Daughter Convicted of Murder and Dismemberment of Her Mother

A woman has been convicted of murdering and dismembering her mother.

Candace Craig, 45, was found guilty on Friday following an eight-day trial. She was convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and disposing of a body in an unauthorized location.

In June 2023, Margaret Craig, 71, confronted Candace over allegations of credit card fraud and was choked to death after threatening to report her to the police.

Candace Craig then enlisted the help of one of her three children, her 19-year-old daughter Salia Hardy, to dispose of the body. Salia later testified against her mother after pleading guilty earlier this year to her own involvement in the gruesome crime.

Hardy said she found her grandmother’s body stuffed inside a blue plastic container in her bedroom in Hyattsville and then helped her mom chop up the body with a chainsaw and then try to dispose of some of it by grilling body parts on a grill in the backyard.

By the time police discovered her remains, Margaret Craig had been dead for over a week. Her decaying body was found during a welfare check after concerned neighbors reported they had not seen her in some time.

The daughter, Candace, allowed officers into the home and basement, where they were immediately hit with the smell of “decomposition” and noticed blood spatter around white plastic trash bags.

The bags held “what appeared to be brain matter” and Margaret Craig’s mutilated remains with cops also finding cutting tools and a chainsaw, with the latter still covered with human remains.

Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy described the crime as a gruesome act “that really rocked the entire region” following the conviction.

“This is a giving, caring, loving, compassionate, and understanding woman, who was killed, who was asphyxiated by her daughter,” Braveboy said.

“And make no mistake, Miss Candace Craig absolutely committed this crime, and she is now being held accountable,” Braveboy said.

“Killed, dismembered, her body burned, her body grilled — it was insulting for this 71-year-old woman who was a hard working woman.”

Earlier this year, Salia Hardy pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact for her role in helping dispose of her grandmother’s body.