NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio — It's a case that stunned Northeast Ohio — a mother charged with murder, accused of drowning her 4-year-old son in Atwood Lake. This morning, a Tuscarawas County judge ruled Ruth Miller is responsible for the killing, but found her not guilty by reason of insanity.
Miller entered the courtroom in a blue jail jumpsuit and handcuffs to learn her fate, not by a jury, but by Judge Michael Ernest.
She chose a bench trial rather than a jury trial.
"The defendant, Ruth R. Miller, is not guilty by reason of insanity. I think that's the only conclusion that can be reached," Ernest said.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that Ernest's ruling was the right one.
The judge said Miller purposely caused the death of her 4-year-old son, Vincent.
But multiple doctors agreed that Miller suffered from a mental disease, according to Ernest. The doctors said she did not understand the wrongfulness of what she did.
"It's not getting away with murder," defense attorney Ian Friedman said. "Ruth Miller would not have been involved in this case had it not been for the mental disease."
Miller, 40, was found not guilty of the following charges:
- Murder
- Felonious assault
- Child endangerment
- Domestic violence
"I can't put into words how tragic and sad it is," assistant prosecutor Fred Scott said. "I couldn't imagine, a parent myself, losing a child, let alone being mentally ill and having caused my child's death."
Miller will be in court on March 13. During that hearing, witnesses will testify to help the judge determine Miller's placement.
RELATED: 40-year-old mother accused of drowning child pleads not guilty by reason of insanity
"We are prepared to argue next Friday that based on the reports we've seen today, the least restrictive setting is in-patient, lock down mental health facility," Scott said.
Miller could remain in a mental health facility for the rest of her life, but her attorney believes that with the proper treatment, she could get out.
"I expect that will continue and our goal is to get her home and back, embraced with her family as soon as possible," Friedman said.
What happened?
In August 2025, the Miller family took a trip to Atwood Lake, during which, according to authorities, Ruth Miller and her husband, 45-year-old Marcus Miller, believed God was speaking to them, telling the couple to jump into the lake and perform various "tasks."
After returning to their RV, Marcus Miller immediately went back to the lake because he felt he had not done well with his tasks, said Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell. He decided to swim from the dock to the sandbar. Campbell said that was the last time Ruth Miller saw her husband.
Watch the sheriff's press conference:
Hours later, Miller put Vincent in a golf cart and began driving erratically. Campbell said that during interviews with law enforcement, she said she had "thrown the child into the water."
"There was a pretty immediate statement that she had given her son to the Lord," Campbell said.
After she allegedly threw her son into the water, she went back to the RV multiple times to pick up her other three children, a 15-year-old daughter and two 18-year-old twin sons, and made them get into the lake and perform tasks similar to the ones Miller had done with her husband, Campbell said.
After they got out of the water, the mother made the teens lie on the dock with their hands in the water and pray for Vincent and their father, Campbell said. Witnesses also saw the mother and the teens huddled together near the kayak launch, being emotional and praying together.
Around 10:30 a.m., Miller was driving erratically in the golf cart with the three teens just before she sped into the water, with the golf cart flipping off the edge of a stone wall, Campbell said.
The teens were able to get out of the cart safely from the water while witnesses helped the mother out of the water, Campbell said.
After first responders spoke with Miller and the teens, they became concerned about the safety of Vincent and Marcus Miller, who could not be found, the sheriff's office said in a statement over the weekend. The sheriff said that Ruth Miller tried to flee and hide but was easily located.
Miller was transported to a nearby hospital, and the teens were given over to family members, Campbell said.
Vincent's body was located at the bottom of the lake, Campbell said. Marcus Miller's body was also recovered from the bottom of the lake.
