In Landover, Maryland, a mother and her daughter stand accused of killing their elderly relative and dismembering her body. They also grilled the remains in an attempt to cover up the murder.
Seventy-one-year-old Margaret Craig was dead for over a week when police conducted a welfare check at the family’s Hill Road residence.
Upon arrival, the officers were greeted by the strong smell of decomposition coming from the basement.
The preliminary investigation suggests that 44-year-old Candace Craig allegedly killed her mother, Margaret, on May 23. The following day, her 19-year-old daughter, Salia Hardy, is believed to have assisted in disposing of the body of her grandmother.
Candace Craig permitted police officers to search for Margaret when they arrived at the family home. Salia Hardy, when questioned by the detectives, reportedly confessed that a dispute had occurred between her mother and grandmother.
The clash, which started over allegations of credit card fraud, spiraled into a physical altercation that led to Margaret’s death, as reported by WTOP news.
According to the police records, Hardy found her grandmother’s body concealed in a blue plastic container in her bedroom the next day. Allegedly, she then helped her mother in a horrifying act of mutilation and disposal.
By the time the police arrived ten days later, the remains were mutilated beyond identification. However, the prosecutors are confident that DNA testing will affirm the remains to be those of the grandmother.
In a stark contrast, Candace had posted an endearing Mother’s Day message about her mother on her Facebook page just two years prior to the incident, proclaiming her mother as the most important woman in her life.
Candace has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, while her daughter Salia faces the charge of being an accessory after the fact. Both women are being held without bond, with Candace due for a preliminary hearing in court on July 3rd.