Crime
Ohio ‘House of Horrors’ Family Linked to Second Filthy Home With Hidden Attic Space
The recent Ohio case, widely known as a “house of horrors,” may not have been an isolated incident, reports suggest.
According to a news release shared by the Ohio Attorney General’s website, Gary Siders Sr., 73, Christina Siders, 66, Gary Siders II, 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33, were arrested June 30 after authorities said 16 children were found living in a 12-foot-by-12-foot room in their Hamden, Ohio home. Each of the adults was charged with 16 counts of endangering children, a second-degree felony.
ABC6 affiliate WSYX reported on July 16 that a second property connected to the family is drawing scrutiny.
Records show the Siders family previously lived in a home near Cheshire in Gallia County, roughly 10 miles from Hamden, between 2020 and 2024.
Bruce Gullick, who purchased the Gallia County property in May, told WSYX he found children’s clothing stuffed away in the attic, as though someone had been living there in secret. “The whole entire house was just urine, human and pet feces, so it was pretty rough,” he said.
A neighbor, Melissa Edmonds, told the outlet she barely noticed when the family left. She said, “We did not know they had even left for quite a while. It was kind of just an empty house, I guess, left a mess and not really in that great of condition.”
She recalled her nephew briefly playing with some of the children years earlier, though the families never grew close.
NewsNation reported that court records show a truancy case was opened in October 2021 after six of the children failed to attend school at Addaville Elementary. But the case was dismissed in January 2022 after the parents could not be located.
Now, at least one of the four adults faces a court appearance this week, with the others awaiting action from a grand jury, according to NBC4. All of the adults except Gary Siders Sr. remain in jail while the grand jury proceeds.
Siders Sr. was released on bail after requiring hospitalization for a serious medical condition, as per NBC4. Elizabeth, Gary Jr., and Christina are each being held on $300,000 bond.
