An Amish mother who drowned her son and drove her other kids into a lake after her husband threw himself in said she did so because ‘God told her to allow herself to be swallowed by a fish,’ police have revealed.
Ruth Miller, 40, was arrested Tuesday following the drowning death of her four-year-old son Vincen Miller, who was tossed into a lake in rural Ohio on the morning of August 23.
Her husband, Marcus Miller, 45, was found dead earlier that day around 8.30am after he told his wife he needed to take part in an alleged test of faith by jumping in the lake and swimming out as far as he could.
That morning, Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the end of a boat dock at a campground in Atwood Lake over reports of a golf cart carrying a woman and three children crashing into the water.
Miller, who told police ‘she had given her son to the Lord,’ is accused of drowning the boy before driving the vehicle carrying her three other kids into the lake, WKYC reported.
The couple believed God was speaking to them and had instructed them to carry out ritualistic tasks to ‘prove their worthiness’, deputies said.
When asked what their beliefs entailed, Miller gave them a series of examples, including one which was particularly ‘bizarre,’ Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said.
Ruth Miller, 40, was arrested Tuesday following the drowning death of her four-year-old son Vincen Miller. Her husband, Marcus Miller, 45, after he allegedly jumped in the water to ‘test his faith’ earlier that day
Miller is accused of driving a golf cart into a lake in Atwood (pictured) with her son and three other kids onboard
‘The most bizarre was that God told her to allow herself to be swallowed by a fish, as bizarre as that sounds,’ Campbell recalled.
The sheriff said Miller also said that sometimes she and her husband would participate in ‘swimming exercises.’
‘Things to prove their worthiness to God, to show their faith is complete, and they didn’t do very well in those,’ he added.
The Millers first jumped off the dock around 1am on Saturday, August 23 as part of the alleged test of faith, but later returned to their campsite, believing they failed to complete the task.
The wife later told detectives her husband was upset he failed his task ‘because he didn’t have enough faith’ – leading him to try again on his own.
Detectives do not believe Marcus was involved in the death of his son or participated in his wife’s alleged actions with their three other children.
Police believe Vincen likely drowned accidentally while trying to prove his faith like his parents.
They also believe Marcus accidently drowned.
The mother is also accused of forcing her three other children, a 15-year-old daughter and 18-year-old twin sons, into Atwood Lake at different times throughout the weekend.
The teens escaped the water on their own and were not injured in the golf cart incident.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said Miller also told police that sometimes she and her husband would participate in ‘swimming exercises’
A search and rescue crew (pictured at the scene) located Vincen Miller’s body in the water around 6pm Saturday. His father Marcus Miller’s body was found in the same area of Atwood Lake the next morning around 8.30am
She also spoke about putting her son in the water as a sacrifice to God and reportedly admitted to running from police and hiding in a bush.
Following the tragedy, Miller was hospitalized for mental health concerns.
Her older children were released to other family members and are understood to be ‘devastated’ by the tragedy.
Vincen’s lifeless body was found in the water around 6pm, with his father being found in the same hour some 12 hours before.
The Tuscarawas County coroner will conduct autopsies to determine their cause of death.
Investigators say no weapons were discovered at the Miller family’s campsite or any evidence of drug use. Police did however find an open Bible at the site.
Investigators (pictured at the campground) say no weapons were discovered at the Miller family’s campsite or any evidence of drug use. Police did however find an open Bible at the site
The Old Order Amish Church and the extended Miller family issued a statement to WOIO confirming the couple were ‘misinterpreting passages of the Bible’ and that their actions do not reflect the church’s teachings.
‘As a church of Christian faith, we believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, and the events of this past weekend do not reflect our teachings or beliefs but are instead a result of a mental illness,’ the statement read in part.
‘The ministry and extended family had been walking with them through their challenges, and they had also received professional help in the past.’
The church thanked law enforcement and rescuers for their response and is now focusing on the ‘family directly affected’ by the tragedy.
