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Vinton County grandmother ruled incompetent while mother ruled competent in child endangerment case
By: WOUB News Team
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A Vinton County mother accused of keeping her 16 children in what authorities called “deplorable conditions” is competent to stand trial, however her attorney will continue to pursue an insanity defense.
The children’s grandmother, meanwhile, was found incompetent with the possibility she could be restored to competency.
Both women appeared in the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas on Monday for their competency hearings.
Mother Elizabeth Siders and grandmother Christina Siders were arrested in June along with two other family members after the children were found inside a room in a rental home in Hamden. All four were indicted on multiple felony counts of child endangerment.
The defendants all had psychiatric evaluations to determine whether they were competent to stand trial. Elizabeth was also evaluated to determine whether she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Elizabeth’s attorney, Tommy Stolly, did not object to the competency finding. However, he said he will request a second evaluation on the issue of insanity.
Stolly said he has concerns about how the psychological evaluation was conducted.
“The fact that this evaluator conducted both of these evaluations at the same time via Zoom, and essentially spent approximately an hour and a half with my client — that is simply not enough to understand her mental condition,” Stolly told reporters after the hearing.
Stolly said he’s been interviewing experts, looking for someone to conduct the second evalution.
“And they tell me that it’s going to take hours and hours of time to interview not only Elizabeth but her family to get a complete understanding of how she grew up, what the conditions were like in the home when she was growing up, and potentially what these conditions were like when she was in the family with the rest of the Siders,” Stolly said.
Elizabeth has a right under law to seek a second evaluation.
Stolly also confirmed to reporters after the hearing that Elizabeth is again pregnant, but did not provide a due date or any other details about the pregnancy.
While Christina, the grandmother, was deemed incompetent to stand trial, the results from her psychological evaluation showed she could potentially be restored. She will be sent to an inpatient facility for treatment. If she can be restored to competency, she would then stand trial.
The evaluation also noted that Christina has signs of dementia. Her attorney is asking the court to pay for further evaluation by a specialist.
Christina’s husband, Gary Siders Sr., has already been found incompetent and the judge dismissed his case last month. Gary Sr. could still be committed to a facility, however, and if so could end up spending as much time there as he might have spent in prison had he been tried and convicted.
Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth’s husband, is also undergoing a competency evaluation, but a hearing has yet to be scheduled regarding the results.