The woman who prosecutors say killed and dismembered her mother last year was found guilty by a Prince George’s County, Maryland, jury on Friday.
Jurors spent just over an hour in deliberations before returning to the courtroom and finding Candace Craig, 46, guilty of first and second-degree murder in the death of her 71-year-old mother for whom she was supposed to be the caregiver.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy left the courthouse shortly after the verdict was read and told reporters it was a critical step toward justice in a case that rocked the region.
“Words cannot express how devastated I was when I heard about this case, how angry I was, how committed my office was to getting justice,” Braveboy said. “And as with any case, it is not easy. There was a tremendous amount of evidence in this case. It took a lot to put everything together.”
Braveboy said one of the reasons the case was so hard to compile was its unique nature. It was, in her words, more than just a homicide for the department, given the killing, dismembering and burning of Margaret Craig’s body by her own daughter.
“It was insulting for this 71-year-old woman who was a hardworking woman collecting Social Security, collecting a pension,” Braveboy said.
She told reporters that the process was heart-wrenching for all those involved, as prosecutors brought forth deeply troubling images — graphic photos of grilled body parts — arguing her death was fueled by financial misconduct and fraud.
Among her deepest concerns were the children of Candace Craig and the family members who witnessed the violence.
“You have to live with this. 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 said. “I can’t even imagine the therapy, the support, everything that they’re going to need to grow into strong young women. This — it’s almost unbelievable, but it happened. It happened.”
When a reporter said that it seemed like Candace Craig needed help, Braveboy said the now-convicted Craig was far too malicious and intentional to make an insanity case.
“How do you reconcile that with the fact that she took very deliberate, specific steps and — in deciding how she wanted to go about grilling her mother — (used) seasoning to mask the smell?” Braveboy said. “These are very deliberate steps that she took. So, if she has some insanity, it certainly isn’t something that impacts all of her other thinking.”
Moments before the verdict
During closing arguments, prosecutors pointed to evidence, including bins and body parts belonging to Margaret Craig which were found in a bag.
The jurors reached a sweeping verdict, which also included finding Candace Craig guilty of tampering with evidence and improperly disposing of her mother’s body.
The decision followed roughly three hours of closing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys on Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors said that Margaret Craig was found with a trash bag over her head. Medical examiner testimony found that she died “at the hands of someone.”
Her death was no accident, prosecutors argued, given that Candace Craig sought her daughter Salia Hardy’s help in the covering up Margaret Craig’s death.
Hardy is accused of helping cover up Margaret Craig’s murder but has testified and cooperated with prosecutors during the trial.
Defense attorneys representing Candace Craig took issue with the evidence discussed in the trial, arguing that some detectives and lab workers didn’t do enough DNA tests — only 10 items were tested, which didn’t include the car in the home’s driveway. They also argued that DNA evidence from the crime scene belonged to an unidentified man who may have killed Margaret Craig.
Given the information the jury had, lawyers for Candace Craig admitted that she lied to police during their investigation.
Defense attorneys concluded by saying the jury should find the accused Maryland woman not guilty of the murder charges levied against her. The defense team chose not to dispute charges of evidence tampering and improperly disposing of a body during their closing arguments.
Trial begins for a gruesome homicide
The trial began on Thursday, Oct. 24, with gruesome details and opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys inside the Prince George’s County courtroom.
During the first few moments of the trial, officials went back through the claims that Candace Craig, who was a caregiver to her mother, dismembered her with a chain saw and attempted to burn body parts in the backyard of a Landover-area home.
Assistant State’s Attorney Julia Hall argued that Candace Craig spent her time taking advantage of Margaret Craig and that Candace Craig seemed indifferent about her mother’s disappearance during the investigation. Authorities also pointed to early claims that Margaret Craig was asking her daughter about fraudulent credit card charges in the moments before her murder, as an example of Candace Craig’s abusive behavior.
Family members testifying in the case described their concern after being unable to reach the woman in the days after her alleged murder.
One family member, Jillian Philbert, said she made it into the basement of the home after growing worried that Margaret Craig had fallen down the stairs.
When Philbert made her way down, she said there was a terrible odor and several trash bags. However, Philbert said she left the basement after noticing Candace Craig and Hardy were closely monitoring her in the basement.
WTOP’s Scott Gelman and John Domen contributed to this report.
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