An Amish mother who allegedly believed she had “to allow herself to be swallowed by a fish” to prove her worthiness to God and drowned her 4-year-old son in an Ohio lake is now in custody following a mental health hospitalization, according to authorities and reports.
Ruth Miller, 40, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of domestic violence and one count of child endangerment after the troubling chain of events at Atwood Lake on Aug. 23rd, according to court records.
She was released from the hospital on Monday and booked into Tuscarawas County Jail, records show.
Miller, a mom of four, and her 45-year-old husband, Marcus J. Miller, believed God was speaking to them around 1 a.m. 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 last week.
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.
Miller also allegedly told law enforcement officers that “God told her to allow herself to be swallowed by a fish,” Campbell detailed
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 Marcus Miller was last seen alive near the water, Ruth placed her 4-year-old son, Vincen Miller, in a golf cart and began to drive recklessly around the area, police said.
She then took little Vincen to the dock and drowned him, the mother allegedly admitted to deputies. His body was found later Saturday evening, around 6 p.m.
Miller 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. They are now in the care of other family members, police said.
Miller’s attorney, Ian N. Friedman, told People Magazine that he is “confident” the mother’s defense can prove her “severe mental ailment” led to her conduct.
“It is immediately apparent that Ruth, at the time of the tragic incident, suffered from a severe mental ailment that unequivocally prevented her from appreciating the wrongfulness of her conduct,” Friedman told the outlet.
“I expect that this case will center around whether Ruth should be found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity. We are confident that she will be,” he said.
Friedman was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
Miller is expected to appear in court on Friday, the outlet said.
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