Attorney for oldest Vinton County defendant wants mental evaluation for his client

The oldest of four people charged after 16 children were removed from a Vinton County house has been released from jail after being taken to a hospital.

Gary Lee Siders Sr., 73, was taken to a hospital after he fell during transport, Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer told WOWK-TV, adding that the county does not have the resources to provide the medical treatment Siders Sr. requires for a serious medical condition, which requires care outside the county.

Siders Sr. also faces a competency hearing after his defense attorney claimed his client might have “significant mental health issues” that “would not only affect whether he is competent to stand trial, but would also have affected his ability to understand the wrongfulness of his conduct at the time of the alleged incidents.”

The attorney for Siders Sr., Dorian Keith Baum, included the information in a supplemental memorandum accompanying a motion for an evaluation to determine whether Siders is not guilty by reason of insanity and whether he is competent to stand trial.

Authorities have charged Siders Sr. and three others — Christina Lynn Siders, 67; Gary Lee Siders Jr., 36; and Elizabeth Ann Siders, 33 — after authorities said they found 16 children ranging in age from about 18 months to 18 years old living in squalor in a Vinton County home. Reports indicate that some of the children could not speak, read, or write, and none were enrolled in school.

“It’s one of the investigative challenges we have to face is that they are limited,” Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain told WLWT-TV. “They can communicate, but it’s extremely limited — and some not at all.”

Additionally, authorities reportedly believe that at least some of the children were locked in a 12-foot-by-12-foot room in the Hamden home, located about 80 miles southeast of Columbus. Authorities found the children as they searched the house as part of what WLWT-TV reported was a “parallel investigation.”

There is some question about who the children’s parents are. An Associated Press report indicates that Gary Siders Jr. and Elizabeth Siders are their parents, and Elizabeth Siders’ attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, told 10TV that she is the mother of all 16.

“At this point in time, we are still not sure, at least at my office, whether my client is a victim herself or not,” he told the television station. “I have previously stated she does not characterize herself as a victim, but the investigation from the prosecutor’s office and my office is still ongoing.”

Gary Siders Jr. married Elizabeth Siders on March 31, 2008, at the Mason County, West Virginia, Courthouse. He was 18, and she was 15, and her parents reportedly signed off on the marriage since she was underage.

Elizabeth Siders also gave birth to conjoined twins on Nov. 20, 2022. The twins, born at roughly 24 weeks, died at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus about an hour later, according to reports.

According to the document, Siders Sr. “exhibited significant confusion about the legal process, was unable to describe the specific roles of the various participants in the Court proceedings – including even the role of Counsel to aid in his legal defense – and was unable to describe even basic facts about himself.

“The Defendant was generally unable to maintain a clear and consistent train of thought throughout the interaction, and was clearly struggling to understand what is going on,” his attorney wrote. “The Defendant’s conduct leads Counsel to believe that the Defendant may be suffering from significant mental health issues and that Competency may be an issue and clear impediment in the Defendant’s ability to aid in his own defense. Collateral information has seemed to confirm that the Defendant suffers from significant health issues, including a decline in mental function and functionality, which would be consistent with Counsel’s observation of the Defendant, both during his interactions with the Court and with Counsel.”

A judge reduced Siders’ $300,000 cash or surety bond to a recognizance bond, according to court records. The other three remain in jail, held on $300,000 bond.

In an interview with WCMH-TV in Columbus, Baum said his motion was not an underhanded move.

“This is not some sort of way to sneak around or do something that’s underhanded,” Baum told the station. “This is a part of the process in very many defense cases, and in this case, I do have some very significant concerns for his competence.”

In a separate court filing, Stolly said his client, described as “indigent” and “a 33-year-old mother with no known criminal history,” recognizes the seriousness of the charges, but “has denied all allegations.” The attorney argued that she has a vested interest in appearing at future hearings “to clear her name” and “reunite with her children.”

“There has been no evidence provided by the State that the Defendant is a risk to herself or the at-large community,” Stolly wrote. “Further, the children living in the Defendant’s home have been removed by the State, so there is no risk to any alleged victim of the charges the Defendant faces.

“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 added.