Crime Salad Podcast Summary

Episode: Given to God At Atwood Lake: The Ruth Miller Case
Date: October 25, 2025
Hosts: Ashley and Ricky

Main Theme and Overview

This episode of Crime Salad explores the tragic Ruth Miller case, where an act of religious delusion within Ohio’s Amish community resulted in the death of a young child and raised complex questions about mental illness, faith, and the intersection of community norms with modern legal and psychiatric care. Ashley and Ricky guide listeners through the case’s timeline, the cultural and psychological backdrop, and broader implications around religious psychosis and the challenges of seeking help in insular communities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting & Context: The Amish Community and Atwood Lake

• Atwood Lake is portrayed as a peaceful, generational place of recreation for Ohio families, especially Amish, “the second largest Amish population in the entire country” ([02:53]).
• The Amish are described as “a community that prides itself in peace...in resolving conflict within their own church. Not through courts or police” ([03:59]-[04:11]).
• There's a cultural “tendency to rely on prayer, confession or faith healing instead of outside intervention,” complicating access to mental health services ([04:56]).

2. The Incident: Chronology of Tragedy

• Initial Call and Discovery:
  Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a golf cart crash into the lake. They found Ruth Miller standing calmly in the water, saying “I gave him to God,” referring to her son ([07:32]).
  “Her words weren’t really panicked or defensive. They were steady” ([07:32], Ricky).

• Ruth’s Statements & Behavior:
  Ruth repeatedly expressed conviction that she had acted according to divine instructions, blending biblical stories (“God told Ruth that he’s in the lake and a fish swallowed him” - [09:04]) into her real time language and showing little emotional distress.

• Sequence of Events:

  • Early morning: Ruth and her husband Marcus participated in rituals they believed tested their faith ([15:54]-[17:03]).
  • Marcus attempted a faith-proving swim and drowned ([19:21]).
  • Ruth, still under delusion, later threw her 4-year-old son Vincent into the lake and attempted to drive her three teenage children into it in a golf cart. The teens survived ([17:03]-[18:35]).

• First Responders’ Reactions:
  Ruth’s calm spiritual focus “just disarmed people…a paramedic got down on their knees and prayed with Ruth” ([09:04]-[10:27], Ashley & Ricky).

3. Legal Process & Mental Health Considerations

• Ruth was charged with aggravated murder and related offenses. Her defense entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, asserting severe mental illness ([21:31]).

• The insanity defense in Ohio: “they had to prove that…she didn’t know the wrongfulness of their actions” ([22:22], Ashley).

• The rate of successful insanity defenses is low (“Statistically, less than 1% of felony cases ever use an insanity defense, and less than that actually succeed” - [23:57]).

• Legal and Psychiatric Challenges:
  Factors such as Ruth’s potential awareness (“she just says she doesn’t know [where her son’s body is]” - [10:53]) and statements that “people are going to tell her that she’s crazy” could indicate some level of reality assessment, potentially undermining her defense ([25:59]).

4. Psychological Analysis: Religious Psychosis vs. Faith

• The podcast discusses a 2014 study distinguishing delusional religious belief from culturally shared faith ([29:57]):

  • Delusions are rigid, not shared, and unaffected by contrary evidence.
  • Symptoms include grandiosity (chosen for a divine purpose), command hallucinations (hearing God’s voice), and control (belief that actions are directed externally).

• Ruth matches this profile: “She wasn’t deciding what to do. She actually thought that she was obeying orders from a higher power” ([32:08], Ashley).

• Relevant Biblical Parallels:
  Hosts highlight the Abraham and Isaac story (“if that voice never came to stop him, it’s terrifyingly similar to what we’re seeing here” - [34:20]), showing how Biblical language can be hijacked by delusion.

5. Broader Implications: Stigma, Tragedy, and Hope

• Stigma in religious communities often leads to silence and avoidance of mental health care ([39:17], Ashley):

  • “Sometimes it’s seen as a test or a weakness or a sign that someone strayed from God.”
  • Faith leaders, mental health professionals, and families need partnerships and better education to recognize symptoms before tragedy escalates.

• Comparable Cases:
  The hosts reference Andrea Yates (2001) and Deanna Laney (2003), both mothers suffering psychosis who killed their children under religious delusions and were found not guilty by reason of insanity ([37:13]-[38:44]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ruth’s Delusion:
  “She speaks with certainty of someone who believes she’s done what she was supposed to do...she’s not confessing to a crime. She’s defending a truth...”
  — Ashley ([07:47])

• On Law Enforcement’s Response:
  “Her tone, her mannerisms, the quietness of it, it just seems like it disarmed people. At one point, a paramedic got down on their knees and prayed with Ruth. It’s really strange.”
  — Ashley ([09:04])

• On the Insanity Defense:
  “Even if someone seems completely delusional, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re legally insane. If there’s any sign they understood their actions were wrong...the insanity defense, it usually just falls apart.”
  — Ricky ([23:17])

• On Religious Psychosis:
  “Healthy religious belief is shared...a delusion is rigid. It’s something only the individual experiences or believes, and no amount of reasoning or evidence can change it.”
  — Ashley ([29:57])

• Parallels to Religious Texts:
  “If you strip away the ending...it’s terrifyingly similar to what we’re seeing here. So this leads a lot of people to believe that this could be religious psychosis.”
  — Ashley ([34:20])

• Reflective Takeaway:
  “If there’s anything that we can take away from this, it’s that there’s no answers that can make it right. We just need to keep hoping and paying attention to the signs and break the stigma about reaching out for help.”
  — Ricky ([42:40])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Setting the Scene & Amish Background: [00:31] – [05:20]
• Incident at Atwood Lake & Ruth’s Statements: [06:11] – [10:27]
• Legal Process and Mental Health Defense: [19:39] – [25:22]
• Insanity Defense Details and Challenges: [22:22] – [25:59]
• Psychological Analysis: Religious vs. Delusional Belief: [29:57] – [35:21]
• Comparative Cases (Andrea Yates, Deanna Laney): [37:13] – [38:44]
• Broader Cultural & Community Reflection: [39:17] – [42:40]

Conclusion & Takeaways

Ashley and Ricky affirm that Ruth Miller’s case is a tragic, unsettling example of what can happen at the intersection of religious faith, untreated mental illness, and cultural barriers to intervention. The episode balances respect for religious belief with a clear-eyed account of suffering and encourages outreach and destigmatization around mental health care—especially within insular communities. The hosts remind listeners of crisis resources and stress the importance of recognizing and addressing symptoms early.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of harm or mental distress, in the US you can dial 988, or visit 988lifeline.org. International resources can be found at findahelpline.com.