“I spoke to them on Monday… I never imagined this”: Hamden neighbors left stunned after the discovery of 16 children inside a house of horrors — and now they reveal shocking new clues.

“I spoke to them on Monday… I never imagined this”: Hamden neighbors left stunned after the discovery of 16 children inside a house of horrors — and now they reveal shocking new clues.

Hey everyone, I’m Ann Emerson and this is Crimly Obsessed. The CERS House of Horrors almost feral children’s case took an unexpected turn today. The CERS parents and grandparents were supposed to be in court this afternoon, but instead all four of them waved their preliminary hearings. I have covered some of the most disturbing child abuse cases in the country.

 Cases where children were locked away, beaten, starved, forgotten. But this one, I have to tell you, it made me physically sick. And I’m not the only one. Let’s get into it. >> I’ve just never seen anything uh like I saw uh today uh with with respect to those kids. Uh I didn’t actually go into the room where they that the kids were.

I just looked uh through through the door. That was yesterday. I can still smell. I can’t get the smell. I I cannot get the smell off of me or away from me. Uh right now, >> 16 children, the youngest just 18 months old, the oldest 18 years old, three sets of twins, and according to investigators, they were all found living together in a 12x 12 bedroomedroom in a 1300 ft house, kept there, hidden from sight.

 Why? Who hides 16 children? Oh my god, it was a pattern, too. This family allegedly moved from county to county, living under the radar from the authorities until they were finally stopped in Venton County, Ohio. Investigators say that room was covered in human waste. Seven of those children had to be rushed to the hospital.

 Two of them were sent to trauma centers. Captain Jeremiah Griffith was one of the first responders on the scene. Here’s what he had to tell us. When I first initially got there to be a driver for the EMS, uh, one of the squads, there was just a line of cars, a line of, uh, BCI, the sheriff’s office, uh, Benton County EMA.

 There was just a whole slew of cars. And it was kind of a cluster because that’s a small road to go through. And when we got there, I got out of the truck. I told the other firefighter with me to take the truck back to the station. They’ll drop me off. I started walking up to the scene and they said, they start screaming at me. We need a driver.

 So, I get into the squad. Sure enough, we have a load of children in the back that were clearly in not in the greatest shape. Um, they were very quiet. Other than that, we we turned around, ran license irons to the hospital for a quick turnaround because we may have to transport more children. And all I can think of is this is a big scene for our tiny community.

 Hampton doesn’t have that many people. Venton County and a and the whole speck of it doesn’t have a lot of resources. So, we contacted Jackson County and they got more squads there, first responders and they arrived pretty quickly as well. And I mean, it was a situation we’re not used to dealing with. >> Can you describe at all what the children inside the back of that car looked like and just sights, smells, everything that you encounter when you had those kids in the back seat? Well, if anyone has been into a house

that has these kind of conditions, you can smell, you can see um the cockroaches and stuff like that, bugs just in general. And the conditions, you know, bugs get on the children and stuff and they scratch and they bite and all that stuff. So, their condition wasn’t the greatest. As far as the smell, it it’s just a certain kind of smell.

 If you’ve ever been into a house that had those kind of conditions, it’s not it’s not very pleasant. You know, typically I wear a mask if I endure those kind of conditions, just a face mask um to kind of help cover that up cuz it’s it’s awful. >> Potent. >> Yes. It sticks with you and it sticks on your clothes and you can smell it for hours afterwards until you can go change.

 Is there some haunting memory you have of of providing care to these kids? >> I knew it was just quiet. That’s what it was. Blank expressions. Of course, they were scared. They’ve never endured anything like that before. They didn’t know where they were going. You know, that kind of situation. >> Did they have any questions for you as you were? >> They didn’t speak to me.

 I’d try to have um limited contact unless I was asked to help um with the children. So when we arrived down at the ER, I helped unload the children to the hospital. Our livestock around here live in better conditions. I work for Jackson County EMS, too, part time. And when we go into houses, there’s a few that we know about that are kind of these kind of conditions, but not so much that you see that number of children that are in that situation.

Um, if they were, you report that. Uh, this one just kind of caught us out of surprise really because we didn’t really expect this house didn’t even look like anyone was living in it. So, that was kind of challenging. >> The Ohio Attorney General, Andy Wilson, says this is one of the most horrific child endangerment cases that the state has ever seen.

>> All of the children were examined and treated. Several of the children, I believe seven of them were uh taken to Columbus hospitals and as I told you yesterday, I think at least two of them were were careflighted. Uh those uh children uh again continue uh we we continue to to treat and make sure that they are okay.

 Their physical well-being is our our number one concern, but we also have to be concerned uh with their mental and emotional well-being as well. And I can tell you uh on behalf of the investigative team, on on behalf of the prosecutor and the sheriff’s office, that is the number one priority is to is make sure that these kids are are taken care of physically, mentally, and emotionally.

 And part of that, as you heard uh prosecutors say, uh is making sure that they are they are placed that that custody of these children is is removed uh from the people who did this to them and that these kids are placed in safe uh loving environments where uh again, it’s going to take it’s going to take a lot of work to to address uh the the emotional harm and some of the some of the issues that are going to result from this.

 Uh but we need to make sure that those kids are are surrounded and and loved and supported uh by people who truly care for them. >> And you know what? The entire community is in shock. >> It was mind-blown once I saw the mug shot like, “Oh, I spoken to them. I just seen them on Monday. They were my last customers on Monday.” It’s sad. It’s crazy.

 It’s sad situation. >> It’s absolutely heartbreaking, especially since I’ve got a 20-year-old and a 14year-old daughter. And I’ve heard that some of these kids never saw the light of day. >> And just days after the children were removed from this home, people packed a small church in southeast Ohio. Not to talk about the case, not to gossip, they came to pray for 16 children they say never really had a voice.

 I wanted to call the pastor to find out how the community is handling this horrible tragedy. I spoke to Pastor James Deml. He’s with the Reneovate Life Church of God. Now, in a tiny community like Hampton, this is heart-wrenching. Uh, James, tell me, how did you how did you hear about the CERS kids and what was going on in your community? >> Um, some different people reached out for prayer and and counseling.

 Um, there were several different systems involved. Um it it’s really a tragedy because those people have moved around to keep from getting in trouble um all over the place and it just happened to hit here and a lot of people are using that as a negative aspect. But I’m glad that our sheriff’s department and all the officials were able to stop it here in its tracks.

 And so instead of there being a negative spin on that, I think they would want that to be a positive. um you know in a small town um they always talk about the police officers and all that and that they’ve done a wonderful job along with all the counseling and all the churches have come together and that’s what we need to keep the um story about those kids.

 We need to guard them and protect them and um shelter them because they haven’t had that um the ability to have that done in their life. >> No, it’s absolutely one of the most horrific cases I’ve ever heard. I I can’t actually even believe that we’re talking about that many children in one place in one room left to to live like that. It is it’s it’s overwhelming.

And Hamen is where this actually occurred. This is where the CERS kids were were rescued. >> Yeah. About it’s about 10 minutes away. >> Um Okay. So, James, talk to me about Okay. you you find out about it because people are reaching out to you saying we have a crisis on our hands. Um, >> correct. >> How what did what was the information that you were getting on the ground there about about what what had happened in that house and and and what what the community was trying to do to help? >> Until we spoke to the sheriff’s

department and they had the interview, it was a nationwide interview. A lot of people were saying that it was a drug trafficking ring, which was again inconsistent. There’s a lot of people that are given inconsistent information that because they don’t know. And I think that the best thing to do is to stop the garbage and begin to pray.

We’re a small farming town. Um many pastors in the area, I mean, I wish I could name all the churches have come together for prayer. And it wasn’t prayer for um oh, look at me. It was, hey, we need God to reach these kids. >> And now tell me, tell me, James, as far as the people that you were talking to in the community, what are you learning about this family situation so that we can help them? I don’t think a lot of them knew what was going on.

 Um, but the the thing to help the children is in instead of putting all of this fake garbage out and things that we think we know, I think we need to support the children, shelter the children, guard the children because they have not had that in their life. They need clothing. They need food. There are children that are in the hospital right now because of malnutrition and it’s I that is such a travesty because there is no I I don’t believe there is no child in America that should have to deal with hunger.

>> Do you think I mean as far as these these kids go? I mean we’re talking we know that the the mom is going up um for her hearing today. Um, how much support is it is the community giving to ongoing, you know, efforts to to try and protect these kids? >> I I think that’s where we’re rallying because we can’t do anything about the past.

 Um, I I think everybody needs prayer. I think that whole family needs prayer because it it it’s a den of evil. They can’t take back what they’ve done, but um they can, you know, be remorseful for what they’ve done. And you know, I hear different things, but you would think a mother would protect their children. I I think that’s instinct.

>> I know as a pastor, you’ve heard a lot of stuff over the years that is good, bad, and ugly. I mean, have you ever heard of any case like this? Anything? >> Not not with 16 children involved at one time. And not even invol just involved, but malnutrition, no clothing. um some of them didn’t attend school, didn’t have um social security numbers or births of data dates of birth.

>> We had our sister station WSYX did an interview with someone from the Dollar General and they said just the they would bring they would keep one of the children sort of hidden and like brought to the Dollar General with them to pick up vegetable oil and vegetable oil is something that’s used in third world countries as like a nutrient.

 That is how bad we’re talking. >> Yeah. >> I mean, is a community This is traumatizing. This is traumatizing for a community to learn this. >> Several pastors, including myself, have had people reach out and uh you know, you would think it wouldn’t affect people uh mentally the way that it has, but I think the the mental aspect to people that are just everyday people are like, “Wow, how did this happen here?” And so, you know, I commend I commend the sheriff’s department.

 I com commend the EMS and and all the people um that were involved because it had happened in multiple communities. And you know, I’m proud of the fact that our community was able to put a stop to it. Put a stop to sheer evil. >> Have you gone by the house? Could you see like where it was? >> Uh yeah.

 I mean, it’s, you know, you can drive right by it. I mean, it’s it’s not hidden, per se. You know, if you if you knew where it was at, you’d just drive right up to it. It’s right on kind of Handen is very small anyway. And so, um I’m sure there’s thousands of people that have driven by it now. And with all of, you know, I mean, this is getting nationwide coverage.

 What were they doing with these kids? I mean I your imagination of course people’s imagination runs wild because it’s so hard to understand why you would have children in one room like this. >> Yeah. It it’s um you know there there was no cages. That that’s another rumor that’s going on. There was no cages. It was just one room and they were keeping them in the dark.

 They didn’t want anybody else to uh see what was happening which is red flag number one, right? Why would they keep the children hidden if there was nothing going on? pastors, neighbors, first responders, people who have never even met these kids, all trying to make sense of how something so horrific could happen in their own backyard.

 And here’s the question I keep on asking. How does this happen in America? How does 16 children literally disappear from society? There no school records, no teachers raising red flags, no neighbors calling for help, no one saying, “Wait a minute, where are these kids?” And what makes this story even stranger, police weren’t even there looking for abused children.

They were executing a search warrant. So far, they haven’t said what that search warrant was for, but court records show that Gary Sers Jr. had outstanding warrants related to four separate public indecency charges. While serving that warrant, they stumbled on something far more disturbing. >> It was unexpected.

 Um, nothing could prepare us, uh, even in 22 years of law enforcement, nothing could have prepared us, uh, or me to to see the scene. Um, I’ve never seen human beings live in that condition before. Um, especially kids. And as we just kept getting kids out of the out of the building, uh, my deputies, all of us are parents.

 It was it was pretty hard uh, experience to to go through. 16 children allegedly living in conditions so horrific that even seasoned investigators were shocked. Now four adults are charged with child endangerment. Gary Cers, Gary Ciders Jr., Christina Ciders, and Elizabeth Cers. We’re talking a set of grandparents and a set of parents.

 All four have pleaded not guilty. Their bonds have been set at $300,000 each. But here’s where this case takes another twist. Investigators say the children have such significant communication difficulties that it’s going to take them some time to try to understand what really happened to them. Just think about that for a second.

 The people who know most about what happened in that house can’t easily tell their story. And then there’s this. Court records show that Gary Cers Jr. married Elizabeth Ciders when he was 18. She was only 15 years old. Their marriage was legal in West Virginia because all four parents signed off on it. That’s a detail I can’t get out of my head.

>> I had no idea what I was walking into. I saw the same headlines everyone else did. At one point the the term pure evil was used to describe Elizabeth and the home and another point there was a comment the livestock had been treated better. I I met a woman who was timid and who was exhausted.

 It looked like she had been crying quite a bit. She She looked distraught and she was willing to talk to me, able to talk to me. And we sat down for about an hour and a half to go through the basics of this case. I asked her if she had seen any of the coverage that has been online for the better part of a day now. She hasn’t.

 She does not know how uh the home, the conditions, the investigation is being described, and I chose not to share all of those details with her at this point because she does seem so fragile. The person that I met with though is not someone who comes across as purity. It’s just evil requires malice. And the person that I saw there, Elizabeth, she doesn’t have that in her eyes.

>> Who were the adults protecting these children? We still don’t know who the biological parents are for all 16 of them. We don’t know how long they were living like this. We don’t even know if they had electricity in that house. The electric company isn’t saying. We do know that the local school district has no record that any of these kids ever went to school. None. 16 kids. Not one.

The home itself, it sat on a rural road surrounded by trees and thick brush. But here’s what really stops me. The house wasn’t hidden. It was visible from the road. Plenty of people have gone by. So, how did this go unnoticed? Was it because the family kept moving? Was it because this is a teeny rural community? Or were there opportunities along the way to save these children that somehow slipped through the cracks? Elizabeth Cider’s attorney says this isn’t a story of evil.

 He says this is a story of isolation. He says she was crying after her arrest, asking if her children were okay and asking when she could see them again. That’s his version. But tonight, we’re just looking at the facts, what police say they found, what we know, what we don’t know, and the questions that still need to be answered.

 Because if these allegations are true, this isn’t the story about just one family. It’s a story about how 16 children could grow up in plain sight and still be totally invisible. The attorney general in Ohio says he’s working right now to try and find safe homes for all 16 children. Drop a comment below. I want to hear what you think about this case and be sure to like, subscribe, and turn on your notifications.

 I will be updating this story with new information as we get it.