The Amish & Crime

Stories about the Amish as victims – or perpetrators – of crime.

Man Pleads Guilty in DUI Wreck Which Killed 10-Year-Old Amish Boy; Might Get A Life Sentence

Man Pleads Guilty in DUI Wreck Which Killed 10-Year-Old Amish Boy; Might Get A Life Sentence

Anthony Miller was a 10-year-old boy living the life of an Amish child in his community in St. Joseph County, Michigan. But Anthony’s life was abruptly cut short, one year ago this week. On December 2, 2024, Logan Thomas, 30, driving a pickup truck at a claimed speed of 50-55 mph, plowed into a group of four Amish children on the roadside, one of whom…

Amish Mother Forced To Deliver Baby Two Months Early After Hit & Run; Suspected Driver Identified, But Still Not Arrested

Amish Mother Forced To Deliver Baby Two Months Early After Hit & Run; Suspected Driver Identified, But Still Not Arrested

The father of an Amish woman, badly injured in a hit-and-run crash along with her two small children, has written a letter to a local news station providing more details on the condition of his daughter and grandchildren. Martha Wagler, age 27, was in a buggy in her community in Williams County, Ohio, on November 12, when the buggy was struck from behind by a…

Amish Lake Deaths: Ruth Miller Deemed Mentally Competent To Stand Trial In Death Of 4-Year-Old Son; Trial Date Now Set

Amish Lake Deaths: Ruth Miller Deemed Mentally Competent To Stand Trial In Death Of 4-Year-Old Son; Trial Date Now Set

A judge has found Ruth Miller, 40, mentally competent to stand trial, following a psychologist’s assessment of the Amish mother. And a trial date has now been set. Miller was charged with aggravated murder for the death of her four-year-old son Vincen, among other charges relating to Vincen and her other, teenaged children, following a series of bizarre incidents at a recreational lake in Tuscarawas…

Neighbor Remembers Amish 16-Year-Old Elmer Borntrager, Killed In Hit-And-Run. And: Suspect’s Vehicle Found

Neighbor Remembers Amish 16-Year-Old Elmer Borntrager, Killed In Hit-And-Run. And: Suspect’s Vehicle Found

Following up on the recent hit-and-run buggy crash in Clarke County, Iowa, a local station spoke with neighbors of the young man killed in the wreck. One of them provided more details on what happened, and a bit about the young man, Elmer Borntrager. Also, it sounds like there is good news, for lack of a better description: the suspect’s vehicle has been located. However,…

DUI Charges For Amish Buggy Driver After Crash With Car

DUI Charges For Amish Buggy Driver After Crash With Car

An 19-year-old Amish man has been charged with DUI following a collision involving a motor vehicle. This comes to us from the New Wilmington, Pennsylvania Amish community – no stranger to DUI charges among its buggy drivers (more on that below). As far as this incident, here’s more from New Castle News: An Amish buggy driver involved in an accident reportedly found himself in a…

DNA On $20 Bill Helps Police Capture Amish Boy’s (Suspected) Kidnapper

DNA On $20 Bill Helps Police Capture Amish Boy’s (Suspected) Kidnapper

Strange to be doing a second Amish kidnapping story in a row, but here we are. News broke today that police have arrested the suspected kidnapper of an Amish boy in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. Back in September we learned that a man had grabbed a 9-year-old Amish boy while his back was turned at a farm stand, then put him in his vehicle and drove…

Judge Finds Man Who Assaulted, Tried To Kidnap Amish Teen Girl “Not Guilty” – By Reason Of Insanity

Judge Finds Man Who Assaulted, Tried To Kidnap Amish Teen Girl “Not Guilty” – By Reason Of Insanity

The shocking story of an “Amish wannabe” living in the Arthur, Illinois community who attacked and tried to kidnap a 16-year-old Amish girl has come to a conclusion of sorts. In the February 2025 incident – which happened in the early morning at a local coffee shop – Lester M. Raymind, 21, first assaulted, and then tried to carry away the girl. He was stopped by…

Fourth Man Arrested In Amish Home Invasion…And It’s An Amish Taxi Driver

Fourth Man Arrested In Amish Home Invasion…And It’s An Amish Taxi Driver

A man whom the Amish trusted – and paid – to drive them places was actually working against them. While he operated as an Amish taxi driver, his side occupation was allegedly helping criminals target some of those very same Amish homes for burglary. That’s according to new reports and allegations about a fourth man arrested in connection with the Geauga County, Ohio home invasion and assault case. From…

Four Years & $40,000: Twin Sister Sentenced For Crash Which Took Two Amish Girls’ Lives (Updated: Samantha Apologizes)

Four Years & $40,000: Twin Sister Sentenced For Crash Which Took Two Amish Girls’ Lives (Updated: Samantha Apologizes)

Samantha Jo Petersen’s sentence was delivered earlier today. Samantha pleaded guilty in July for her role in a September 2023 crash which killed two Amish girls in Fillmore County, Minnesota. Samantha was driving an SUV which rear-ended the buggy the girls were traveling in along with two other siblings. Irma Miller (11) and Wilma Miller (7) lost their lives that morning, while on their daily…

Caught: Two More Arrested In Amish Robbery & Assault Case (Ohio)

Caught: Two More Arrested In Amish Robbery & Assault Case (Ohio)

Looks like they got the rest of them. At yesterday’s press conference on the brutal home invasion and assault of an Amish man and his eight-year-old son, we learned that one of three suspects – a man named Bradford James Hosler – had been arrested. Geauga County, Ohio Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand stated then that “I feel very confident that within the next couple days the…