Disturbing body camera footage shows an Amish mother admitting to police that she had drowned her 4-year-old son as part of a supposed test of faith.
Ruth Miller was arrested last week following the drowning of her young son, Vincen Miller, in a lake in rural Ohio on the morning of August 23.
Earlier that day, her husband, Marcus Miller, also drowned after telling his wife he needed to take part in a “test of faith” by swimming as far as he could in the same lake.
Highlights
- Amish mother Ruth Miller confessed on body cam to drowning her 4-year-old son as a 'test of faith' in rural Ohio.
- Ruth's husband Marcus drowned hours earlier attempting the same faith-based ritual alone.
- Ruth forced her other three children into the lake and drove a golf cart into water.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff's deputies were later dispatched to a dock at a campground in Atwood Lake, where the Millers were staying, over reports that a golf cart carrying a woman and three children had been driven into the water, as per The Daily Mail.
Image credits: COURT TV
Upon arriving at the scene, deputies found Ruth being carried by her 18-year-old twin sons, who survived the crash, along with Ruth and her 15-year-old daughter.
When the deputies approached the mother, she said about her 4-year-old, “I gave him to God. I threw him into the lake and gave him to God.”
Putting her hand on one of the deputy's shoulders, the woman continued, “People are going to tell me that I am crazy, but he is real and he loves you, he really does love you.
“And I have doubted him so many times, but I have to tell you that he is coming soon. He is coming very soon, prepare your hearts. The end is close.”
Image credits: Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office
Asked about Vincen, Ruth said the boy was “sweet” and that she “loved” him.
Regarding her husband, she insisted that Marcus wouldn’t “come back” because he had been swallowed by a fish and asked authorities to look for a fish at the bottom of Atwood Lake.
She said, “This is a miracle from God, you will see” and added that, though her family had "doubted" miracles, they are “true.”
Ruth Miller was arrested in Ohio after admitting she had thrown her son, Vincen, into Atwood Lake
Image credits: WKYC Channel 3
The Millers first jumped off the dock around 1am on August 23 as part of an alleged test of faith. They later returned to their campsite, believing they had failed the test.
Ruth told authorities that Marcus was upset he had failed his religious test “because he didn't have enough faith,” leading him to attempt it again alone.
Marcus is believed to have accidentally drowned. His body was found about 12 hours before investigators found the body of 4-year-old Vincent.
Image credits: WKYC Channel 3
Detectives believe Marcus wasn’t involved in his son’s tragedy or in Ruth’s conduct with their three other children.
Ruth has been charged with two counts of aggravated m*rder, two counts of domestic violence, and one count of child endangerment, according to court records.
The mother is also accused of forcing her three other children into the lake, which has a maximum depth of 30 feet (9 m), at different times throughout the weekend.
Ruth pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity at her arraignment in Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court.
Earlier the same day, her husband, Marcus Miller, drowned while attempting a faith-based ritual
Image credits: COURT TV
The mother’s defense attorney, Ian Friedman, argued in court that his client was mentally ill and lacked the capacity to distinguish right from wrong.
“Based upon the facts... this case would not have happened but for a mental defect that would have prevented Ms. Miller from appreciating the wrongfulness of her conduct,” he told the court on Monday (September 8), according to WLW.
“There clearly was a serious mental disease that she faced. It was evident to the first responding officers, the first responders and unfortunately it was a tragedy that happened that day.”
Image credits: COURT TV
Investigators have reportedly said that Ruth was experiencing “spiritual disillusion” when questioned about the incident.
Deputies said the 40-year-old woman and her 45-year-old husband believed God was speaking to them and had instructed them to carry out the rituals to “prove their worthiness.”
“The most bizarre was that God told her to allow herself to be swallowed by a fish, as bizarre as that sounds,” Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said.
The couple would sometimes do “swimming exercises” to prove their devotion to God.
Ruth told officers she had “given” her son to God
Image credits: WKYC Channel 3
“Things to prove their worthiness to God, to show their faith is complete, and they didn't do very well in those,” the sheriff added.
No weapons were discovered at the Millers’ campsite. Detectives found no evidence of illegal substance use.
The three teenagers have reportedly not been injured as a result of the golf cart incident, though they are “devastated” by the tragedy and have since been in the care of other family members.
Image credits: WKYC Channel 3
Ruth was hospitalized at a mental health institution before she was transferred to the Tuscarawas County Jail, where she’ll remain until her bond hearing on September 25.
The mother has been barred from contacting her three surviving children.
Police said that about two hours after her husband disappeared into the water, Ruth placed her 4-year-old in a golf cart and drove recklessly around the campground before forcing him into the water. She then drove the golf cart into the lake with three of her other children.
In a statement, the Old Order Amish Church and the extended Miller family condemned the couple’s actions, saying they “do not reflect our teachings or beliefs but are instead a result of a mental illness,” adding that Ruth and Marcus were “misinterpreting passages of the Bible.”
Her defense attorney argued she was mentally ill and unable to recognize the wrongfulness of her actions
Image credits: WKYC Channel 3
Friedman told People magazine that he’s “confident” the mother’s defense can prove her “severe mental ailment” led to her actions.
“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.
If convicted of the aggravated m*urder charge, the mother faces a minimum sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
"Insanity does not mean innocent," one netizen commented
