'Almost Feral': The shocking Ohio abuse case involving 16 children, what we know so far

It's horrific.That's just nasty.

It's horrific, really is.

It's stupid that it happened close to Wellston and Benton County.At Benton County, I mean, you don't know what's going on in this world anymore.

Shock, disbelief, and heartbreak.That's how neighbors in the small village of Hamden are describing what they've learned.

I've heard there were a lot of animals in the home as well, so I can just imagine what the kids lived in.

It all follows a horrible find at this small home, 16 Children living in terrible conditions.I come up down through all time.I never seen a kid out here.Neighbors coming down Omer Street to see this house for themselves.And they're asking the simple question.How was this able to happen?

Or did they know the kids were there?I mean, that's just where It kind of bothers me if were there, they should h I think Tuesday night, pe say they're still struggl of what happened just dow it's not, I mean, it's no It's just where they cho chaos because I was told t here.

I mean, I was born and this year for down here because you wouldn't expect to hear it in a village of 200.We're not used to seeing here in America.

It really looked third world.Most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the children.

This is not the time for you to argue your case.Count five, count seven, count 12, count 17.Each of those felonies is a second degree.

The children were kept in a roughly 12 by 12 area.It seems like it's where they've spent the most of the last four years.

PURE EVIL.THOSE WERE THE WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE WHAT WAS HAPPENING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS AT A HOME IN VINTON COUNTY.

SUSPECTS ARE FACING SERIOUS CHARGES NOW...AFTER 16 CHILDREN WERE DISCOVERED IN WHAT AUTHORITIES CALL A HOUSE OF HORRORS.SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES SEARCHED THAT HOME ON TUESDAY...FINDING KIDS COVERED IN FECES, URINE AND FILTH...HELD IN A 12 -BY -12 ROOM FOR FOUR YEARS.DETECTIVES SAY SOME OF THEM WERE SO ILL..

.THEY WERE CLOSE TO DYING.

We have team coverage of this unprecedented investigation rattling a small town and beyond tonight.Chief investigator Lisa Rantala is digging into how the family kept these children hidden there for years.First, we begin with Annabelle Kenny, who talked with neighbors living doors down from this horrific scene.

This is the home where the 16 children were being kept.Neighbors that live just across the street say if they would have known what was happening, they would have jumped in to help.

It's disgusting and I didn't sleep a whole lot last night and I prayed a whole lot that all them kids get better.

It looked like something out of a third world country.That's how Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson described the conditions inside the home where investigators say 16 children were being kept.

Just almost beyond comprehension.that this stuff can happen in our country and that it can happen in a house at the hands of people who are in charge of taking care of kids.

Wilson says seven of the kids were sent to Columbus area hospitals on Tuesday.Josh Odell says he can see the backyard of the home where police say the kids were being kept and hidden.

We have a little girl herself, so it immediately alarmed me like there's some very bad people that was just right there, he says.

In his five years of living there, he's never seen any Children and wants more answers.

Did theybirth at the hospital to all these kids?Where is those records?And something that struck me is that these people were not from around here.

Officials say the Children were not enrolled in school.The Benton County Sheriff says due to the children being isolated and some children being developmentally disabled, it has impacted the investigation.

It's one of the investigative challenges we have to face is that they are limited.They can't communicate.

Joseph Store is another neighbor that lives next door.He says he's seen the four people charged going to Dollar General every once in awhile, but never any kids kind of saying that I did.

They did stuff like that and.After I've seen the pictures of them at the mug shop today, and they look pretty rough.

Odell says the guilt of not knowing is taking a toll on him.

I really hope they all get better, but I mean it.It obviously is weighed on my conscience that I wished I could have done something.

Now, investigators say the suspects are the kids' grandmother, grandfather, and father and mother, and that they could have been living in a 12 by 12 room for years.Reporting live in Vinton County, Annabelle Kenny, ABC 6 News.

Annabelle, thank you very much.Investigators say that Vinton County home first hit their radar out of a separate investigation, and that's why they say they executed their first search warrant And then they found those abused kids.

ABC 6 on your side.Chief Investigator Lisa Rantala spent the afternoon at the courthouse tracking down those search warrants.

Jessica Mike this afternoon I spoke with two judges, one clerk who tell me here at the courthouse this afternoon one county judge did tell me hedid sign one search warrant for that home, which is sealed tonight.A probate judge confirmed he signed a second search warrant.Also sealed now a common pleas court judge has the case of a mother, father, grandmother and grandfather who could face more than 100 years behind bars.Gary Cider's junior and senior facing 17 counts, Elizabeth Cider's and mom Christina facing 16.

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.

Prosecutors described the four as mother, grandmother, grandfather and father, and accused them of abusing more than a dozen children from one year old to 18 years old.The first victim, it shows that they are 18 years old.Why is that an in child endangerment charge?

Good question.The young person's mental capacity.She is, we believe, developmentally disabled.

They tell me the 18 year old could not spell her own name.The others were also not enrolled in school.Did these Children know how to read and write again?

We're working through that right now.Some of these Children could even speak.

Investigators say the family kept Children hidden for years, avoiding being part of any medical or government records since 2000 and eight.How were you able to acquire the dates of birth?Were you able to get hospital records or were some of these Children born inside that home.

There's there's no evidence that any of the children were born inside that home.Although that is that is something that they were initially investigating.

An investigator said today they are looking into more charges.Part of that investigation.they're trying to determine if any of these children, any of the victims were sexually assaulted.As for that parallel investigation, investigators say that started about 4 to 6 weeks ago, but as of tonight, we have not found any other charges against these four victims other than child endangerment.Reporting live in Vinton County, I'm Chief Investigator investigator Lisa Rantala.

Lisa, thank you very much.There are still so many questions about all of this tonight.We are trying to get answers about all these things.We have requested any 911 calls that led to this investigation.Any previous law enforcement runs to that home and any prior involvement with Children's Services.

The age range of the kids.has there's a lot of specific hurdles involved in this crime.We will get you that information as soon as we can.We just want to let you know that also to touch back on that community is safe.They're just as safe as the day before you learned that this had happened.Um, and we're still working on it, and we're gonna do the best we can to make sure you guys are informed.

Thank you.

Got me.Andy Wilson, Ohio's attorney general.I want to open up by saying, like I did yesterday, like I do every time I talk about a criminal case that's just been charged that under our American criminal justice system.Everybody who is charged is cloaked in the presumption of innocent and they remain innocent unless and until they are taken into court and proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.That being said, I'm coming to this press conference directly from the sheriff's office where I had the opportunity again to sit down with sheriff's office detectives and with some of our B. C. I. Agents and I was briefed, again, updated on the status of the investigation and the case.and I actually had the opportunity today to look at some of the evidence of the case.

I was out at the scene with our agents and the detectives yesterday, so I saw the location.I saw the condition that it was in some of the evidence.Well, yesterday, when I saw the location, the kids were already gone.They were being treated at the hospital.The evidence I got to see today was some evidence where the initial discovery of the children was captured or documented.And again, I've done these types of cases for a long time, and I've been in incredibly poverty -stricken areas in the inner city.

I've been in poverty -stricken areas in rural Ohio, and I've just never seen anything like I saw today with respect to those kids.As we sat and we talked about it, the team kind of talked about it, it really looked third world.It's the type of thing that we're not used to seeing here in America, where our children are really our most precious resource and we have an obligation as parents, guardians and custodians to love our kids, to care for our kids, to ensure that they are safe, that they are well fed, that they have safe conditions to live in.That's what we expect here in America.And again, what I saw today, the evidence of what I've seen up to this point in this case is just almost beyond comprehension.that this stuff can happen in our country and that it can happen in a house at the hands of people who are in charge of taking care of kids.

In looking at the evidence, I can tell you without hesitation thata lot of credit has to go to, uh, local law enforcement to Ohio B. C. I.I have, uh, the supervisor, excuse me, Superintendent of B. C. I. Bruce Pijanowski with me here today, and I have the on scene supervisor, Jim Mulford, who really was his team that put this case together and worked with local sheriffs, deputies and sheriff's detectives and putting this investigation together.And they took it To the prosecutor's office to get the warrant or at least have a warrant approved.And the reason I say that is because.Again, a lot of credit goes to the men and women of this investigative team, because I'm telling you in what I've seen up to this point, I think if they would have waited another 24 hours, there was a very high probability that we'd be dealing with with with a death or or multiple deaths of these Children.

I'm not gonna go specifically into the medical conditions of the kids, other to say But that is, since the discovery of this situation, as you heard the prosecutor say yesterday, our number one concern has been the physical well -being of those children.Several of the Children were all of the Children were examined and treated.Several of the Children, I believe seven of them were taken to Columbus hospitals.And as I told you yesterday, I think at least two of them were care flighted.Those Children, uh, again, continue.Uh, we continue to treat and make sure that they are okay.

Their physical well being is our number one concern.But we also have to be concerned with their mental and emotional well being as well.And I can tell you on behalf of the investigative team on behalf of the prosecutor on the sheriff's office, that is the number one priority is to make sure that these kids are taking care of physically, mentally and emotionally.And part of that is you heard, uh,prosecutor say, uh, is making sure that they are they are placed that that custody of these Children is removed from the people who did this to them and that these kids are placed in safe, loving environments where again, it's gonna take, it's gonna take a lot of work to address the emotional harm and some of the issues that are going to result from this.But we need to make sure that those kids are surrounded and loved and supported by people who truly care for them.

And we talked to the investigative team this morning And it appears from the evidence in this case that these kids have been in a position where people they should have been able to trust to take care of them have failed them, not only failed them but harmed them.And it's now up to us to stand up for those kids.And you saw that yesterday from the detectives, the agents who went in and removed the kids from this physical location.But now it's on the system and working with prosecutor Archer and talking with him through the case.He understands fully that one of the best ways that you can help these kids, one of the best ways that you can address their long term emotional and mental needs is by holding accountable the people who harm them and talking to him about the evidence.talking to him about his plan for the case.

I am confident that he's dedicated to seeing that justice is done for these kids and that the community again remains safe for everybody.We have offered the help of the Ohio Attorney General's office any way we can.We have our Special Prosecutions Division.I have Jimmy Lowe, who's the Deputy Attorney General for Law Enforcement.He's been doingwith us all morning.

We've offered up prosecutors from our Special Prosecution Division to assist, and I believe we're going to partner in helping with that case.But our role is one of support.and leveraging our resources.I want to thank Governor Mike DeWine.I talked to Governor DeWine a couple times yesterday.I talked to Kara Wendy, who is the director of the Department of Children and Youth, ensuring that the needs of these kids, the placement of these kids, because as you can imagine, placing 16 kids in a county of this size taxes the resources.

I have assurances from the governor and from the Department of Children and Youth, the governor's staff, that they will provide whatever we need, whatever resources we need to support these kids and help protect these kids.The other thing I want to say is this as the prosecutor said, this is isolated to an inter familial event.The citizens of this community don't have to worry about their kids being part of this or somebody out there.In addition to this, that may be doing harm to their to their kids.But if anybody out there has information about this family and about these kids, if they call the Ohio Attorney General's office.and we'll have a number.

We'll have that number here available after this press conference.They call the Ohio Attorney General's office to our tip line.We certainly will get that to B. C. I. And we will want to talk to you as the investigation moves forward.So with that, I certainly appreciate the good work of everybody involved in this case.And Steve, I think at this point, I'm just turn it over to a few questions.

Attorney General Wilson, I'll start real quick because I think it would be helpful for others to know you said yesterday that this family had beenSure, we know that they have ties to Gallia County.

There was some talk that they may have been down in Pike County or some talk that possibly the Jackson County.There's some talk that they were up in Wisconsin for a little bit, and it appears that they've been back here in Benton County for about four years.

Was Elizabeth the mother of all of these children?And how were you guys tipped off by this?

I'm not going to answer that because it's an ongoing investigation.

You said the conditions were third world like you describe some of the conditions who it's almost.

Indescribable.Uh, so the sheriff, the sheriff is on the scene as well.Probably ought to have him come up.

But, um, boy, it mostly kept as I was saying, most of our livestock was kept in better conditions than the Children.Um, it was extremely, uh, high presence.I'm sure of bacterial and human feces.It was just a disgusting scenes.So it was it was disgusting, even where the kids weren't.I would think it's typical.

Most law enforcement have experience with homes in a similar fashion.A large number of people, though, the children were kept in a roughly 12 by 12 area.It seems like it's where they've spent the most of the last four years.And that's what it looks like.In a weird way, you're hit with most two emotions.There is joy when we get to the point when we realized that we're about to change 16 lives for the better.

But you're also, uh, it's hard.

Were there any signs of sexual abuse towards the Children?And did they ever?

That's still part of the ongoing investigation.

Yeah, we did this system become necessary.

Yeah, yeah.So I'll answer.That's part of the ongoing investigation.We can't answer.I will tell you this.Um, you know, there there isn't much evidence that kids live there.

Uh, as as, uh, We've talked to some of the neighbors.We've talked to some of the people from the neighborhood.These people have been here for about four years.And we've talked to some people who live in the neighborhood who said, I had no idea that kids were even there.And talking about, somebody asked about, to describe the conditions, adding on to what the sheriff said.I didn't actually go into the room where the kids were.

I just looked through the door.That was yesterday.I can still smell.I can't get the smell.I cannot get the smell.off of me or away from me right now.

We were just talking about that a little while ago.And then we were talking as a group about some of the evidence we looked at today where they actually discovered the kids and found the kids.And it really, it's not that different than those old commercials you see of kids in Africa.where they're covered in bugs and squatting and have that distant look in their eyes.It's terrible.I mean, it is absolutely terrible.

And again, we've got to make sure the kids are safe.We've got to make sure they're placed in good, solid therapeutic placements.And we have to hold accountable the people who are willing to do this to their own family.

Were the kids enrolled in school?Were the kids enrolled in school?No.

Are there any like warning signs that investigators are now looking at considering that this was happening in our community for such a long time and went unnoticed?What is being done about that looking ahead?

Yeah, well, obviously we'll look at every, you look at every single case and look at lessons you can learn or how you can do it better.So, so conditions don't repeat themselves.So we're certainly looking at that.Um, again, the evidence shows that these, these folks were pretty good at hiding these kids.And I think you're going to see that part of the reason they were hiding these kids is they knew that these kids were neglected.They knew that if anybody actually knew what was going on, these kids probably would have been removed and, and they would have lost, they would have lost the kids.

So, you know, they were pretty adept at keeping these kids out of sight and out of the eyes, investigators eyes.But we have an obligation.And again, that's one of the things I talked to, um, Kara Winty about yesterday.I have an obligation to go.and look at these situations and look at areas where we can make improvements.And having worked with Governor DeWine for a long time, I know that's exactly what he does in every single case.

So we'll go back and look at the full case, the full investigation.Really, right now, I told the investigative team this morning, even though this all blew up yesterday, we're really just at the beginning of all of this.We're dealing with making sure the kids are safe, making sure that the kids get plentygathering the evidence, you know, doing the doing the search warrants, taking in the property, doing all of the casework type of stuff we have to do.I'm certain that that down the road will look broader at at those type of issues as well.

become aware of this, or was this done directly by law enforcement?It came to the Sheriff's Department first, or how did you guys learn about it?

Yeah, all I can tell you on that part is there was an investigation.There was a parallel investigation going on for something else that led law enforcement to that house on the search warrant.And they went into the house on the search warrant and discovered this.

Why were the conditions deemed?

Are they hospitalized?

So as as of this morning, you know, some summer, some were basically examined and released last night.Some were admitted to Columbus hospitals last night.I know that there was one that was in ICU that was in critical condition, was intubated at one point.Um, and and I don't know who all has been released and who hasn't other other than the seven were stayed overnight.

That's one of the challenges we're facing.

That's one of the challenges we're facing.That's why there's kind of contributes to a lack of information.It's one of the investigative challenges we have to face is that they are limited.They can't communicate, but it's extremely limited and some not at all.

Why were the conditions deemed unsafe for officers to go in?

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you.So as they were doing the search warrant yesterday.and moving property, they literally were about to fall through the floor.

Was there any indication that prior to moving in?

Not at this time, no.

What was this investigation going on?Were there any complaints that were made to local child welfare authorities?

Again, I'm talking about the part of the investigation that got us to the search warrant.And that was an ongoing cooperative investigation that had gone on.Again, something unrelated.It wasn't about the welfare of these 16 kids.At that point, we didn't know that there was going to be 16 kids there.We weren't, again, when I talk to people, people were like, no, I haven't seen any kids.

I haven't seen any kids there.So some of that is out there with respect to the parallel investigation that was going on.I don't know.It's a joint effort between Fenton County and B. C. I. What?Maybe a month, maybe a month, six weeks is, but that was not related to the conditions of the house or the welfare.Literally, they were working.

They were coming to the culmination of that other investigation, which led them to do a search warrant at that at that house.That's still part of this.That's something we're working on.

How exactly are the four defendants related to each other?I don't want to make an assumption here.

Grandma, grandpa, father and mother.At this point, that's what we know.

So is it fair to say that what led you to find those kids was a parallel ongoing investigation at that time?I think so.

Yeah, that's a correct statement.Absolutely.

Can we expect more charges?these people?

Yeah, obviously it's it's an ongoing investigation and there there could be more charges as we continue to uncover evidence and do you know if they'll have any more protection in jail?

Any type of protection currently at the regional jail?

They are aware of their crimes and toward the allegation of their crimes and appropriately are treating him.as any other inmate accused of those crimes are while in population.

This small town is still trying to process the details that investigators have laid out in this case.Now we did speak with a local store employee who says that she served the ciders the night before they were arrested.More than a day after 16 children were removed from a home in the small village of Hamden.People are still coming to Omer St trying to understand how something like this could have happened.

It's absolutely heartbreaking, especially since I've got a 20 year old and a 14 year old daughter.And I've heard that some of these kids never saw the light of day.

The shock comes after these four people were charged with 17 counts of child endangerment.The Vinton County Sheriff described the conditions inside the home as horrific.

It was a mind blowing once I saw the mugshot like oh, I spoke it to them.I just seen him on Monday.They were my last customers on Monday.It's sad.It's crazy.It's sad situation.

Employees at the Hamden Dollar General say the ciders were regular customers stopping in almost every night just before closing.Buying water, vegetable oil and sometimes sugar.often accompanied by just one of the Children.

Oh, I noticed that he would keep her really close to her and she was not allowed to speak to nobody.I noticed that and when she came in with the kids,the kids were all very thin, very, very thin, ghost white, didn't have no weight on their body, and they had their hair over their face, like, to block out, you know, the outside world to not see them.

Ariel Gutierrez says store employees tried to help, offering the family clothes and hygiene products.But she says they never saw those items put to use.Investigators have described the conditions inside the home as unforgettable.The Ohio Attorney General saying the smell inside the home is something he can't forget.Gutierrez says that same odor was noticeable every time the family walked into the store.

The smell to me, honestly, when I think about them and hear them, the smell would never leave my mind.I will always have that smell in my mind.Sad to say.just because it was so potent like they could have left the store five minutes ago and the store would still smell.

Now she says her focus is on the Children, hoping they finally have the chance as a better life.

Just sorry to the Children and I'm sorry that I should have said something sooner and I'm praying and I know they're in better conditions now and they hopefully they get what they deserve.

As the community continues to process what happened, many say they're praying for the children and hoping Hamden can begin to heal.Gotta go and make sure and we gotta trust that God has investigators say that those children are now at hospitals across the state of Ohio and that this investigation is still ongoing.