Inside the Trial of Candace Craig and the Dismemberment of Margaret Craig"

Candace Craig and Salia Hardy ( Inner)Margaret Craig

The trial of Candace Craig, accused of murdering her mother Margaret Craig, has unveiled chilling details of the crime. Margaret Craig was killed on May 23, 2023, at her home near Hyattsville, with the aftermath painting a horrifying picture. Candace Craig's 21-year-old daughter, Salia Hardy, testified that she witnessed her mother using a chainsaw to dismember her grandmother and burning the remains on a grill purchased from Home Depot. The defendant's attempt to cover the smell by cooking chicken alongside the burning remains resulted in a fire that caught the attention of neighbors and later firefighters.

Hardy, charged with accessory after the fact to murder, described her discovery of her grandmother's body in a bin with a trash bag over her head, following screams heard the previous day. Candace Craig allegedly instructed her daughter to dispose of the DNA by burning, chopping, or using acid. The disturbing events escalated as Craig, in a gruesome act, cut up her mother with a chainsaw in the basement, later concealed in trash bags.

Authorities were alerted to the crime scene on June 2 when a concerned caller reported Margaret Craig's absence for several days. The responding officers, upon entering the basement, were met with the overwhelming stench of decomposition. The investigation revealed 67 segments of burned and dismembered remains, with signs of a brutal homicide by undetermined means as per Maryland Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Pamela Ferreira.

This case has shocked the community and shed light on the tragic and appalling events that led to Margaret Craig's untimely death, leaving a disturbing impact on all those involved in the trial proceedings.