Court records show that Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders were legally married in Mason County, West Virginia, on March 31, 2008. She was 15 and he was 18.
Gary Siders Jr. , Elizabeth Siders
Credit : SOUTHEASTERN OHIO REGIONAL JAIL
A couple arrested a week ago on child endangerment charges after 16 children were found in dire condition in a squalid home in rural Ohio were married as teenagers in West Virginia nearly two decades ago.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, and her husband, Gary Siders, Jr., 36, were arrested Tuesday, June 30, after authorities discovered the children — ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years and including both boys and girls — confined to a small room at a home in Hamden in what Attorney General Andy Wilson described as deplorable conditions.
Wilson said the children, some of whom were unable to speak, were in urgent need of medical care. Seven were taken to hospitals in Columbus, and two were flown to Level 1 trauma centers. An 18-year-old who authorities said has developmental disabilities could not write her own name.
Wilson alleged the children were in such poor condition that they looked “like almost feral animals.”
Authorities said they went to the home as part of an unrelated investigation and found the children.
Gary Siders Jr.’s parents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, were also arrested. All four pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of child endangerment. Last week, a judge set bond at $300,000 each. On Tuesday, July 7, all four waived their right to a preliminary hearing.
Court records show that Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders were legally married in Mason County, West Virginia, on March 31, 2008. She was 15 and he was 18.
The records list her parents as Brian Ray Russell and Lori Ann Raines. The marriage was officiated by then-Circuit Court Judge David Nibert. Both teenagers lived in Gallia County, Ohio, at the time. The first of the 16 children was born two months later, according to the couple’s criminal complaints.