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Mom, daughter allegedly butchered grandma with chainsaw, grilled her body parts

A twisted Maryland mom and daughter are charged with dismembering the family’s matriarch with a chainsaw — then grilling the body parts to get rid of them — following a fight about a credit card, cops said.

Margaret Craig, 71, had been dead for more than a week when police made the grisly discovery Friday at the kin’s Hill Road home in Landover during a welfare check.

“When the officers entered the basement, they immediately smelled the odor of decomposition,” the Prince George’s County Police Department said in a statement.

A preliminary investigation conducted by homicide detectives has determined that Margaret’s daughter, 44-year-old Candace Craig, allegedly killed her mother on May 23.

The following day, her 19-year-old daughter, Salia Hardy, allegedly helped Craig dispose of her grandmother’s body.

According to the police, Craig answered the door and allowed cops to look for the older woman.

Candace Craig, 44, has been arrested on murder charges, accused of killing her mother during an argument, then trying to dispose of her body by cutting it up with a chainsaw and grilling the remains. Prince George's County Police Department
Candace’s daughter, 19-year-old Salia Hardy, has been charged with accessory after the fact for allegedly helping her get rid of her grandmother’s body parts. Prince George's County Police Department

In the basement, they “observed blood and tissue on the floor near three white plastic trash bags,” according to charging documents obtained by the news outlet WJLA.

The cops said they also found “what appeared to be brain matter” inside one of the bags and noticed a knife on the floor, which later vanished.

Additional cutting instruments, the cover of a chainsaw, cleaning materials and blood spatter were observed throughout the cellar reeking of putrefaction.

Margaret Craig (left), 71, was killed in an unknown manner on May 23 after she allegedly threatened to report her daughter to the police for suspected credit card fraud. Candace Craig/Facebook

When interviewed by detectives, Hardy allegedly told them that her grandmother had accused her mother of credit card fraud and threatened to turn her in to the police, reported the news channel WTOP.

The two women began arguing, with the dispute escalating to a physical attack that resulted in Margaret’s death, according to the records, which do not indicate how the woman was killed.

The next day, Hardy discovered her grandmother’s body stuffed inside a blue plastic container in her bedroom and allegedly helped her mother get rid of it.

Police responded to the family’s home in Landover, Maryland, and immediately detected the stench of decomposition. ABC7 WJLA

“After that, [Candace Craig] and her daughter dismembered the body, I believe using a chainsaw, and then attempted to dispose of the parts of the body using fire on a grill and in a bonfire,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Garth.

By the time police arrived 10 days later, the rotting remains had been mutilated beyond recognition, but prosecutors said they are confident that DNA testing will confirm that the body parts found at the crime scene belonged to the grandmother.

“To say it’s disturbing is an understatement,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “It’s horrifying.”

Remains believed to be those of Margaret Craig, including human tissue and chunks of brain, were discovered inside her blood-soaked basement. Candace Craig/Facebook

A little over two years before the carnage, Candace posted a sweet Mother’s Day message on her Facebook page, gushing that her mom was “the number one woman in my life.”

“I hope you have an awesome and peaceful day,” she wrote on May 9, 2021. “I don’t get to say this everyday but I love you very much to the moon and back.”

Hardy chimed in, writing in a comment, “Happy mother’s day grandma and mommy,” followed by three heart emojis.

A little over two years before the killing, Candace Craig wrote a touching Mother’s Day message on Facebook professing her love for her mom, Margaret. Candace Craig/Facebook

Candace has been charged with first- and second-degree murder.

Her daughter is facing a count of accessory after the fact.

The mom is due in court for a preliminary hearing on July 3.

Both she and Hardy are being held without bond.