Ruth Miller, an Amish mother of four, will not go to prison for killing her 4-year-old son in August 2025. Ahead of the verdict, the mother reportedly told investigators she drowned Vincen to “Give him to God.” She also attempted to drown her three teenagers by putting them on a golf cart and driving into Atwood Lake in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, but they survived. Miller pleaded not guilty to her son Vincen’s drowning death and opted for a bench trial. A judge ruled Millar was not guilty by reason of insanity.
Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Ernest announced the verdict on March 3, 2026, WKYC reported.
“That’s the only conclusion that can be reached in this case based upon the evidence that has been presented to me,” Ernest said.
A body camera from a deputy with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office captured the mother shortly after Vincen’s death. “I threw him in the lake, and I gave him to God,” she says in the video.
Miller went on to tell deputies that God was coming soon and that people will think she’s crazy, but she did what she had to do. “He’s sweet. I love him. I gave him to God,” she added of her son.
Three separate doctors told the court Miller suffered from a “severe mental disease” that prohibited her from understanding that killing her son was wrong, per WKYC.
Both prosecutors and the defense addressed the court during the bench trial.
“There was really no question that Ms. Miller conducted, did the acts with which she’s accused. The question was her mental state at the time of the offense,” Tuscarawas County Assistant Prosecutor Fred Scott said. “When you have a unanimous decision that the defendant did not understand the wrongfulness of her conduct, was in a psychotic state, the decision kind of writes itself.”
Defense attorney Ian Friedman said his client did not get away with murder. Instead, he believes her mental health caused her to make a terrible decision.
“I would say it absolutely is not getting away with murder. Ruth Miller would not have been involved in this case, had it not been for the mental disease that you heard about in the courtroom, period. And that that’s a hard stop. End of story,” he said, per WKYC. “She is mortified by the fact that, that she was involved in that situation on August 23rd, 2025. And had she been receiving the care that was necessary at that time, none of us would be standing here right now.”
Miller will return to court on March 13 to learn where she will go from here. This story is a stark reminder of how important mental health care is. Hopefully, Miller will now receive the help she needs.
