
The lawyer for the Ohio mom at the center of the so-called āhouse of horrorsā case is firing back at claims that her 16 children were living like āferal animalsāāand says their social media pages prove otherwise.
According to attorney Tommy Stolly, several of the kids had active online profiles, undermining the šš½šøšøšš¾šš descriptions that authorities gave after the June 30 raid on the familyās cramped home in Hamden, Ohio.
āWeāve already debunked the myth that these kids were almost feral,ā Stolly told NewsNationās Crime Time podcast. He pointed out that children of appropriate age had social media pages, and that evidence of that is now available online.
Stolly also pushed back on comments from Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson, who said the youngsters appeared āalmost [like] feral animalsā when officers entered the house. The lawyer argued the children could talk and understood the world around them, which he said changes the narrative entirely.
Authorities have not yet responded to Stollyās latest claims.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, her husband Gary Siders Jr. , 36, and two other family membersāGary Siders Sr. , 73, and Katherine āChristinaā Siders, 67āall face felony child endangerment charges.
Reports describe the home as having only one bathroom for 20 people, with floors so deteriorated that children were allegedly at risk of falling through.
Stolly insisted this case should not be compared to the infamous Turpin family šŖš«š¾š¼š® situation in California. āThe Turpins made choices,ā he said. āThey portrayed a folksy family image online.ā
Instead, the attorney blamed extreme poverty, saying the Siders family had simply fallen into a cycle of neglect they couldnāt see.
Investigators first discovered the children while serving a warrant on Gary Jr. for unrelated indecency charges. Sheriff Ryan Cain called the scene ādisgustingā and said even the familyās livestock lived in better conditions.
Attorney General Wilson described it as āpure evilā and said some children had allegedly been confined to a 12-by-12-foot room for most of the last four years.
Court records show Elizabeth and Gary Jr. married in 2008 when she was just 15 and he was 18ātheir first child was born two months later. All three adults who remain jailed have pleaded not guilty and are being held on $300,000 bond each.
As the legal battle heats up, one question lingers: if these children had social media lives, what else might have been invisible to the outside world?

