Hyattsville, MD: A Maryland woman, Candace Craig, 46, has been found guilty of murdering her mother, Margaret Craig, 71, after a fight broke out over a credit card.
Her daughter, Salia Hardy, 19 who testified against her mother was also charged after it was determined she helped dismember the body with a chainsaw, and grill the body parts to attempt to hide the crime.
Candace Craig was convicted by a jury on Nov. 1st, on all charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and disposing of a body in an unauthorized place.
The crime took place in May 2023 after Margaret Craig accused her daughter Candace of committing credit card fraud and threatened to call the police to on her.
Candace Craig responded by engaging in a physical fight with her which ended when she choked her mother to death.
According to Candace’s daughter, Hardy, the following day she found her grandmother’s body in her bedroom stuffed inside of a plastic container.
She then helped her mother chop up Margaret’s body parts using a chainsaw. The pair tried to get rid of the remnants by grilling some of it using the barbecue and then a bonfire in their backyard…but not before coating the parts in seasoning to try and mask the smell while they grilled.
Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Garth, who confirmed the order of events, said: “After that, [Candace Craig] and her daughter dismembered the body, I believe using a chainsaw, and then attempted to dispose of the parts of the body using fire on a grill and in a bonfire.”
In June, a welfare check was called in by a concerned neighbor after they hadn’t seen Margaret for some time. This call led the cops to the Craig’s door where they conducted a search throughout the house and into the basement where they immediately smelled something foul in the air.
Prince George’s County Police Department said in a statement: “When the officers entered the basement, they immediately smelled the odor of decomposition.” They also “observed blood and tissue on the floor near three white plastic trash bags.”
The police found evidence from the murder and cover-up; including a chain saw cover, cleaning materials, more cutting utensils, and blood. They discovered Craigs rotten body parts beyond recognition, concealed in plastic trash bags in the basement.
They would need to use DNA testing to confirm that they belonged to Margaret Craig.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy: “To say it’s disturbing is an understatement. It’s horrifying.”
The case came to light when Craig’s daughter, Salia Hardy was interviewed by detectives and admitted to helping her mother dispose of the body, which was burned on a barbecue grill and in a bonfire.
She pled guilty to being an accessory to the murder after the fact.
Candace Craig was convicted by a jury on Nov. 1st, on all charges, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and disposing of a body in an unauthorized place. The verdict came after an eight-day trial where prosecutors presented evidence that Craig killed her mother on May 23, 2023.
Attorney Aisha Braveboy said after the conviction: “We consider (Margaret) Craig to be a special victim who was killed by her own daughter. Killed, dismembered, her body burned, her body grilled, it was insulting for this 71-year-old woman who was a hardworking woman collecting social security, collecting a pension, she was someone who worked hard all her life. She was providing for her grown daughter who was living with her, her grandchildren, and she even allowed her daughter’s boyfriend to live in the home.”
Both are in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
