Daughter testifies in mom's trial, detailing grisly murder of grandmother at Hyattsville home

HYATTSVILLE, Md. - The daughter of a woman accused of murdering and dismembering her own mother is testifying this week what her role was in the 2023 slaying.

Salia Hardy, now 21, told the a Prince George’s County jury Wednesday she recalled hearing her grandmother 71-year-old Margaret Craig scream on May 23, 2023 inside of their Hill Road home near Hyattsville. Hardy said her mother 46-year-old Candace Craig instructed her to not go inside her grandmother’s room.

"She said to look at [my] sisters if she goes to jail," Hardy testified Wednesday.

Hardy, who has already pled guilty to accessory after the fact, appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit Wednesday and told the jury, part of the plea agreement includes a truthful testimony in her mother’s trial. Craig has been charged with murdering her 71-year-old mother, dismembering her body and burning it on a barbecue grill.

Hardy recalled the day after hearing her grandmother scream, her mother showed her scratches on her chest and arms. That day, Hardy said she went into her grandmother’s room since she had not seen her since hearing her scream and saw her body in bin with a trash bag over her face and blood on the carpet.

Hardy testified when her mother came home, she was mad at her for going in the room but would not tell her what happened to her grandmother. According to Hardy, they went to the store a few days later to purchase items including charcoal and a lighter. Gasoline was also purchased.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Maryland woman accused of murdering, dismembering her mother goes to trial

It was her mother’s idea to burn the body in the back of the house, Hardy said. The plan did not work, as neighbors began noticing the fire spread and the fire department eventually arrived. It was then, Hardy said her mother ordered a chainsaw online and began cutting the body into pieces the next day.

Margaret Craig’s autopsy was a "unique case", according to Maryland Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Pamela Ferreira. Craig’s body was not intact by the time it arrived at the ME’s office in early June, Dr. Ferreira said.

Ferreira testified there were nine bags, each of which were contained other bags. Her office also received a chainsaw, paper towels, and paint cans with water and body fragments. In total, she testified Wednesday there were 67 segments of remains, all of which showed evidence of being burned and dismembered by a mechanical saw after the Craig was dead.

Ferreira told the jury Wednesday, there was no evidence that a natural disease killed the victim. At the same time, she did not have every piece of the body. Craig’s death was ultimately ruled a homicide by undetermined means.

The trial resumes Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. with the remainder of Hardy’s testimony.