She admitted to covering up her grandmother’s murder last year. Now she’s getting out of prison

A Maryland woman who admitted to covering up her grandmother’s murder is set to be released from prison less than a year after the murder.

Salia Hardy, 21, testified in the trial of her own mother, 46-year-old Candace Craig, who was found guilty of murdering and dismembering 71-year-old Margaret Craig, Hardy’s grandmother.

Prosecutors said Hardy helped her mother cover up the crime.

Hardy was charged with accessory after the fact to murder in May 2023. She pleaded guilty to the charge this week.

In a statement to WTOP, Prince George’s County Prosecutor Aisha Braveboy said the 550 days Hardy had already spent in jail was “appropriate” as her sentence.

“Candace tried to blame Miss Hardy and her other two children for the murder. It is unthinkable that a mother would expose her children to such circumstances. Miss Hardy was not involved in the murder of her grandmother and pleaded guilty to accessory after the crime,” Braveboy said.

She added that Hardy’s testimony against her mother played “a crucial role” in obtaining a guilty verdict in the case.

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“Given the trauma and unfortunate circumstances Miss Hardy has faced due to her mother’s crime, our prayers go out to her as she heals and works to reclaim her life. “She will be subject to five years of supervised probation and other conditions ordered by the court, including a psychological evaluation and a drug and alcohol evaluation,” Braveboy wrote.

Prosecutors described Margaret Craig’s murder as “stunning” and described it as one of the worst murders of all time.

On the afternoon of June 2, 2023, Prince George’s County Police responded to a home in the 200 block of Hill Road in Walker Mill to conduct a welfare check on Margaret Craig. The caller said he hadn’t spoken to her in several days and was worried.

When police entered the home and searched the basement, they “immediately smelled the odor of decomposition,” officials said.

Later investigation revealed that Candace Craig had killed her mother a month earlier and attempted to cover up the death by dismembering her and attempting to grill her body. Hardy helped cover up the crime, but testified that the killing, dismemberment and burning of Margaret Craig’s body was her mother’s idea.

Last month, Candace Craig was found guilty of first- and second-degree murder in court. She faces sentencing in February 2025, according to court documents.

After the court hearing in November, Braveboy told reporters the trial was heartbreaking for everyone involved. Prosecutors presented deeply disturbing images and argued that Margaret Craig’s death was the result of financial misconduct and fraud.

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