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An Amish woman from Ohio has been spared from serving prison time after the tragic drowning of her young son in a lake last summer.
On March 13, Ruth Miller was acquitted on charges related to the 2025 death of her 4-year-old son, Vincen Miller, as she was deemed legally insane, as per court documents accessed by Oxygen. Although Ruth will be transferred to the Heartland Behavioral Health psychiatric facility, she remains in the Tuscarawas County Jail until a spot is available.
What Did Ruth Miller Do?
On August 23, Ruth Miller drove a golf cart carrying her three teenage children into Atwood Lake, Ohio, according to a press release from the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office.
Once authorities confirmed the safety of Ruth and her children, she reportedly made “disturbing statements about communicating with God,” leading to suspicions that the incident was deliberate. Her youngest son, Vincen, and her husband, Marcus Miller, were both unaccounted for.
Later that night, divers recovered Vincen’s lifeless body from the lakebed. The following day, Marcus was also found deceased in the same waters.
Ruth then made a shocking confession.
“I threw him in the lake,” Ruth told deputies about Vincin in body camera footage, recorded on Aug. 23 and published in September by Court TV. “I gave him to God.”
Ruth explained that Marcus had gone for a walk that day and didn’t return, however, “God told me he’s in the lake and a fish swallowed him.” Ruth told police that if they searched the lake, they would find her husband’s body.
Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell revealed more details in a September press conference.
Campbell said that on Aug. 23, Ruth and Marcus jumped into the lake to complete a series of “bizarre exercises,” because they believed that “God was speaking to them and telling them to do things to prove their worthiness to God.”
Marcus did not feel successful in the exercise, said Campbell, so he later returned to the lake for another round. Later, Ruth and Marcus’ children, along with other witnesses, observed Ruth placing Vincen in a golf cart and driving away “erratically.”
Authorities concluded that Ruth threw Vincen in the water as an “offering to God,” said Campbell, then drove her other children to the lake for prayer and swimming exercises.
Ruth Faces Charges
Ruth faced numerous charges, according to court records viewed by Oxygen, including aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, endangering children and domestic violence.
On Sept 8, Ruth pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
“It is very evident that it is fitting,” Ruth’s attorney Ian Friedman said in court, according to WKYC. “This case would not have happened but for a mental defect that would have prevented Ms. Miller from appreciating the wrongfulness of her conduct.”
Friedman later told Fox 8 that Ruth’s body camera footage showed she was “clearly” afflicted with a “serious mental disease.”
County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Ernest agreed, concluding that Ruth, who had waived her right to a jury trial, was not guilty by reason of insanity.
Ruth will not be allowed to leave the mental health facility, Judge Michael J. Ernest said in court footage published by WKYC Channel 3 on March 13.
“It is a secured hospital from which individuals cannot just come and go as they please,” said Ernest. “You will be confined there.”