Details emerge about 16 children who lived in Ohio 'house of horrors'

A broken child's bicycle pokes out of a pile of rubbish in front of a small, run-down beige house surrounded by yellow crime scene tape.

But it is what authorities found inside that was truly heartbreaking.

Sixteen children, with human waste all around, who had been allegedly confined to a single 3.5-square-metre room for much of the past four years.

Authorities were "appalled" by the squalid conditions when they executed an unrelated search warrant on that small dilapidated home in the tiny Ohio town of Hamden last month.

Ohio Attorney-General Andy Wilson described the 16 children, who range in age from 18 months to 18 years, as looking like "almost feral animals".

"It was terrible," he said. "The 18-year-old can't spell their name."

The children's parents, Elizabeth and Gary Siders junior, and grandparents, Christina and Gary Siders senior, were arrested and each charged with 16 counts of child endangerment.

Neighbours in the small town of fewer than 1,000 people said that they did not know children were even living at the house.

"My grandkids and my kids, we've all walked up and down that street; there's never been a sign of any child," one Hamden resident told WOWK 13 News.

"As a mother and a grandmother, I just don't understand the logic."

Questions are being asked about how such a large family flew under the radar for so many years and why authorities did not intervene earlier.

Investigators are reviewing whether the family was reported to any children's services agencies in the past.

Teenage wedding

The lives of the Siders children were unlikely to ever be easy, with their mother a child bride.

Gary junior married Elizabeth Russell on March 31, 2008.

Elizabeth was 15 and Gary was 18.

They married in Mason County, West Virigina, just across the state border from Gallipolis, Ohio, where they were living.

At the time, the marriage laws in Virginia allowed children under 18 to marry, as long as they had permission from their parents and a judge.

They had their first child a few months later.

Elizabeth's education stopped at eighth grade and Gary junior's at ninth grade, according to News Nation.

Multiple media organisations reported that Gary junior worked at DoorDash at some stage, but the timing is unclear.

What's happening to the children?

Since being removed from the house, the children have been placed in temporary state custody and are receiving medical care as authorities continue investigating.

Seven were taken to hospitals around the state to be evaluated, with two flown by care-flight services to trauma centres, one in a critical condition.

Ohio local media reported that there were two sets of twins among the 16 children.

As well as the surviving children, records show that Elizabeth had twin daughters, Bailey Lee Siders and Faith Lee Siders, who were both born and died on November 20, 2022, at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Bailey Lee and Faith Lee were delivered prematurely at 24 weeks and diagnosed as thoracopagus conjoined twins, a condition where twins are joined at the chest.

Their deaths were ruled natural causes.

Not one of the 16 children was enrolled in school, according to investigators, and all had limited communication abilities.

Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain said that one of the investigative challenges was talking to the children.

"They can communicate but it's extremely limited and some not at all,"

he said.

"The scene is horrific and these are horrific allegations."

Moving around Ohio

Ohio Attorney-General Andy Wilson said the family had links to different areas of Ohio, including to Jackson County and Pike County, and possibly Wisconsin.

Members of the family moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and avoided leaving a paper trail, including a lack of birth certificates.

"These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,"

Mr Wilson said.

West Virigina CBS affiliate TV station WOWK 13 News reported that documents showed that Gary junior and Elizabeth Siders had lived in several different locations across Ohio since their marriage in 2008.

The couple lived in a trailer park in Gallipolis, Gallia County, in 2008, Cheshire in 2022, and in a different house in Hamden.

Facing court

When Gary junior, Gary senior, Christina and Elizabeth Siders initially appeared in court, a judge entered not guilty pleas on their behalf and set bond at $US300,000 ($430,000) each.

None of the four posted bond, so they were all taken into custody.

They were due for preliminary hearings but just before proceedings were set to begin, a Vinton County judge informed media that they had all waived their right.

But after a medical episode, a judge varied Gary senior's conditions.

Vinton County prosecutor William Archer told CBS Ohio affiliate 10TV that the county had been facing extensive medical expenses due to Gary senior's condition, that could "potentially bankrupt" the county.

It was agreed that Gary senior would be released on his own recognisance, meaning he did not have to post a bail bond, to receive medical treatment.

If he were to be released from hospital, he would be required to wear a GPS monitor.

Elizabeth's lawyer Thomas Stolley told 10TV that he was looking into whether she could also be a victim and was seeking to lower her bond.

He said in a court filing that she was not a flight risk, could not afford bail, was willing to wear a GPS monitor and, as the children had been removed, there was no further risk to them.

She was "crying and exhausted" when he met with her on Thursday, Mr Stolly told AP.

"My client's first question to me when I walked into the jail and introduced myself was about her kids,"

he said.

"She asked if her children were OK, she asked if I knew where they were, and she asked when she'd be able to see them again."

He said he was not able to answer those questions.

"But I thought it was telling that her first concern was not, 'When can I get out of jail?' but was 'Are my children OK?'" Mr Stolly said.

Dorian Baum, who is representing Gary senior, said he had concerns for his client's health, filing a motion to determine if he was competent to stand trial.

Gary junior is also facing unrelated charges of indecent exposure.