Neighbours shocked after 16 ‘mute’ children found living like ‘feral animals’ on quiet street

The neighbours in a small community in Ohio have been left shocked at the horrifying discovery of 16 children kept in conditions ‘worse than livestock’ in a tiny home

Neighbours have been left shocked after police discovered 16 ‘mute’ children in a tiny dilapidated house in Ohio as they claimed to have never seen them.

The children, who were found looking like ‘feral animals’ in ‘worse conditions than livestock’, are believed to have been in the property for four years.

Four adults, Gary Siders Jr, Gary Siders Sr, Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders, were arrested for keeping them in ‘pure evil’ conditions.

The community of the small town, Hamden, have been left wondering how they were so unaware of what was going on.

Investigators said the children were confined to a small room in the house in deplorable conditions, and were not enrolled in school, with neighbours ‘never spotting’ them.

The family moved around over the past two decades.

Owner of VC Farm & Floral in nearby McArthur said: “Right under our noses and nobody was able to help them sooner.

“It’s just crazy that all the wonderful things going on in our little Hallmark town and this is what puts us on the radar. It’s really sad.”

The mother of three added she decided to decorate the pavement with bright flowers in order to bring some cheer to the neighbourhood.

The authorities found the children, ranging from 18 months to 18 years old, on Tuesday as part of an unrelated investigation.

Some were unable to speak and one 18-year-old girl could not write her own name.

Seven were taken to hospitals, including one who was in critical condition, investigators said.

Their current conditions weren’t immediately known and child welfare officials have temporary custody of the children.

A man who lives three houses down from the Siders family said he had seen “no kids at all” there.

“It’s a sad situation,” said Joseph Stewart, 60, who has lived in the “quiet neighborhood” for six years.

The four adults, the children’s parents and grandparents, pleaded not guilty to child endangerment.

An attorney for the elder Siders said he is presumed innocent. “We ask that the community at large, as well as anyone who might have an interest in this case, to take a deep breath, step back, and let the case play out and the facts play out,” Dorian Baum told The Associated Press.

The police have not shared the nature of the other investigation that led them to the house on Tuesday.

However, court records show a warrant was issued for Siders Jr. that day on misdemeanor indecent exposure charges related to alleged incidents on four days in May. He has pleaded not guilty.

Windows and doors had been boarded up on Thursday at the home that sits about 60 miles southeast of Columbus.

The day before a door was left ajar and piles of rubbish and children’s toys were seen inside as the decking was full of debris.

The house was easily visible from the road, and is tucked alongside a steep railroad embankment.

The closest neighbors are separated by trees and thick brush, but the house is easily visible from the road.

“These folks were pretty good at hiding these kids,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said Wednesday.

The family moved around southern Ohio over the past two decades and that it looks like they avoided creating a medical or governmental paper trail.

Investigators were reviewing whether the family was reported to any children’s services agencies in the past.