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Woman to be released from jail despite dismembering grandmother
Salia Margaret Hardy, 21, is set to be released from jail despite helping her mother dismember her grandmother's body with a chainsaw and grill the remains in May 2023.
Woman to be released from jail despite dismembering grandmother with chainsaw and grilling remains
A Maryland woman is set to be released from jail despite helping her mother dismember her grandmother's body with a chainsaw and grill the remains, after attorneys argued she was simply following her mother's orders.
Salia Margaret Hardy, 21, has learning disabilities that made her more susceptible to coercion, her attorneys had argued in Prince George's County Circuit Court, to which Judge Karen Mason ultimately agreed, according to the Washington Post.
She decided on Wednesday to let Hardy go free after she pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and provided damning testimony against her own mother, Candace Craig, 46.
The judge declared that the 550 days Hardy already spent behind bars for the death of her grandmother, 71-year-old Margaret Craig, was enough time served for her role in her grandmother's murder and issued probation requirements aimed at helping the young woman put her life back together.
These include psychiatric and psychological evaluations, as well as drug and alcohol tests.
Hardy must also have employment and vocational training alongside the services of a mentor or life coach, and will be under supervision for five years.
Prosecutors did not seem to have any issues with letting Hardy go free either, with Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Coleman pointing to her testimony at her mother's trial in October.
'I have never seen such bravery on the part of a cooperator,' Coleman said, noting Hardy 'really secured justice for her grandmother.'
Salia Margaret Hardy, 21, will be able to walk free after attorneys argued she was simply following her mother's orders when she helped her dismember her grandmother's body with a chainsaw and grill the remains
Margaret Craig, 71, was killed inside her daughter's home on May 23, 2023
Hardy had told the jury at her mother's trial in October that she heard her grandmother scream on May 23, 2023 inside their home, and her mother told her not to enter her grandmother's room in the aftermath, Fox 5 DC reports.
The following day, Hardy said she noticed her mom had scratches on her chest and arms, and she then decided to disobey her mother and look inside her grandma's room.
Inside, Hardy said she found her grandmother's body in a bin with a trash bag over her face and blood on the carpet.
When her mother later returned home, Hardy said she was mad at her for going into the room, but would not tell her what happened.
Several days later, Hardy said she and her mother went to a store to purchase items such as a lighter, some charcoal and gasoline.
She claimed it was her mother's idea to burn Margaret's body in the backyard, but had to change her plan when neighbors noticed the fire spread and the fire department was called to their house.
At that point, Hardy said, her mother ordered a chainsaw online and began cutting the body into pieces the next day.
Police found bags containing Margaret's body parts in the basement a week later, after other concerned family members called for a welfare check on the 71-year-old for whom Candace was supposed to be a caregiver.
Margaret's death was later ruled a homicide by undetermined means.
A jury convicted Hardy's mother, Candace Craig, 46, of first- and second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and improperly disposing of her body in October
At Candace's trial in October, prosecutors presented graphic images of Margaret's grilled body parts, WTOP reports.
They argued her murder was fueled by financial misconduct and fraud after Margaret confronted her daughter about the fraudulent use of her credit cards.
A jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning a guilty verdict of first- and second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and improperly disposing of her body.
'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,' State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said following the verdict.
'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.'
She went on to say her chief concern were Candace's children 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.'
But Judge Mason has now urged Hardy to make her life her grandmother's legacy, 'something that she can be proud of.'
