Sheriff Briefs Media On Amish Lake Deaths: Couple’s 4-Year-Old Son Was “Price To Pay” For Failing Tests of Faith; Mother Expected To Be Charged With Murder

Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell. Images: WKYC/YT

Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campell spent about 45 minutes speaking with media this afternoon, laying out what happened at Atwood Lake over the weekend in the series of events which led to the deaths of a four-year-old Amish boy and his father.

They have now been identified as Vincen Miller (the boy), and Marcus J. Miller (the father), of Millersburg, Ohio.

I just got done listening to the whole thing; what follows are my notes on what was said, organized into sections. The full video is embedded at the bottom of this post.

The Sheriff revealed a lot of new details about what happened, and gave insights into the disturbed mindset of the Amish couple, among many other things.

The Golf Cart Incident

The Sheriff started by describing how the Amish woman had driven the golf cart, and hit a stone barrier and flipped it into the water.

A witness who tried to help her said that she said not to help her – just to pray for her. This was the first statement that got people’s attention, suggesting something might be “off”.

At that time she made a statement that she had “given her son to the Lord”. However, at that time there was confusion, as they did not know about the four-year-old – which son she was talking about. She also attempted to flee, but was quickly brought back.

The submerged golf cart. The cart hit the rocks in the foreground and flipped into the water.

Rangers then began speaking with the children and the woman and there were a number of statements which “were not rational”.

They then realized they may have a four-year-old son missing – and a father missing. At that point, the Sheriff explained, they simply hoped that “she’s just sick”, and that the father had the son somewhere.

There was a confusion about where they were – then she said that she had thrown the child in the water, off the area labeled “dock” in the map image below, “to give [him] to God”.

The mother and children had also been seen together earlier praying intently, so much so that it raised people’s concerns.

“Tests of Faith” and the Husband Swims Out

Late at night/early morning Saturday (around 1:15 AM), the woman also said that she and her husband had jumped into the water as part of a series of “tests”. Afterwards, they decided to return to where they were staying, which was a company-owned RV.

After returning home, the husband felt disappointed in himself and told his wife that he would go back to the lake to swim out a long distance to a sandbar in the lake, which he did at 6:30 AM, leaving his clothes on the dock. The Sheriff stated that she did not see him again.

Sometime just after 8 AM, she is seen loading up the four-year-old on a golf cart, and driving away “very erratically” and dangerously, at one point flipping the cart, at another time, getting it up on two wheels.

After a while she came back, and stated that she threw the four-year-old, Vincen, in the water because she needed to do so as an offering to God.

She then made her older children jump into the lake, in two separate trips. And at one point she made her children pray for their father and little brother “because they were gone, and had gone to heaven”.

Finding the Bodies & the Search Warrant

At 6:03 PM Saturday, divers located the four-year-old, only about ten feet off the dock. They later ended the search of the lake due to darkness.

Sunday, they resumed the search at 7 AM, and started searching further out in the lake. At 8:29 AM they located the father 53 yards off the dock on the bottom of the lake. In the photo below, the yellow “donut” to the ~~right~~ left of the boat is just over the spot where his body was found.

The Sheriff then discusses executing the search warrant – “and if you’re wondering what we’re looking for, we don’t have any idea”. He suggests things like a weapon, a note to explain things, etc. He says they did not find anything providing information on what happened. (I assume he meant that they searched the RV that they were staying in).

The Children and Other Family

The Sheriff says he’s spoken with the children, and the father’s brother, as well as the grandparents, saying “they couldn’t be nicer people”. And that, “as you can imagine, the kids were extremely confused”.

He notes that “their mindset was that whatever their mother and father says, is the way it is – they don’t question anything, so when they were told to jump in a lake, they jump in a lake.”

He said that they were very upset and focused on praying for their father and brother, but they were able to provide some information. They were able to release the children to other family, and that “we have complete confidence that this family will take excellent care of them.”

The family says that “they were aware of some issues with especially the mother, but also the father, but there were never any discussions of harming anyone.”

“She was clearly in mental crisis” said the Sheriff, and “it simply manifests itself as what we call a spiritual delusion.” The Sheriff declined to discuss that aspect further, saying that he was not qualified to do so.

Next, the Sheriff ended his main statement, and brought up Dr. Jeff Cameron, the Tuscarawas County Coroner.

Dr. Cameron noted the tragic nature of the story, and read from a media release statement, identifying the four-year-old boy as Vincen Miller. (I briefly had the boy’s name earlier as “Vincent” but I think the coroner clearly says “Vincen”, and that is how he is described in some other outlets as well).

He next identified what he termed the “suspected” father of the boy as Marcus J. Miller, age 45, of the Millersburg, Ohio area.

The bodies have been taken to the medical office for autopsies. He also noted that the cause and manner of the two deaths is pending until completion of the autopsies and investigation.

Questions

Next the Sheriff took questions from the assembled media, of which there were a good number.

The first one was about whether it was their intent to go to the lake to do this.

The Sheriff said he did not believe so, as the trip had been planned for some time. “They believed they were misinterpreting passages of the Bible”, but had made no statements regarding harming anyone.

“I don’t believe until the husband and wife went out, that there was any plan to do anything. The husband and wife then, the wife especially was supposedly hearing voices that she believed were God, that led her and her husband to go out and jump in the lake first.” He based this belief on “detailed conversations with the family that they were just going to the lake.” When he says “family” here, I believe he’s referring to the extended family.

The Sheriff described his perception of her mental health crisis as focusing more on the “doom and gloom” aspect, and the idea that they were not worthy of God’s love, and that they had to prove that.

He was then asked did the husband play a role in taking the life of the four year old?

The Sheriff said they believed that he had nothing to do with the four-year-old going into the water, or the other children going in the water later.

Another question was about whether there was a sense if the family were members of a cult. The Sheriff met many members of their church and said “they seemed like wonderful people.”

When asked, the Sheriff said that there was no indication that their mental state was exacerbated by drugs or alcohol, nor do they suspect that to be the case. The Sheriff also confirmed that there had been no professional treatment for any mental conditions. (Note: there is a statement from the Amish church that the family has in fact received professional help in the past; I believe the Sheriff in his statements may have meant no treatment in the period leading up to the trip to the lake).

When asked if they intend to charge the mother with crimes, the Sheriff replied, “we do”.

When asked about whether the father just drowned, or if it was suicide, the Sheriff paused and said that it “is gonna be more of a determination for Dr. Cameron, and a tough one.” But he noted that he’ll have to probably “highly consider the information that we receive from mother.”

But he said that “it’s my opinion based off of what we have so far, that he took his clothes off to attempt to swim out to prove his faith, and likely drowned accidentally.”

[Note: I need to point out that this statement conflicts markedly with what was reported yesterday by WKYC from their interview with Sheriff Campbell, that the Sheriff believed he drowned himself intentionally.]

The Sheriff also suggested that they were sleep deprived, going at least two nights with little sleep. “I think there were things bothering them, and their delusion kept them awake.”

Another question was about whether any outside influence may have perpetuated the idea that the family had to prove their faith. He said there was none.

The Sheriff stated that they have no one who witnessed the mother putting her young son in the water.

When asked if she would have known her husband drowned – “I don’t think she would have known, I think she would have guessed. She believed that he was going to do this test, and she made comments that she believed that he failed, because his faith wasn’t good enough, or he wasn’t a good enough man.”

The Sheriff was asked for his personal opinion at one point. He replied, “I think this was a husband very devoted to his wife, I think they were also devoted to the Bible, and that just manifested itself incorrectly. And I don’t think there’s making a lot of common sense out of it. I just really don’t.”

Did the other children know that she had placed their brother Vincen in the water? “Yes, yes. That’s why they were praying for them, she had told them that she had to give their brother to God, and there was a test.”

It is believed that the father had already drowned by the time the young boy was put in the water. There was also a description of water “rituals” the mother made the older children do – floating, treading water, etc.

One witness said the children looked terrified while on the golf cart, and that the sheriff believed that they were not clued in. “Every witness that saw that cart moving said it was moving extremely dangerously. Turning and almost toppling at every corner.”

After the mother got out of the water, there was a time that she was singing, and she was also singing at the hospital.

Failing Tests and Vincen Becoming the “Price to Pay”

The day they arrived at the lake was the mother’s 40th birthday, and the Sheriff believed that their original intent was just to relax. “But something changed at one in the morning when they asked a neighbor for a ride to the dock.”

For instance, “one of the statements she made was that God told her she could walk on water. She walked off the end of the dock, and sunk immediately of course. And was immediately upset with herself, and blamed herself for not having enough faith.”

“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. It was something they had to offer him for.”

Asked if anything precipitated this, he said no, then mentioned a Thursday night incident when the father called their extended family and expressed his love for them, which seemed out of character.

They in turn went over to speak with them, and the mother discussed Bible prophecies and that she thought the world was maybe coming to an end. They attempted to convince her she was misinterpreting Bible passages, and that she “de-escalated”.

They seemed alright afterwards, and the next day; Marcus’ brother felt like they had “stabilized” and that the lake would be a good place for them to have a break.

The Mother Will Be Charged

The mother is being held at a “locked mental health facility.” She has not yet been charged, but likely tomorrow, the Sheriff explained, the Tuscarawas County Prosecutor’s Office will issue a charge of aggravated murder.

He noted that the kids were “devastated”, and that “they could say a few words” and then “they cried so hard they just couldn’t even get anything out.” The Sheriff described it as “extremely tragic” and that they were “good kids”.

He noted a statement released by the Amish family says that “these events of the past weekend do not reflect our teachings, or beliefs, but are instead a result of mental illness.” (I have not been able to find this statement anywhere yet).

UPDATE: Here is the full statement* from the relatives and church of this couple –

“The church and family want to thank the law enforcement and rescue personnel for all that was done during this tragic weekend.

The family involved are members of the Old Order Amish Church. As a church of Christian faith, we believe that we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ [Ephesians 2:8-9), and the events of this past weekend do not reflect our teachings or beliefs but are instead a result of a mental illness.

The ministry and extended family had been walking with them through their challenges, and they had also received professional help in the past.

At this time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family directly affected. We stand beside them in their grief and ask that their privacy, as well as that of the broader community, be respected during this difficult time. We kindly ask that the public and media honor this by allowing space for healing.

The extended family encourages anyone facing mental health challenges to seek professional help, as the recent events do not reflect the loving and caring family they were always known to be.” *(Previous statement posted here was a truncated version)

The Sheriff explained that aggravated murder does not need to be planned out much in advance. It only takes a “brief moment of ‘pre-thought'”.

Will there be charges for what she did on the golf cart with the older chidlren? He said it was “clearly child endangerment” and he would not be surprised if those were included.

As the press conference was drawing to a close, Sheriff Campbell had this to say:

“It was the worst couple of days, and I saw a ton of emotion. I know the diver that found the little boy, personally, and I’ve known him for many years. And I can tell you that he swam underwater directly upon him. And it immediately affected him. He came out of the water highly emotional,” the Sheriff said, voice cracking with his own emotion at the end.

You can watch the full briefing here. It starts at about 12 minutes in.