The Ohio Siders case grows even more disturbing as newly obtained records reveal Elizabeth Siders lost premature conjoined twin daughters years before prosecutors say 16 children were found living in squalor
The Siders family saga continues to grow more twisted, tragic, and bizarre as new details continue to emerge.
Newly obtained records shed additional light on the background of the Ohio couple accused of endangering their 16 children, revealing that Elizabeth Siders was just 15 years old when she married Gary Siders Jr., then 18. Even more shocking, the couple previously lost premature conjoined twin daughters shortly after birth.
According to marriage records obtained from the Mason County Courthouse in West Virginia, and first reported by WOWK13, Gary Siders Jr., now 36, and Elizabeth Siders, now 33, were married on March 31, 2008, after receiving the required consent from Elizabeth’s parents and the presiding judge because she was a minor. The records list Elizabeth as 15 years old and Gary as 18. At the time, both lived in Gallia County, Ohio, just two houses apart. The records also indicate Gary had completed the ninth grade while Elizabeth had completed the eighth grade before the marriage.
Separately, Ohio vital statistics records show the couple 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.
The records indicate the girls were delivered at 24 weeks’ gestation and were diagnosed as thoracopagus conjoined twins (a condition in which twins are joined at the chest that medical literature identifies as the most common form of conjoined twinning). Their deaths were ruled natural causes.
The twins are not referenced in the criminal complaints filed against the Siders family. Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, each face 16 counts of felony child endangering after authorities removed 16 children from the family’s Vinton County home on June 30. Prosecutors have not alleged any criminal wrongdoing related to the twins’ births or deaths.
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The newly surfaced records add another layer to a case that has drawn national attention. Investigators allege they discovered 16 children living in deplorable conditions after executing a search warrant at the family’s home. The warrant reportedly stemmed from an investigation into public indecency allegations involving Gary Siders Jr., who is scheduled to return to court on those misdemeanor charges Thursday, July 9. There have been reports, however, that the court date could be pushed back.
Meanwhile, questions continue to mount about Elizabeth Siders’ own background. Her attorney, Thomas Stolly, previously reiterated to reporters that Elizabeth married Gary when she was 15 years old, left school shortly afterward, and spent much of her life raising children. Family members have also publicly alleged she was “indoctrinated” and isolated from relatives for years, with one brother stating he had not seen her in 15 years before the arrests. He also hinted that the “state knows something” because of the alleged welfare the family may have been receiving.
Those details have left the public wondering whether Elizabeth herself may have been a victim of grooming, coercive control, or abuse before becoming a defendant in the child endangerment case. To date, however, prosecutors have charged Elizabeth alongside the other three adults, and no court has made any findings regarding those allegations.
The case remains in its early stages as investigators continue reviewing evidence seized from the property. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty.