Breaking news: The causes of d3ath of the two ch!ldren b0rn inside Ohio’s notorious h0rror house have now been officially revealed
THE cause of death of two children born into the Ohio “house of horrors” has emerged as their jailed mom fights to be released from custody.
The twin girls were born to Elizabeth Siders years before authorities uncovered the alleged abuse that led to 16 children being rescued from the family’s home.
Siders, 33, who now faces 16 child endangerment charges after cops found her children allegedly living in squalor, told the court her “principal desire” is to reunite with them.
Newly released records show Siders’ twin daughters, Bailey Lee and Faith Lee Siders, died of natural causes after being born extremely premature and conjoined in November 2022.
The girls were born at around 24 weeks’ gestation at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus and survived for about an hour, according to birth and death records obtained by WCMH-TV.
Death records list the twins’ cause of death as respiratory failure linked to extreme prematurity.
Their deaths came years before investigators uncovered the alleged abuse after 16 children were found inside a cramped 12ft by 12ft room in Hamden, Ohio.
Elizabeth, her husband Gary Siders Jr., 36, and his parents, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 66, have each pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of felony child endangerment.
As the criminal proceedings move forward, newly filed court documents reveal Elizabeth has asked a judge to lower her $300,000 bond.
Her lawyer, J. Thomas Stolly, argued she has no criminal history, is not a flight risk and would comply with strict release conditions, including wearing a GPS monitor.
In the filing, he wrote: “Through conversations with Counsel, 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.”
Stolly also argued it would violate the Eigth Amendment to keep his client on what he described as “excessive bail”.
He said the court already knew she had been living in “a home which exhibited extreme poverty” and therefore could not realistically afford the bond.
Speaking after visiting Siders in jail, the attorney said: “She did not ask when she was getting out of jail. She did not ask what a timeline was for her to get out of jail. She started asking about the kids.”
He also claimed: “There’s no indication that the kids were not free to move about the home. There’s no indication from my conversations with my client that the kids were not allowed to go outside.”
Authorities allege the children, ranging in age from 18 months to 18 years, had been living in appalling conditions for at least four years.
Investigators said the youngsters were discovered surrounded by human waste inside a single room at the rural property after deputies arrived to execute a warrant connected to unrelated indecent exposure allegations involving Gary Siders Jr.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the scene as unlike anything he had ever witnessed.
“I have never seen anything like what I saw today,” Wilson said.
“It really looked third world. It is not something we are used to seeing in America. I cannot get the smell off of me.”
Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said investigators have struggled to interview the children because of the extent of their developmental delays.
“One of the investigative challenges is that [the children] are limited. They can communicate, but it’s extremely limited and some not at all,” Cain said.
Authorities allege none of the children had ever been enrolled in school, with the eldest, now 18, reportedly unable to write her own name.
Prosecutors also allege many of the children could barely speak, while some were unable to communicate verbally at all.
It remains unclear whether Elizabeth and Gary Siders Jr. are the biological parents of every child, although Stolly has said he believes Elizabeth is the mother of all 16.
Family members have claimed they had no idea the true scale of the household, with brother-in-law Ronnie Fletcher previously saying relatives believed the couple had around 10 children rather than 16.
Fletcher also claimed Elizabeth had a troubled childhood and moved into the Siders family home as a teenager before marrying Gary Siders Jr. in 2008, when she was 15 and he was 18.
All four defendants remain behind bars after pleading not guilty.
If convicted on all counts, each could face decades in prison.
