Elizabeth Siders pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in Vinton county court to child endangerment and neglect charges tied to 16 children investigators said were found in deplorable conditions at the family home in Hamden. The judge also raised her bond from $250,000 to $550,000 after finding her a flight risk.
The case drew fresh attention because the children were described as being between 17 months and 18 years old, and investigators said they had been confined to one 12ft-by-12ft room among human waste for much of the past four years. Some of the children could not speak at all, and the eldest was developmentally disabled and could not spell her name. The charges were brought after the July discovery, but Wednesday’s court appearance put Elizabeth Siders, 34, back at the center of the case that has already led to one of the harshest bond decisions in the record.
That court action also kept Gary Siders Jr in the frame. He had already pleaded not guilty in August, and the judge ordered him and Elizabeth Siders to have no contact. Both were also indicted in a separate case involving two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, with the alleged victim described as a relative between 13 and 16 who was in the couple’s care in 2022.
The hearing did not move through the case cleanly. Elizabeth Siders’ attorney told the court she has been suffering from mental health issues and raised competency concerns, while also telling the judge she has essentially been pregnant for the better part of two decades and had never received proper postpartum care. He said she still asks to see her children and argued that her background and mental state should be considered before the case goes any farther.
A competency request is now pending for Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Jr and Christina Siders, and that review will determine whether the criminal case can proceed in the ordinary way or must pause while the court decides if a defendant is fit to stand trial. Last week, Gary Siders Sr was found incompetent to stand trial, underscoring how much of this family’s case now turns less on the charges already filed than on whether the court believes the defendants can legally face them.
