An Ohio woman has been charged with aggravated murder five days after allegedly driving a golf cart into a lake with three of her children aboard, claiming it was for religious reasons.
Ruth R. Miller, 40, was charged with two counts of aggravated murder on Wednesday, August 27, according to court records from New Philadelphia Municipal Court.
According to the Associated Press, the charges stem from the death of her four-year-old son, Vincen, whom she allegedly admitted to throwing into Atwood Lake on Saturday, August 23.
Miller allegedly told police that she threw the child into the lake as a “offering to God,” Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said during a press conference this week.
She is also charged with two counts of domestic violence and one count of child endangerment, according to the Associated Press, after allegedly driving a golf cart into a lake with three of her older children aboard.
The Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office previously stated that the older children survived the incident.
Miller’s husband, Marcus J. Miller, 45, died hours earlier from drowning in the same lake.
Campbell told reporters at the press conference that he was attempting to swim to a sandbar far out in the lake in order to demonstrate his faith in God.
According to court records, Miller was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Thursday, but the hearing was canceled “until further notice” for unknown reasons.
It’s unclear whether Miller has entered a plea or hired an attorney.
