An Amish mother who believed God was testing her allegedly drowned her 4-year-old son in an Ohio lake and then drove a golf cart carrying her three other kids into the water following behind her husband, who was the first to drown himself.
The 40-year-old mom of four and her 45-year-old husband, Marcus J. Miller, believed God was speaking to them around 1 a.m. Saturday when they jumped off a dock at Atwood Lake, where their family was camping for the weekend, Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell told reporters at a news conference Monday, according to WWNYTV.
The couple was trying to prove their faith in God by pulling the shocking stunt and was suffering from a “spiritual delusion,” the sheriff believes.
After returning to the campground following their early morning dip, Miller told his wife he was going to return to the lake and was spotted by the water at 6:30 a.m., according to a witness.
His body was recovered further out into the water many hours later by search and rescue crews on Sunday evening, cops said, according to the outlet
Roughly two hours after Miller was last seen alive near the water, his wife — whose identity has not yet been released — placed her 4-year-old son, Vincent Miller, in a golf cart and began to drive recklessly around the area, police said.
She then took little Vincent to the dock and drowned him, the mother allegedly admitted to deputies. His body was found later Saturday evening, around 6 p.m.
She then followed the tragic incident by driving into the lake in a golf cart with three of her other children, including her 15-year-old daughter and 18-year-old twin sons, according to authorities.
The three children got out of the golf cart safely, and the crash alerted law enforcement to the scene.
After authorities responded to the crash, they quickly became “concerned for the safety of a 4-year-old male son and the woman’s husband, who could not be located,” the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The mother had “made concerning statements” to responding officers, including that she allegedly threw her son in the water “to give him to God,” Campbell said.
“It became evident after piecing together numerous statements from the woman, the children, and other witnesses above that foul play was suspected,” the sheriff’s office said.
The boy’s mother is expected to be charged with aggravated murder. She is currently in the hospital for mental health concerns.
The remainder of the Amish family is now in the care of other family members, Campbell said.
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