Mannnnnn, this is some disturbing news coming out of Maryland about a 71-year-old woman who was butchered by her daughter with a chainsaw and then put on the grill to cook with the help of her granddaughter.
Police said it started over a credit card before 44-year-old Candace Craig allegedly killed her mother, 71-year-old Margaret Craig, on May 23.
After Margaret was killed, Candace and her 19-year-old daughter, Salia Hardy, put Margaret on the grill to cook to dispose of Margaret’s body.
Authorities say on Friday, June 2, 2023, at approximately 1:35 p.m., they responded to a home on Hill Road for a welfare check. A 911 caller told dispatch that he had not communicated with Margaret for several days and was concerned about her well-being. When police arrived, they said Candace answered the door and allowed officers to search for Margaret.
When police reached the basement of the home, they smelled a strong odor of a decomposed body- it was Margaret Craig, dead.
According to authorities, Margaret had been dead for a week before she was discovered.
According to warrants, blood and tissue were on the floor beside three white plastic trash bags. Police said they also found “brain matter” inside the bags and noticed a knife on the floor, which later disappeared. Other cutting instruments, the cover of a chainsaw, cleaning materials, and blood splatter was also observed throughout.
Police interviewed Margaret’s granddaughter, Hardy, who told police that her grandmother had accused her mother, Candace, of credit card fraud and threatened to put the police on her. Hardy said her mother and grandmother started arguing, leading to a physical fight and her grandmother’s death. The next day, May 24, Hardy said she discovered her grandmother was stuffed inside a blue plastic container in her bedroom and helped her mother remove the remains.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Garth said Candace and her daughter, Hardy, used a chainsaw, dismembered Margaret’s body, and put parts on the grill to cook and in a bonfire to get rid of Margaret’s remains.
Police said Margaret’s body was mutilated beyond recognition, but prosecutors are confident that DNA testing will confirm that the body parts found at the scene are those of Margaret Craig.
Candace has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, and Hardy is charged with one count of accessory after the fact.
Both remain in jail without bond.
