Amish mother charged with murder after husband, son drown in Tuscarawas Co. lake

TUSCARAWAS COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO) - The Amish mother involved in two deadly drownings at Atwood Lake was criminally charged on Wednesday.

Tuscarawas County prosecutors have charged Ruth Miller, 40, with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of domestic violence, and one count of endangering children.

She remains hospitalized and will be arraigned at a later date.

In a press conference on Monday, Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said Ruth Miller experienced a “spiritual delusion” which left her husband and 4-year-old son dead.

The bodies of Marcus J. Miller, 45, and Vincen Miller, 4, were recovered at the bottom of Atwood Lake.

The situation happened over the course of Saturday and Sunday while the family camped at Atwood Lake.

Campbell said around 1 a.m. Saturday, Ruth and Marcus Miller, who believed God was speaking to them, went to the dock and jumped in the water.

The sheriff said they were carrying out tasks to try and prove their faith to God.

Once they returned to the campgrounds, Marcus Miller reportedly told his wife he was going back to the lake.

According to Campbell, a witness spotted him along the dock at 6:30 a.m. Crews later recovered his body nearby.

Then around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Campbell said Ruth Miller placed Vincen on the golf cart and began to drive recklessly.

That’s when Campbell said she returned to the dock and drowned her son, which she later admitted to deputies.

After that, Ruth Miller is accused of forcing her remaining children in the lake at different times.

Finally, around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Campbell said she drove into the lake a golf cart carrying her three teenagers, a 15-year-old daughter and 18-year-old twin sons.

The teenagers got out of the water on their own and were not injured.

Campbell said it was the golf cart crash that prompted a response by rangers and deputies and ultimately uncovered the deaths.

When first responders began to treat Ruth Miller, she was allegedly making concerning statements.

As deputies questioned her, Campbell said the mother spoke about placing her son in the water, “to give him to God.”

She also attempted to run from deputies and hide in a bush.

At that time, officials learned Vincen and Marcus Miller were missing.

Crews searched numerous locations on Saturday, and Vincen’s body was located around 6 p.m.

Marcus’s body was found in the same area around 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

The Tuscarawas County coroner will conduct autopsies to determine how they died.