HYATTSVILLE, Md. – The daughter of a woman accused of killing and dismembering her own mother is testifying this week about her role in the 2023 slaying.

Salia Hardy, now 21, told a Prince George’s County jury Wednesday that she remembered hearing her grandmother, Margaret Craig, 71, scream on May 23, 2023, in their home on Hill Road near Hyattsville. Hardy said her mother, Candace Craig, 46, instructed her not to enter her grandmother’s room.

“She said to look at (my) sisters if she goes to jail,” Hardy testified Wednesday.

Hardy, who has already pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact, appeared in court Wednesday in an orange jumpsuit and told the jury that part of the plea deal included truthful testimony in her mother’s trial. Craig was accused of murdering his 71-year-old mother, dismembering her body and burning it on a barbecue.

Hardy recalled that the day after she heard her grandmother scream, her mother showed her the scratches on her chest and arms. That day, Hardy said she went into her grandmother’s room because she hadn’t seen her since she heard her scream and saw her body in the bin with a garbage bag over her face and blood on the carpet.

Hardy testified that when her mother came home, she was mad at her for coming into the room, but she didn’t want to tell her what happened to her grandmother. According to Hardy, they went to the store a few days later to buy items, including charcoal and a lighter. Gasoline was also bought.

FRONT COVER: A Maryland woman accused of murdering, dismembering her mother is going to trial

It was her mother’s idea to burn the body behind the house, Hardy said. The plan didn’t work as neighbors began to notice the fire spreading and eventually the fire department arrived. That’s when Hardy said her mother ordered a chainsaw online and began cutting the body into pieces the next day.

Margaret Craig’s autopsy was a “unique case,” according to Maryland Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Pamela Ferreira. Craig’s body was not intact when it arrived at the ME’s office in early June, Dr Ferreira said.

Ferreira testified that there were nine bags, each of which contained other bags. Her office also received a chainsaw, paper towels and cans of water-based paint and body parts. In all, she testified Wednesday that there were 67 segments of remains, all of which showed evidence of being burned and dismembered by a chainsaw after Craig died.

Ferreira told the jury on Wednesday that there was no evidence that a natural disease killed the victim. At the same time, she didn’t have every body part. Craig’s death was ultimately ruled a homicide by undetermined means.

The trial resumes Thursday morning at 8:30 with the remainder of Hardy’s testimony.