with 16 counts of child endangering, second-degree felonies.
All four entered not guilty pleas during their July 1 arraignment.
The court has already approved competency hearings for Gary Sr., Gary Jr., and Christina. The evaluations ordered for Gary Jr. and Christina are due within 30 days, while Gary Sr.’s evaluation must be completed by August 8.
Stolly has also challenged some of the public descriptions made about his client.
“The person that I met with is not someone who comes across as pure evil. Evil requires malice, and the person that I saw there, Elizabeth, she doesn’t have that in her eyes, at least from this initial meeting.”
According to court documents, Gary Sr. has since been released from jail after a hospital stay. The reason for his hospitalization has not been publicly clarified. Updated bond terms state that he must notify the court of any changes to his address or phone number.
He is also required to attend all future court proceedings.
In the wake of the arrests, Ronnie Fletcher, who is married to the daughter of Gary Siders Sr., spoke publicly about the case and its impact on extended family members.
“Horrified. Worried about the kids. It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family.
“What can I do to help?’ That was the original reaction to it.”
Fletcher said the fallout has been devastating for relatives who say they had no idea what was happening inside the home.
“It’s been awful for the people that had no idea that was going on in the house that are related to this family.
“I mean, we’ve had death threats – we’ve been told that we need to be put in front of an execution line of guns and, you know, killed and burned. I mean, it’s been bad.”
He also insisted family members would have intervened had they known the children were living in those conditions.
“If we would have known that it was like that in that home, we would have done something about it, even if it was just to go there and take the kids ourselves or give them money.
“Them girls [Gary Sr. and Christina’s daughters] would have went there and cleaned the house themselves if they’d known it was like that.”
Investigators said none of the 16 children had been enrolled in school, and that the oldest child could not write her own name.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson previously addressed the case at a press conference.
“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids. We didn’t know there were going to be 16 kids there. It’s the type of thing that we’re not used to seeing here in America.
“They looked like almost feral animals. It was terrible.”
Records indicate that Gary Siders Jr., then 18, married Elizabeth Siders, then 15, in Mason County, West Virginia, with permission from Elizabeth’s parents. The oldest child was born two months after the couple wed, meaning Elizabeth was still a minor when she gave birth to her first child.
The couple’s first child was then born, followed by additional children in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 (twins), 2024 (twins), and 2025.
The superintendent of Gallia County Local Schools in southeast Ohio told WSAZ3 that records from this year show Gary Jr. and Elizabeth were listed as parents with a local school.
Court documents obtained by the Columbus Dispatch show Gallia County Juvenile Court filed six truancy complaints against the pair over allegations that they failed to send their children to school.
The children were allegedly absent throughout the full 2021-2022 school year.
Those truancy proceedings were later closed because the family could not be located or served, according to court records reviewed by WCHS.
Separate records state that Elizabeth Siders gave birth prematurely to conjoined twins, Faith Lee and Bailey Lee Siders, who died about an hour after birth on November 20, 2022. Birth certificates obtained by WCMH say the babies were joined at the chest and were face-to-face. According to medical literature, the condition of thoracopagus—where twins are joined at the chest—is the most common form of conjoined twinning. The twins’ deaths were ruled natural causes.
WOWK also reports that court records accuse Gary Siders Jr. of exposing himself on four different occasions in May 2026.
A warrant was subsequently issued for his arrest over four alleged counts of public indecency. The exposure charges are considered a red flag by law enforcement experts, as such behavior weeks before the children were discovered provided an early warning sign of the household situation.
When officers went to the Siders home as part of that inquiry, they allegedly found 16 children living in conditions police described as deplorable.
Authorities further allege the children had been kept inside a 12-foot by 12-foot area for four years. Multiple children required hospitalization following their discovery and removal from the home.
Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 67, Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, were then arrested and charged with 16 counts each of endangering children, second-degree felonies. All have pleaded not guilty. The children removed from the home ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years.
Speaking to WSYX ABC 6, Stolly described his first meeting with Elizabeth Siders.
“I met a woman who was timid and who was exhausted. It looked like she had been crying quite a bit. She looked distraught.”
When he was asked whether Elizabeth should also be viewed as a victim, he replied:
“I don’t think she would classify herself as a victim.”
He also said early reporting on the property conditions did not present the full picture.
All four defendants later gave up their right to a preliminary hearing, sending the matter to a grand jury.
That grand jury will decide whether formal indictments should be returned against the four family members.
On the same day, attorneys for Gary Sr. asked for his $300,000 bail to be waived, arguing that the amount was excessive because of his age, serious health concerns, and limited mobility, as well as his inability to pay.
His lawyer, Dorian Keith Baum, said Gary Sr. “has denied any and all allegations against him” and has “a vested interest… to clear his name”.
Baum also raised questions about Gary Sr.’s competency to stand trial.
Later that day, Gary Sr. was taken to OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital in Athens. If discharged, he would be required to wear a GPS monitor. His bond was later changed to a recognizance bond, meaning he would not have to pay money upfront.
Elizabeth Siders has also asked to be released from prison and to have her bond switched to a recognizance bond.
“The Defendant maintains that her principal desire [is] to reunite with her children; she understands that reunification of any sort is an impossibility if she does not appear before this Court.”
Vinton County prosecutor William Archer Jr. has said Gary Sr. “has a serious medical condition that requires specialized care” and that keeping him jailed could have “potentially bankrupt Vinton County” if the county had to cover those costs. He also said removing the 16 children from the home more than doubled the number of children in temporary care in the county, placing additional pressure on local resources. In July, the Ohio Controlling Board approved a $1 million emergency expenditure to help the child welfare agency serving Vinton County provide care for the 16 children.
Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers approved a request for Gary Sr. to undergo a competency evaluation.
She also signed a gag order related to the case against Gary Siders Jr., preventing attorneys and public officials from discussing that matter with the media. His lawyer, Lee Roberts, said the measure was needed to protect his right to a fair trial.
Christina Siders’ attorney has likewise requested a gag order.