What to Know
The Siders family in Ohio was discovered to have 16 children living in squalor with four adults. The adults, Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders, and Elizabeth Siders were arrested on charges of child endangering. According to ABC6 in Columbus, Ohio, some of the children were near death and they were all malnourished and living in deplorable conditions.
Now, as more details emerge about the case and about the adults, including mother Elizabeth Siders, there are questions (and maybe even a few answers) about how the family fed 16 children. Through alleged interviews with locals in Vinton County, Ohio, the details of which were shared on TikTok, we now know a specific food item the Siders may have relied on for what little nutrients the family had.
The Siders family allegedly had a strange main source of food.
@crimetoktalk Photos of inside house of horrors! As more details emerge, family members and people who say they regularly encountered the family are painting a troubling picture of what they believe had been happening for years. According to relatives, Elizabeth Siders met Gary Siders Jr. when she was just 13 years old while both families were living in the same trailer park. Family members say Elizabeth became pregnant at 13, and the couple married when they were 15 years old. Because Ohio would not allow them to marry at that age, relatives say they traveled to West Virginia for the wedding. Family members have claimed Elizabeth’s mother opposed the marriage, but described Elizabeth as a rebellious, headstrong teenager who was determined to stay with Gary. Relatives say that after the marriage, Elizabeth gradually became isolated from her own family as she continued having children. Several family members have alleged that Gary’s mother, Lynn Siders, was an extremely controlling presence within the household and often made the family’s decisions. Some have even claimed Lynn was effectively running the home, though investigators have not publicly confirmed those allegations. In an interview with a local newspaper, Elizabeth’s sister-in-law said there were 21 children born into the family over the years, although several reportedly died. She also claimed there were multiple sets of twins and that only one of the children was a boy, with the rest being girls. Employees at a Dollar General store in Hamden have also spoken publicly about their interactions with the family. They said the family frequently came into the store around 9:45 each night and most often purchased bottled water and large amounts of vegetable oil. Occasionally they would buy diapers or sugar, but employees said vegetable oil was one of their most consistent purchases. The reason for those purchases remains unknown. The employees also described the family’s hygiene as extremely poor. According to the workers, several employees felt sorry for the children and even purchased deodorant and other personal hygiene items for them. The workers said the family accepted the items, but they never appeared to use them. Many of these additional details come from interviews with relatives and local residents and have not been independently confirmed by investigators. As the criminal case moves forward, more information is expected to emerge about the family’s living conditions and the roles each adult allegedly played. #fyp #16kids #truecrime #crimejunkie #truecrimetok ♬ original sound – Crimetoktalk
In the TikTok about what the Siders family might have eaten daily, the user says that there are claims from Dollar General employees that the Siders bought “bottled water and large amounts of vegetable oil” and sometimes sugar, but no other reported food. The children were reported to be malnourished, so it seems possible that they were eating, or rather, drinking vegetable oil as a way to consume calories. That doesn’t add any necessary nutrition for children, though, and it doesn’t exactly answer the question of what else the Siders children were able to eat.
“Vegetable oil is pretty much entirely fat,” one user commented on the TikTok. “If you managed to consume 2,000 calories/day from oil, you could theoretically cover your energy needs for several days from one bottle. This was most likely their dinner most nights if what the workers are saying is true.”
The vegetable oil claim has not yet been confirmed, but a Dollar General employee did speak to ABC6 about seeing the Siders family in-store often and the night before the attests and discovery of the children.
Ariel Gutierrez told the outlet that Elizabeth and Gary Jr. would often go into the store shortly before closing. If they had children with them, the kids would be forced to stay close to them and they hid their faces with their hair.
“It was mind-blowing once I saw the mugshot. I just saw them on Monday,” she told the outlet. “They were my last customers. It’s sad. It’s a crazy, sad situation.”
A member of the Siders family spoke out.
@poira42 Another relative of the Siders family made a post on her social media Here it ist #fyp #ohio #truecrime #fnews #tviral ♬ original sound – poira42
According to NewsNation, an uncle to the children spoke out about learning of the squalor that the 16 kids lived in. They were reportedly kept in one room over the course of four years. They range in age from 18 months old to 18 years old. Their parents and grandparents, the four adults who lived in the home with them, now face felony charges.
The uncle, Ronnie Fletcher, told the outlet that when he heard about the case he was “Horrified. Worried about the kids. It’s hard to explain the action when you’re distant family. ‘What can I do to help?’ That was the original reaction to it.”
The timeline for the Siders case is a story in itself.
@londonsnotebook Replying to @melisssamaay #hamdenohio #ohio #siderfamily #garysidersjr #vintoncountyohio ♬ original sound – ʟᴏɴᴅᴏɴsɴᴏᴛᴇʙᴏᴏᴋ
Authorities originally visited the Siders home to arrest Gary Jr. on four counts of indecent exposure. Later, the four adults faced charges related to child abuse and endangerment. According to the Vinton-Jackson Courier, the adults all plead not guilty to child engagement.
After the 16 children were removed from the home, many were hospitalized due to their severe malnourishment. The 18-year-old reportedly has the mental capacity of someone younger and is unable to write her own name.
