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.
Bodies found in storage unit:Bodies of missing Massachusetts men found in storage unit, one dismembered
Daughter, granddaughter remain jailed with no bond
Candace Craig faces charges including first and second-degree murder. Hardy, is also charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. Both remained jailed in Maryland Wednesday, online records show.
“The detectives of the Homicide Unit will ensure a thorough investigation is conducted and that both suspects are held accountable for their cruel and criminal behavior,” said Major David Blazer, commander of the police department’s Major Crimes Division.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for July 3, court records show.
Anyone with information about the victim’s disappearance is asked to call police.
‘What he did was demonic’:Florida man charged with killing, dismembering Uber Eats driver
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
