4 Suspects Arrested in the Case of 16 Children Allegedly Abused in Horrific Living Conditions: The shocking truth about their identities revealed — a disturbing look into their past and the question that remains: “Where were they living across America for the past 20 years?”

4 Suspects Arrested in the Case of 16 Children Allegedly Abused in Horrific Living Conditions: The shocking truth about their identities revealed — a disturbing look into their past and the question that remains: “Where were they living across America for the past 20 years?”

Thanks so much for joining me for WESAZ Plus. Good morning, everyone. I’m Sheena Linton. We are continuing to follow the breaking news alert out of Vinton County, Ohio, where four people have been arrested after 16 children were found in deplorable conditions. They are now being arraigned this morning in Vinton County.

 Let’s join that arraignment in a progress this morning. >> Mary Matter, are you okay with doing this by Zoom today? >> Good morning, ma’am. >> Sorry. >> Are you okay with doing this through the computer today? All right. So, Oops, there are 17. I apologize. There are 17 counts. Um one of these. Each of these counts is a second-degree felony count of endangering children, which is a violation of Ohio Revised Code 2919.

22B1 and E2B. Each one of them alleges that on or about June 30th, 2026, that you did abuse a child under the age of 18 years old, and the violation resulted in serious physical harm to that child. Each count contains different initials indicating and birth dates indicating which child to whom it refers. Count one is CS, date of birth 5/30/2008.

Count two is ZS, date of birth 8/17/2009. Count three is CS, date of birth 3/13/2011. Count four is KS, date of birth 3/28/2012. Count five is BS, date of birth 5-8-2013. Count six is GS3, date of birth 9-2-2014. Count seven is LS, date of birth 5-25-2016. Count eight is BS, date of birth 10-26-2017. Count nine is JS, date of birth 10-27-2019.

Count 10 is ES, date of birth 9-29-2020. Count 11 is NS, date of birth 2-10-22. Count 12 SS, date of birth 2-10-22. Count 13 alleges harm to John Doe, date of birth 1-21-25. That’s John Doe A. There’s John Doe B, date of birth 1-21-25. Count 15 uh is simply identified by first name Isaac, no date of birth at this time.

Count 16 Isaiah, no date of birth at this time. Count 17 Wade, no date of birth at this time. Those are for you, uh Mr. Siders Jr. Mr. Siders Sr., those are all the same. >> They’re identical uh counts. >> Yes, that’s I suspected so, but I wanted to ensure. All right. Each of those felonies of the second degree is punishable by 2 to 8 years as a minimum sentence and a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

A maximum fine of $15,000 and 18 months to 3 years of post-release control. Do you understand all that? You have the following rights. You have the right to retain counsel even if you intend to plead guilty. You have the right to reasonable continuance in the proceedings to secure counsel. You have the right to have counsel assigned without cost to you if you are unable to afford counsel.

You have the right to bail if the offense is bailable. We will come back to bail momentarily. You are not required to make a statement at any point in these proceedings, but anything you say can and may be used against you. You have the right to a speedy public jury trial. Do you understand? Also, because these cases have come before this court on a complaint rather than an indictment at this time, you would have the right to a preliminary hearing and you can discuss that with counsel once counsel is appointed for

you. Do you understand? All right. The jail has applications for court-appointed counsel there. You can fill those out and you’ll submit them back to the court. You have four pleas available to you. A plea of guilty is a complete admission of your guilt. A not guilty plea is a complete denial of your guilt. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but it is an admission to the facts that underlie the the complaint.

 If you plead no contest, the state would find give me a statement of facts and it would be up to the court to determine whether or not you were guilty of the charged offenses based on those facts. If the facts were not sufficient, I would find you not guilty. A plea of no contest cannot be used against you in any subsequent civil or criminal case, but you would have a criminal record if you were found guilty pursuant to a plea of no contest.

A not guilty by reason of insanity plea must be made in writing. Do you understand those pleas? How do you plead? Yes, I will enter a not guilty plea for you at this time then and you can confer with counsel. Okay? Mr. Siders, would you like me to enter a not guilty plea for you as well? Until you have the chance to speak with an attorney? I I will do that.

All right, I need to grab these phones actually. State’s position as to bond. >> Thank you, your honor. May it please the court at this time, the state would be requesting a $300,000 cash or surety bond for each defendant under the court’s standard terms and conditions, including special conditions that they have no contact with each other as co-defendants, and they have no contact with the victims, and if they are able somehow to post bond that GPS monitoring at their expense.

>> Sheldon, do you have anything to say as to bond? They asked for a $300,000 cash or surety bond and that if you are and that and no contact with your co-defendants or with the alleged victims and then if you are released on bond that you be required to wear a GPS monitor. Do you have anything to say as to any of that? All right, I will grant the state’s request then.

 It will be a $300,000 cash or surety bond. Any of it Well, first of all, no contact with your co-defendants. Don’t be speaking with each other there at the jail. If you are released, no contact with the alleged victims. Don’t try to contact them from jail, either. And you will be required to wear a GPS monitor at the state’s expense.

 You would also be required to be a law-abiding citizen, keep the court informed of any address or telephone number changes, appear at all hearings, and have DNA and fingerprinting done if you’ve not done so already. Do you understand? All right. Anything else from the state? >> No, thank you. >> All right. Gentlemen, we’ll get you attorneys appointed as soon as possible.

Thank you. >> Okay, you’ve been watching a part of the arraignment there for two out of the four people charged in this child neglect case. You saw there Gary Eysidders Jr. and Gary Eysidders Sr. both pleading not

guilty at this time. It appears they’re pleading not guilty until they can both confer with an attorney. So, an attorney will be appointed to them. Right now, the judge there in that case has set the bond at $300,000 cash or surety bond for both Gary Eysidders Jr. and Gary Eysidders Sr. Now, we’re waiting to see the arraignment there of Christina Eysidders and Elizabeth Eysidders.

 As we wait on that, I just want to show you real quick their mugshots there that these just came into our newsroom within the last few minutes. So, they have been booked, of course, into jail. Now, the arraignment’s about to take place here again. So, let’s go back into the courtroom here. This is for the arraignment of Christina and Elizabeth Eysidders.

>> Yes. >> Do you not have a copy of the amended complaint? >> I thought that that was what they put in here. >> No, that was the original. >> What’s changed? >> Uh it’s 16 counts, and we identified the kids with their um actual dates of birth and then and removed so their names weren’t listed on there.

 We used their um initials then. >> Okay. >> Can we go get it? >> You can. >> Okay. >> I apologize. The prosecutor went to get a piece of paper from some paperwork from the clerk’s office. We will be ready to proceed in just one moment. >> Looks like they’re getting uh some stuff ready for that arraignment. Uh in the meantime, just kind of want to catch you back up to speed here on the case.

Again, here’s their mug shots. These are the four people who are facing charges. Uh Gary Sayre Sr., Gary Sayre Jr., Christina Sayre, and Elizabeth Sayre. Now, all of them in custody as you can see here from their mug shots. Authorities say they they were all arrested after a shocking scene played out in a quiet neighborhood.

 Uh 16 children were rescued from a home in Vinton County, Ohio yesterday. Now, four people are facing charges, of course. Uh we have seen the arraignments just recently in the last 5 minutes of Gary Sayre Jr. and Gary Sayre Sr. They both pleaded not guilty until they can confer with an attorney, and the judge has set their bond at $300,000 cash or a surety.

Um now, here’s what we can tell you about uh the children so far as what we know from the press conference yesterday. Um so, all four adults are facing those 16 counts of child endangerment. Authorities say the children were removed from the home uh were removed from the home in Hamden, and they range in age from 18 years old to just 18 months.

 Two of the children actually had to be life-flighted to trauma centers around the state because according to investigators, their lives were in danger. Now, all four of those people, uh of course, uh all four of the the Sayres that we’ve been telling you about are being arraigned this morning. Those arraignments started around 10:30 this morning.

Uh and like I just mentioned, we the arraignments of Gary Sayre Jr. and uh Gary Sayre Sr. have just taken place. Uh we’re now just waiting on the arraignments of Christina Sayre and Elizabeth Sayre as they were uh as the judge said that the prosecutor needed to get a piece of paper uh before they could proceed.

 So, let’s see if uh they’re starting back up now. >> children. So, that would be the only difference. And also, have her >> uh the complaint from 17 counts to 16. Okay? Did you have the opportunity to read that complaint? Okay, I’m going to go over it with you because these are serious allegations and I think it’s important that you understand what we are talking about, all right? These complaints are identical.

 They each contain 16 counts of endangering children which is a violation of revised code 291922B1 and 291922E2D. All of those counts are felonies of the second degree. All of those accounts allege that you did in Hamden on or about June 30th, 2026 unlawfully abuse a child under the age of 18 and that violation resulted in serious physical harm to that child.

 Okay? Each account Each count is different in that it identifies a different child by initial and birthday. And so, we will go through those quickly and then talk about the rest of what we need to address today. All right? Count one refers to CS, date of birth 5/3/2008. Count two refers to ZS, date of birth 8/17/2009.

Count three refers to CS, date of birth 3/13/2011. Count four refers to KS, date of birth 3/28/2012. Count five refers to BS, date of birth 5/8/2013. Count six refers to GS3, date of birth 9/2/2014. Count seven refers to LS, date of birth 5/25/2016. Count eight, BS, date of birth 10/26/17. Count nine, JS, date of birth 10/27/2019.

Count 10, ES, date of birth 9/29/2020. Count 11, NS, date of birth 2/10/22. Count 12, SS, date of birth 2/10/22. Count 13, IS, date of birth 1/21/25. Count 14, IS, date of birth 1/21/25. I assume that those are two separate children that are perhaps twins. Count 15, BS, date of birth 1/4/24. Count 16, WS, 1/4/24.

Felonies of the second degree are punishable by a minimum sentence of 2 to 8 years in prison, a maximum sentence of 12 years, and a $15,000 maximum possible fine. They also carry the possibility of 18 months to 3 years of post-release control. Do you understand the charges against you? I I need you to answer out loud because we’re keeping a record. All right.

Doesn’t mean you agree with them, I just need to know that you understand what they are. You have the following rights. You have the right to retain counsel even if you intend to plead guilty. You have the right to a reasonable continuance in these proceedings to secure counsel. You have the right to have counsel assigned without cost to you if you’re unable to afford counsel.

You have the right to bail if the offense is available and we will discuss bail momentarily. You are not required to make a statement at any point in these proceedings but anything you say can and may be used against you. You have the right to a speedy public jury trial. Do you understand those rights? All right.

The jail has applications for court-appointed counsel if you wish to fill them out. They will send them back to the court. You have four pleas available to you. A guilty plea is a complete admission of your guilt. A not guilty plea is a complete denial of your guilt. A not guilty or I’m sorry, a no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but it is an admission to the facts that underlie the indictment.

 If you plead no contest, the state would give me a statement of facts and it would be up to the court to determine whether or not you were guilty based on those facts. If the facts were not sufficient, I would find you not guilty. A plea of no contest cannot be used against you in any subsequent civil or criminal proceeding but you would have a criminal record if you were convicted under a no contest plea.

A plea of not guilty by reason of insanity must be made in writing. Do you understand these pleas? And how do you plead? Stop. First of all, I want to remind you of your right to remain silent. This is not the time for you to argue your case. These are serious allegations and if you are unsure on what to do, I will enter a not guilty plea for you until you can consult with counsel.

Okay? I also need to advise you that because these cases came before this court on a complaint as opposed to through an indictment by the grand jury, you have the right to a preliminary hearing. And that’s a matter you can discuss with counsel once they’re appointed as well. All right? All right. So, I will enter not guilty pleas for both of you at this time until you have the opportunity to discuss this case with counsel.

State’s position as to bond? >> Thank you, Your Honor. May it please the court, it is the state’s recommendation that a $300,000 cash or surety bond be imposed on each defendant based on the seriousness of the offenses uh that uh I mean the court state and terms and conditions including special conditions that they have no contact with the with co-defendants with each other and with the victims and that if they were able to post bond that they would be subject to GPS monitoring.

>> Could you hear the prosecutor? >> Only a little, not really. >> The state is asking for a $300,000 cash or surety bond. And that if you are able to post bond that you have no contact Well, sorry, let me back up. Even if you’re not able to post bond, they’re asking that you have no contact with your co-defendants.

 That means each other. I presume the jail will keep you from having contact with the other two co-defendants if you remain in jail. No contact with the alleged victims of the offense and if you are released, that you be fitted with a GPS monitor at state’s expense. We also have general conditions of bond if you are released, which include that you be a law-abiding citizen, that you keep the court informed of any address or telephone number changes, that you appear at all court hearings, and that you get DNA and fingerprinting done if

you have not already done so. Do you have anything to say as to bond? >> I would ask if the bond could be lowered a little bit more financially. >> You can discuss with your attorney. Um, they could file a motion to modify bond, and the court will consider that at that time. Okay? All right, is there anything else from anyone? >> No, ma’am.

>> All right, we’ll get someone appointed as soon as possible. >> Thank you, and you have a good day. >> You too. All right. >> All right, you’ve been watching uh the arraignments there of four people accused of in that child neglect case involving 16 children. Uh all of them taking not guilty pleas uh until they are able to confer with an attorney.

And you saw there the prosecution asking for a $300,000 cash or surety bond. Uh that’s what the judge decided on uh for the time being. And of course, that you know, they’ll have to speak with attorneys, and then we’ll see about scheduling uh the next thing. Now, this morning, the uh Southeastern Ohio Regional Jail releasing their mugshots uh to us.

 And um so that that’s the jail over in Nelsonville, Ohio. So, that’s where Christina Siders, Gary Siders Jr., Elizabeth Siders, and Gary Siders Sr. are all being are all being uh housed at this point uh while this goes on. Uh again, it’s going to be uh taking some time. Um still a lot of questions on exactly uh what led to um to police finding uh these children at that home and why they were there to begin with.

 I know we heard a little bit about uh that during a press conference yesterday, but again, uh this is one of those things where even neighbors in the area were saying it was a very quiet area and they never expected something like this to be happening there, but uh at one point uh officials were calling uh what was done to this these children evil and we know, of course, uh some of them two of them at least had to be life-flighted because of their conditions.

 So, again, all of them have pleaded uh not guilty at this point. The judge entered in that not guilty plea on the behalf of Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Elizabeth Siders, and Christina Siders. Um they will have to confer with an attorney. An attorney will be have to be appointed to them uh and then the case will go on uh from there to see if any of those pleas change uh and whatnot.

 So, of course, this is a story we will be following uh throughout the next coming days. Uh we will actually have uh our reporter Charlie Roth. He will be uh providing a live report for us over on the WSAZ uh midday later today. But, all of them charged with 16 counts of child endangerment. Looks like uh the judge was saying there it was a a felony in the second degree with the various uh punishing guidelines there.

 Should they be found guilty? Should they take a guilty plea? Uh what have you? So, but we do know that those children uh ranged in age from 18 years old to just 18 months old. So, I know that um folks at home have a lot of questions about exactly what happened. Uh we’re trying to get those answers and as soon as we get those answers, we’ll pass them along to you here uh on a WSAZ, but thanks thanks for joining us for our breaking news coverage there of these arraignments.

 We will have much more coverage from our reporter Charlie Roth. That’ll be during WSAZ midday and of course later on at 4:00, 5:00, and 6:00, but stick around to Studio 3 starting up here on WSAZ Plus here in about 3 minutes and then that’ll be followed by WSAZ midday. Thank you so much for joining me here on the WSAZ Plus desk.

 Do hope you have a good rest of your day and stay safe and to see. Have a good one.