Pregnant mother-of-16 faces court after children rescued from Ohio house of horrors as grandmother and grandfather deemed unfit to stand trial

The mother of 16 children found living in squalor in an Ohio house of horrors is pregnant again, it was revealed on Monday as she was declared fit to stand trial.

Elizabeth Siders, 34, has been behind bars ever since police in Hamden discovered her children found living in a 12-by-12 room at the family's decrepit home on the 180 block of Ohmer Street. 

She initially denied that she was pregnant when she was booked in Vinton County jail, but on Monday, her attorney, Tommy Stolly, confirmed that she is expecting another child, WOUB reports.

He would not, however, provide details about when his client was due to give birth or any other details about her pregnancy.

The young mother had married her husband, Gary Jr, 36, at the age of 15 and went on to have 18 children – including a pair of conjoined twins who died at birth. 

But she is now facing 19 counts of child endangerment relating to her care of her own children, as well as two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, believed to be her niece or nephew.

Siders has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and on Monday she was found competent to stand trial.

The ruling came after an initial report detailed how Siders suffers from depression and anxiety, but notes that she does not have a documented history of mental illness, her lawyer said, according to WMCH. 

Elizabeth Siders, 34, (pictured at her arraignment in September) is pregnant, her lawyer confirmed on Monday, as she was deemed fit to serve trial

Siders has been behind bars ever since police in Hamden discovered her children found living in a 12-by-12 room at the family's decrepit home 

Authorities described how they found the 16 children covered in human feces at the Hamden, Ohio home (pictured) 

Stolly, though, said he intends to submit a second psychiatric evaluation to the court – arguing that the 90-minute Zoom during which she was evaluated for both competency to stand trial and her mental state at the time of the child abuse was insufficient.

'The fact that this evaluator conducted both of these evaluations at the same time over Zoom and essentially spent approximately an hour and a half with my client - that is simply not enough to understand her mental condition,' he said.

The lawyer said he is now interviewing experts as he tries to find someone to conduct a second evaluation.

'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 told reporters outside the Vinton County Court of Common Pleas.

Meanwhile, her mother-in-law, Christina Siders, was found incompetent to stand trial at a separate hearing on Monday – but with Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers saying her mental acuity could possibly be restored. 

The 67-year-old grandmother sat for an initial competency evaluation on September 5, after which Dr Brian P O'Reilly said she 'has several risk factors for cerebrovascular dementia and that a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is required to determine whether her cognitive impairment is the result of symptoms of dementia,' PEOPLE reports.

It was then determined at the competency hearing on Monday that Christina has not been diagnosed with dementia at this time, but will require further evaluation in a behavioral health facility to determine whether her competency is restorable ahead of a trial.

Her husband, Gary Siders Sr, 73, was previously ruled incompetent and unlikely to be restored to competency by a judge and the charges against him were dropped.

Attorneys for Gary Jr have also sought competency evaluations, which have not yet been scheduled.

Christina Siders, 67, was found incompetent to stand trial at a separate hearing on Monday - but with Judge Laina Fetherolf Rogers saying her mental acuity could possibly be restored

Christina's husband, Gary Siders Sr, 73, was previously ruled incompetent to stand trial. Source: Facebook

The family members are all facing charges after police were looking into allegations of family child sex abuse, for which two other family members are facing charges.

The investigation began when 'diligent Dollar General clerks' called police last December 'with concerns over children they observed,' Vinton County Prosecutor William Archer said at a news conference..

When police then executed a search for Gary Jr's DNA in relation to the child sex abuse case, they discovered the 'existence and condition' of the Siders' home, where they said the children were covered in human feces.

Vinton County Sheriff Ryan Cain described a small room where investigators believe the kids were kept for about four years.

'Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children,' Cain said.

State Attorney General Andy Wilson also said that the children were forced to endure 'unimaginable conditions' that were arduous, especially for kids.