On Thursday, family members talked about the last time they saw and spoke to Margaret Craig, a 71-year-old woman whose tragic death is part of a murder trial that started this week in Prince George’s County.
Margaret’s daughter, 44-year-old Candace Craig, is accused of killing her mother and then using a chainsaw to cut up her body to hide the evidence. Candace’s 19-year-old daughter, Salia Hardy, admitted earlier this year to helping after the murder and is waiting to be sentenced.
Police were called to the Craig family’s home in Hyattsville on June 2, 2023, because a neighbor hadn’t seen Margaret for a few days and was concerned about her.
Two days earlier, Margaret’s nephew, David Wilson, visited the house because he couldn’t reach her. He often chatted with Margaret on Facebook about the news. During his visit, he walked around the woods behind the house, calling out her name, and noticed a burnt patch of ground, which he filmed.
On June 2, another family member, Jillian Philbert, went to the home and smelled something bad coming from the basement. When police arrived, she led them to the basement. There, officers noticed a strong smell and saw blood near three white trash bags. When they looked inside one bag, they found what looked like brain matter and suspected dismembered body parts.
As officers left the basement, they saw a knife on the ground, but when they returned, the knife was gone. A forensic investigator confirmed that the bags contained human remains.
Later, investigators found a chainsaw, cutting tools, cleaning supplies, and blood throughout the basement. They claimed there were human remains on the chainsaw when they took it from the home.
Salia Hardy told police she heard her mother and grandmother arguing on May 23 about some fake charges on her credit card. Margaret blamed Salia for these charges and threatened to report her. Salia said her mother then attacked Margaret, and the next day, she found her grandmother’s body in a blue bin in her bedroom.
Authorities say Candace and Salia then used a chainsaw to cut up Margaret’s body and tried to burn the remains in a grill and in a fire behind the house. A witness told detectives they saw Candace and Salia burning human remains after noticing a small fire in the brush behind their house on May 27. They called 911, but when the fire crew arrived, they couldn’t find the fire.
The trial will continue on Monday with more testimony from crime scene investigators. If Candace is found guilty of first-degree murder, she could face life in prison without the chance of parole.
