An Ohio mother, implicated in a tragic incident involving her husband and 4-year-old son, has been declared not guilty by reason of insanity. The case involved allegations that she instructed them to “jump” into a lake under what has been described as a “spiritual delusion,” leading to their deaths by drowning.

On Tuesday, Tuscarawas County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Ernest delivered the verdict. This decision came after he thoroughly examined findings from three mental health evaluations of Ruth Miller. Miller faced charges including aggravated murder and child endangerment related to the events of August 2025. The assessments concluded that Miller was unable to comprehend the nature and wrongfulness of her actions at the time.

“Ruth Miller is not guilty by reason of insanity,” declared Judge Ernest in court. “It is the only conclusion that can be reached based on the evidence presented.”

The case, reported by Law&Crime, involved Miller, who is a member of the Old Order Amish community. She is expected to be committed to a mental health facility following a scheduled hearing on March 13.

According to the Canton Repository, Ohio law permits judges to confine individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity to mental health treatment for a period that generally corresponds to the sentence they would have served if convicted. Release from confinement can occur once a judge determines that the individual no longer poses a danger to themselves or others.

Miller, hailing from the Millersburg region, chose to forego a jury trial, waiving her right on February 24.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that the state will ask for Miller to be confined to a secure mental health facility. Defense attorney Ian Friedman told the Canton Repository that Miller’s family wants her back with them as soon as possible. She has been in jail without bail since her arrest on Aug. 23, 2025.

Miller allegedly admitted to killing her husband, Marcus Miller, and son, Vincen Miller, at Atwood Lake in east-central Ohio “because God was speaking to them” and wanted the pair to “prove their worthiness,” cops said.

She was previously held at a secure hospital for a mental health evaluation before being booked into the Tuscarawas County Jail in September 2025 and charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of domestic violence and one count of endangering children.

“God spoke to her and told her to throw Vincen into the lake and she did,” alleged Detective Adam Fisher, with the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, at a September bond hearing streamed by NBC affiliate WKYC.

“She described watching Vincen go under the water and pop back up,” Fisher said. “At that moment, God spoke to her, questioning why she was still looking for Vincen after she had given him to God.”

Miller allegedly told cops she was “hearing voices that she believed were God,” according to Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell, who revealed details about the drownings at a press conference after Miller’s arrest.

“That led her and her husband to go out and jump in the lake first,” Campbell said.

Police officials also accused Miller of crashing a golf cart into the water with her three other children inside. Fisher and others described how witnesses allegedly saw the golf cart crash and Miller praying on the dock.

“It was very intentional,” Fisher alleged. “They witnessed her drive through the lighthouse and the marina and down through the grass and over the wall into the water.”

Ruth told police that “she and Marcus were both nervous about getting in the water initially,” per Fisher, but they allegedly got in anyway.

“They were to float on their backs at one point and Marcus began to sink during this,” Fisher alleged. “So they swam back to the dock.”

Ruth allegedly told police that Marcus Miller was supposed to be able to pull her from the water onto the dock, but he failed to do it multiple times, so she had to swim to the back of the boat and climb out using its ladder.

“She said that Marcus … started to sink because of his lack of faith and that he was not able to pull her out of the water because he would not ask God for any strength to do that,” Fisher explained.

Ruth allegedly claimed that they got out of the water and went back to their camper for awhile before eventually returning to the lake to keep testing themselves.

Police said she commanded Marcus Miller to get back in as part of another “test” from God, which caused him to drown. Miller said she believed he failed the initial tests “because he didn’t have enough faith,” per police. She then allegedly demanded that Vincen go in afterward as punishment.

“She believed that she and her husband had to pass these tests to show their faith, and when they didn’t, then Vincen became the price to pay for that,” Campbell said. “What she says is that she and her husband went to this dock, and they jumped in the water because God was speaking to them and telling them to do things, things to prove their worthiness to God, to show their faith is complete. And they didn’t do very well in those.”

Police said some of the tasks Marcus Miller was given were “bizarre,” with many of them being “swimming exercises.” Ruth Miller allegedly told investigators that God asked her at one point to be “swallowed by a fish.” Ruth Miller said God’s final test for Marcus Miller was to swim to a nearby sandbar, according to police.

Police have described the Millers as members of the Old Order Amish Church and living in Holmes County. They were reportedly visiting Atwood Lake as part of a weekend trip, which Campbell says began like any vacation.

“I do not think it was a plan,” the sheriff concluded. “I believe that based off detailed conversations with the family, that they were just going to the lake.”