Authorities report the children, aged between 18 months and 18 years old, “looked like feral animals.” -Credit:Reach Publishing Services Limited
The grandparents of the 16 rescued children in Ohio were receiving state assistance, according to the county prosecutor, and lawmakers approved $1 million in emergency funding Monday to help care for the children.
“Grandpa and grandma were the only ones I’m aware of that were receiving (state) benefits at the time of this incident,” Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer told reporters. He did not specify whether it was Social Security benefits or another kind, such as food stamps.
On June 30, Gary Siders Sr., 73; Christina Siders, 66; Gary Siders Jr., 36; and Elizabeth Siders, 33, the mother of the children, were arrested on child endangerment charges. It comes as mom-of-16 Elizabeth made a disturbing demand as she begged to be freed from jail.
Authorities report the children, aged between 18 months and 18 years old, “looked like feral animals.”
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the evidence collected as “beyond comprehension.”
Gary Siders Jr., believed to be the children’s father, was working as a DoorDash delivery driver, according to NewsNation.
16 children were found living like ‘feral animals’ inside the Ohio home -Credit:AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
“Only the grandparents were being supported by the state. I don’t think that Gary Siders was even working, but if he was working, he was working as a DoorDash driver or delivery driver,” said Lauren Conlin, an independent crime and entertainment reporter, on Chris Cuomo’s podcast “Cuomo Crime Time.”
The 16 children were allegedly kept for years in a 12-by-12-foot room and were not enrolled in school. While the grandparents reportedly received state assistance, the county prosecutor said the children had no school or medical records.
On Monday, Ohio lawmakers also approved $1 million in emergency funding to help care for the children. The Ohio Controlling Board approved funds to cover related costs, such as court proceedings and law enforcement overtime, as the children will be placed in foster care, according to WCMH.
Ronnie Fletcher, an uncle to the children, stated he was completely unaware of the living conditions that officials have characterized as “deplorable conditions.”
He further explained that both he and his wife are now too afraid to report to work, concerned the situation could devastate the business venture he’d been working to establish.
“All this is taking money off our table because we can’t live our normal lives because the way these people are trying to treat us on something we didn’t have nothing to do with.
“How am I supposed to start a business in this community when I’m being stapled to the face of ‘pure evil’?”
Fletcher, who is married to a daughter of suspects Gary Siders Sr. and Christina ‘Lynn’ Siders, told WOWK-TV: “What can I do to help? – That was the original reaction to it.
“Horrified. Worried about the kids. It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family.”
It comes as the mom-of-16 was pictured in a shocking throwback photo from before her life inside the house of horrors.