MD Woman Who Helped Mom Cover Up Murder To Be Released From Jail: Report

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD — A woman who admitted to helping her mother cover up her grandmother's murder is set to be released from jail one year after the killing, according to a WTOP report.

Candace Craig, 46, pleaded guilty in November to first and second-degree murder in the death of 71-year-old Margaret Craig. According to prosecutors, Craig suffocated the older woman at their Hyattsville home before dismembering her body and using a grill to burn the parts.

According to the WTOP report citing Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy, 21-year-old Salia Hardy — who testified against her mother and admitted to helping her cover up the killing — will be released after spending 550 days in jail.

“Candace attempted to blame Miss Hardy and her other two children for the murder. It is unthinkable that a mother would subject her children to such circumstances," Braveboy said. "Miss Hardy didn’t participate in the murder of her grandmother and pled guilty to accessory after the crime."

According to prosecutors, Craig killed her mother by suffocating her with a trash bag following an argument over fraudulent credit card charges and discrepancies in the older woman's bank account.

To dispose of the body, Craig and Hardy bought grilling supplies and a can of gasoline, but when Craig tried to burn the remains behind the home the fire spread and neighbors called the fire department, Hardy testified during the trial.

Hardy and Craig moved the remains inside the home the next day. Craig bought a chainsaw on Amazon and cut up her mother's body in the basement, Hardy testified. She then grilled parts of her, using seasoning to mask the smell, prosecutors said.

On June 2 shortly after 1:30 p.m., Prince George's County police officers were called to the home in the 200 block of Hill Road in Landover for a welfare check. The family member who contacted police said he had been unable to reach Margaret Craig for several days and was worried about her.

Another family member noticed a foul odor in the basement when she stopped by that day. When police made the welfare check, officers noticed the odor of decomposition and saw what appeared to be brain matter and suspected dismembered human remains in trash bags, WUSA reported.

Court documents revealed that "upon entering the basement, officers immediately recognized the smell of putrefaction and observed blood and tissue on the floor near three white plastic trash bags."

In an interview with police, Craig blamed the murder on Hardy and her two younger daughters, both of whom have disabilities, the Washington Post reported.

"You have three young girls who knew — who now know — that their mother killed their grandmother, dismembered her body, tried to set her on fire and then tried to blame them,” Braveboy previously said. "This — it’s almost unbelievable, but it happened. It happened."