News
Mother in the Vinton County children endangerment case is seeking a competency evaluation
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Vinton County mother facing multiple felony charges for allegedly keeping her 16 children in deplorable conditions is seeking an evaluation to determine whether she is competent to stand trial.
She is also seeking an evaluation to determine whether she was legally insane at the time of the alleged crimes and therefore should be found not guilty.
The attorney for Elizabeth Siders filed a motion Tuesday morning requesting the evaluations.
The four were arrested July 30 after law enforcement found the children in a room inside the family’s rental home in the village of Hamden. The room was contaminated with feces, according to law enforcement.
Siders and the other defendants each face 16 counts of child endangerment. Those charges could change once a grand jury indictment is issued.
Siders’ attorney, J. Thomas Stolly, wrote in the motion for an evaluation that he has met with Siders “on numerous occasions and for extended periods.”
These interactions, he wrote, lead him to believe Siders “may be suffering from significant mental health issues” that “would not only affect whether she is competent to stand trial, but would also have affected her ability to understand the wrongfulness of her conduct at the time of the alleged offenses.”
If the judge approves the motion and orders an evaluation, there will be a 30-day deadline for it to be completed. In the meantime, the case will be on hold.
On Monday, Gary Siders Sr., the children’s grandfather, agreed to the terms of being released on his own recognizance pending trial. If he violates these terms, he will owe the state $300,000.