The lawyer for the Ohio mom at the center of the so-called “house of horrors” case is firing back at claims that her 16 children were living like “feral animals”—and says their social media pages prove otherwise.
According to attorney Tommy Stolly, several of the kids had active online profiles, undermining the 𝓈𝒽𝓸𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 descriptions that authorities gave after the June 30 raid on the family’s cramped home in Hamden, Ohio.
“We’ve already debunked the myth that these kids were almost feral,” Stolly told NewsNation’s 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 “almost [like] feral animals” 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 Stolly’s latest claims.
Elizabeth Siders, 33, her husband Gary Siders Jr. , 36, and two other family members—Gary Siders Sr. , 73, and Katherine “Christina” Siders, 67—all 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 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 situation in California. “The Turpins made choices,” he said. “They portrayed a folksy family image online.”
Instead, the attorney blamed extreme poverty, saying the Siders family had simply fallen into a cycle of neglect they couldn’t see.
Investigators first discovered the children while serving a warrant on Gary Jr. for unrelated indecency charges. Sheriff Ryan Cain called the scene “disgusting” and said even the family’s livestock lived in better conditions.
Attorney General Wilson described it as “pure evil” 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 18—their 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?
