“That’s Not Them”: Siders Family Niece Questions Whether “Aunt Lenny” and Gary Sr. Were Victims Too

A niece of the Siders family is questioning whether the two older adults charged in the disturbing Ohio child-endangerment case may have also been victims inside the home.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Kimberly Caldwell defended the aunt and uncle she calls “Aunt Lenny” and “Uncle Gary,” saying the people she remembers would never have knowingly allowed children to live in the conditions described by investigators.

“Y’all I just know my Aunt Lenny and Uncle Gary can’t be in their right state of mind cause they would have never allowed them kids to live like that,” Caldwell wrote on Facebook.

Gary Siders Sr., 73, and Christina Siders, 67, are charged alongside Gary Siders Jr., 36, and Elizabeth Siders, 33.

Investigators removed 16 children, ranging from 18 months to 18 years old, from a home in Hamden, Ohio, on June 30. Officials allege that many of the children had spent much of the previous four years confined to an approximately 12-by-12-foot area surrounded by human waste. Seven were transported to hospitals after their rescue, including two who were airlifted.

Each of the four adults faces 16 counts of second-degree felony child endangerment. Not-guilty pleas were entered on their behalf, and bond was set at $300,000 each.

Caldwell said watching videos of the defendants’ court appearance led her to wonder whether the older couple could be experiencing dementia or another condition affecting their awareness.

“I keep watching the court videos an it’s like they have no clue what’s going on,” she wrote. “I can tell they ain’t in their right state of mind. They are lost.”

Gary Sr.’s attorney, Dorian Baum, has also publicly raised concerns about his client’s competency after observing his behavior during the arraignment. At the time of those comments, Baum reportedly had not yet met with Gary Sr. because of the holiday weekend.

However, Caldwell went substantially further than the attorney’s publicly reported remarks.

She wrote that she believed Gary Jr., whom she called “Bub,” may have been abusing the older couple.

“I just feel it in my heart that Bub (Gary Jr.) was abusing them,” she wrote.

Caldwell also pointed to what she believed were marks on Gary Sr.’s wrist and speculated that he may have been tied down.

Those allegations are unverified and Caldwell did not provide evidence in the post beyond her interpretation of the court footage and her memories of the family. Baum’s publicly reported comments have focused on Gary Sr.’s competency, the presumption of innocence and the need to review the state’s evidence—not an accusation that Gary Jr. abused his parents.

Caldwell said the home she remembers from earlier years was clean and that the woman she calls Aunt Lenny had a particular concern for children.

“I grew up with their kids an we was always there an the house would be clean,” she wrote.

At the same time, Caldwell acknowledged that her theory could be wrong.

“If I’m proven wrong then yes they deserve to be punished,” she wrote, later adding that the older couple should face consequences “just as the parents” if it is established that they understood and permitted what was happening.

Caldwell ended the post by emphasizing that the children must remain the central concern.

“I pray them babies are all getting loved on an shown love,” she wrote. “They are the number one victims in this but I do feel there is gonna be more then 16 victims.”