The Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland has provided disturbing details about the accusations against a mother and her daughter. The two allegedly dismembered the grandmother, Margaret Craig, with a chainsaw and grilled her remains. The arrest and charges were made against 44-year-old Candice Craig and 19-year-old Salia Hardy. These shocking events stem from a fight over a credit card.
Margaret Craig, 71, had already been dead for more than a week when police made the gruesome discovery during a welfare check Friday at the residence on Hill Road in Landover.
On June 2, police were called to the residence following a call from a concerned neighbor who had not seen the grandmother for several days. Upon arrival at approximately 1:30 p.m., Candice Craig allowed the officers into the house. Upon entering the basement, the police detected the odor of decomposition. Additionally, they discovered blood near some white trash bags. During their inspection, one of the bags was opened, revealing what appeared to be brain matter and other remains that were identified as belonging to the missing grandmother.
According to charging documents, investigators uncovered disturbing evidence within the basement, including a chainsaw with human remains on it, along with cutting utensils, cleaning supplies, and blood spatter.
According to police, Hardy waived her rights and provided a statement revealing that she had overheard a heated argument between her mother and grandmother. The argument resulted after her grandmother threatened to report Hardy to the police for credit card fraud.
Hardy reportedly told police that her mother had assaulted the grandmother, and the following day she discovered the grandmother’s body inside a blue bin.
The charging documents state that the mother and daughter subsequently attempted to dispose of the remains by setting them on fire using a grill and a bonfire. A witness informed detectives that they had observed the daughter and mother burning something in a small fire behind their residence on May 27.
Craig is facing charges of first-degree and second-degree murder, while Hardy is being charged as an accessory after the fact. Both individuals are currently being held without bond.
USA Today reported:
A missing woman’s daughter and grandchild are facing charges including murder after police say the grandmother was dismembered and grilled at the family’s Maryland home.
Candace Craig, 44, and her daughter, Salia Hardy, 19, were arrested in connection to the death of 71-year-old Margaret Craig which police say took place inside the victim’s Landover home in Prince George’s County, bordering the eastern portion of Washington D.C.
“Based on additional evidence gathered at the home, as well as multiple interviews, the preliminary investigation suggests Candace Craig murdered her mother on May 23,” the Prince George’s County Police Department said in a statement released this week. “The following day, Hardy helped her mother attempt to dispose of the remains.”
A welfare check, a missing senior and three bags of body parts
According to police, officers responded to the home on June 2 for a welfare check, and when officers entered the family’s house, they immediately smelled decomposing remains.
Court records obtained by local TV station WTOP, show homicide investigators then found three bags of human body parts in the basement.
“She and her daughter dismembered the body, I believe using a chain saw, and then attempted to dispose of the parts of the body using fire on a grill and in a bonfire,” Prince George County assistant state Attorney Jessica Garth told WTOP.
One of the fires, police said, may have been set as far back as May 27.
Motive unknown, but money may be a possibility
Although Margaret Craig was still considered a missing person Wednesday, when police showed up at her home last week, they said her car was still in the driveway.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to identify who the body parts belong to and how they died, police said in the statement, but, according to homicide detectives, all indications show they likely belong to the missing senior.
Police said a motive in the crime remained under investigation on Wednesday, but court papers show the victim’s mother accused her daughter of credit card fraud, prompting an argument possibly leading to the killing.
The court documents also accuse Hardy of finding the body in a plastic bin, and helping to dismember and dispose of it.
