An Ohio mother, Elizabeth Siders, 34, entered a plea of not guilty in court on Wednesday to charges of child endangerment and neglect. These charges come after 16 children were removed from a severely deteriorating home in Hamden, where conditions were described as deplorable. The children, ranging in age from 17 months to 18 years, had been living in a small, 12-foot-by-12-foot room filled with human waste for most of the past four years. They had not attended school, and some were unable to speak. One of the children, the eldest, was developmentally disabled and could not spell her name. Siders was considered a flight risk by the judge, who increased her bond from $250,000 to $550,000. She and her husband, Gary Siders Jr., have been ordered to have no contact with each other. Both are also facing separate charges in another case involving two counts of sexual battery and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. Gary Siders Jr. pleaded not guilty in August, while his father, Gary Siders Sr., was found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. Elizabeth Siders, Gary Siders Jr., and his mother, Christina Siders, have requested evaluations to assess their mental competency. The alleged victim in the sexual battery case is not one of the couple’s children but another relative between the ages of 13 and 16, according to court documents. Birth records show that Siders gave birth to a child in February 2022, during the time the alleged abuse is said to have occurred. She also gave birth to twins in November 2022, but the twins died shortly after birth. Siders’ attorney, Tommy Stolly, argued in court that his client had been pregnant for most of her life since marrying at age 15 and had not received proper postpartum care, which may have contributed to mental health issues. He raised concerns about her mental state, noting that she had never fully gone through a postpartum period and had not received regular medical care. Stolly also mentioned that Siders may be pregnant again, as she appeared in court without handcuffs. Her attorney declined to comment on the speculation. The judge has ordered that Siders have no contact with her husband, and the competency evaluation is still pending. The outcome of this evaluation will determine the next steps in the legal process. Siders’ attorney emphasized that if her mental state is found to be insufficient to understand the charges or make informed decisions, it could impact her legal liability.